engleski

Objective Voice Quality Analysis in Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis

Voice disorders resulting from glottic insufficiency are a significant clinical problem. Dysphonia is the most common symptom in unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis is related to a set of perceptive alterations such as weak voice, breathiness, hoarseness, reduced voice intensity, vocal effort, diplophonia, and air loss. The aim of this study is to investigate objectively the voices of patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis before and after voice therapy. Voice assessment includes acoustic anaysis and aerodynamic voice measurements. This study included 9 female patients age ranged from 27 to 66. Each patient had voice therapy with an experienced speech language pathologist three times a week for a period 3 to 6 months. Recorded samples of sustained phonation of vowel /a/ were analyzed in Praat for acoustic analysis using the following parameters: mean fundamental frequency (F0), perturbation measures, including jitter and shimmer, mean harmonics- to-noise ratio (HNR). Pre- and posttreatment data were compared by means of the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Mean MPT increased significantly. For values of shimmer and jitter differences were also significant. The results of the acoustic analysis indicate the importance of voice therapy for people with unilateral vocal fold paralysis. It is important to notice that voice therapy is a noninvasive form of rehabilitation and should be the first choice for patients who experience dysphonia as the most severe symptom of unilateral vocal fold paralysis.

unilateral vocal fold paralysis, voice assessment

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