Evaluation of the neo-glottal closure based on the source description in esophageal voice

The characteristics of esophageal voice render its study by traditional acoustic means to be limited and complicate. These limitations are even stronger when working with patients lacking minimal skills to control the required technique. Nevertheless the speech therapist needs to know the performance and mechanics developed by the patient in producing esophageal voice, as the specific techniques required in this case are not as universal and well-known as the ones for normal voicing. Each patient develops different strategies for producing esophageal voice due to the anatomical changes affecting the crico-pharyngeal sphincter (CPS) and the functional losses resulting from surgery. Therefore it is of fundamental relevance that practitioners could count on new instruments to evaluate esophageal voice quality, which on its turn could help in the enhancement of the CPS dynamics. The present work carries out a description of the voice of four patients after undergoing laryngectomy on data obtained from the study of the neo-glottal wave profile. Results obtained after analyzing the open-close phases and the tension of the muscular body on the CPS are shown

HMM-based speech synthesiser using the LF-model of the glottal source

A major factor which causes a deterioration in speech quality in HMM-based speech synthesis is the use of a simple delta pulse signal to generate the excitation of voiced speech. This paper sets out a new approach to using an acoustic glottal source model in HMM-based synthesisers instead of the traditional pulse signal. The goal is to improve speech quality and to better model and transform voice characteristics. We have found the new method decreases buzziness and also improves prosodic modelling. A perceptual evaluation has supported this finding by showing a 55.6 % preference for the new system, as against the baseline. This improvement, while not being as significant as we had initially expected, does encourage us to work on developing the proposed speech synthesiser further

Preoperative Voice Parameters Affect the Postoperative Speech Intelligibility in Patients with Cochlear Implantation

ObjectivesVerbal communication depends on a good function of voice and speech organs. Some of the voice characteristics of deaf people differ considerably from those of speakers with normal hearing. After cochlear implantation (CI), auditory control of voice production is possible and the quality of the voice is improved. CI improves quality of voice, speech and hearing with deafness. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between acoustic analysis before CI and the speech intelligibility before and after CI.MethodsTwelve prelingually deafened children implanted unilaterally at the age of 3.4-9 years were included in the study. For all of the children an acoustic analysis of the Slovene vowel 'a' was performed before CI. The fundamental frequency (F0), jitter, shimmer and noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR) were studied before the implantation. For all of the children the speech intelligibility was performed before and 12 months after CI. Preoperative hearing was divided on existing residual hearing. The results of the acoustic analyses and speech intelligibility before and after CI were compared for preoperative hearing. The results of the speech intelligibility were compared for the age of operation and preoperative acoustic analysis (F0, jitter, shimmer, NHR).ResultsPreoperative hearing had no influence on preoperative voice analysis. The children with residual hearing had a high grade of speech intelligibility before and after CI. The preoperative shimmer had positive correlation with postoperative 12 month speech intelligibility (r=0.618, P=0.032). The preoperative jitter had positive correlation with postoperative 12 month speech intelligibility, but was not statistically significant (r=0.479, P=0.116).ConclusionShimmer on preoperative voice analyses had influence on speech intelligibility after CI

Voice characteristics in adults with neurofibromatosis type 1

Introduction and aims of the study: Change or loss of voice in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) has been associated with head and neck neurofibromas. However, laryngeal involvement in NF1 is rare and voice abnormalities have also been reported in absence of such a tumor. Authors mention the occurrence of deviations in voice quality (such as breathiness, hoarseness, harshness, presence of a creak) and problems in regulating pitch and loudness. These studies are mainly based on perceptual evaluations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the voice characteristics of adult NF1 patients without laryngeal manifestations using a multiparameter approach. Methods: A total of 22 NF1 patients (age range 17-64 years) and 22 controls (age range 18-67 years) participated in the study. The patient group consisted of 9 males (mean age 39,33 years) and 13 females (mean age 32,69 years). The control group consisted of 12 males (mean age 38,00 years) and 10 females (mean age 32,90 years). Voice characteristics were evaluated using aerodynamic, voice range and acoustic measurements. These measurements allowed us to determine the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI). Additionally, participants were asked to complete the Voice Handicap Index (VHI), a questionnaire concerning voice-related quality of life. Results: Vital capacity was significantly reduced in NF1 patients compared with controls. Also, the frequency and intensity range were significantly narrower in the patient group compared with controls. The narrower frequency and intensity range were due to a significantly lower highest frequency and a significantly lower highest intensity respectively. Additionally, male NF1 patients showed a significantly higher lowest intensity compared with male controls. Further, during reading, female NF1 patients exhibited a significantly smaller standard deviation of the mean frequency compared with female controls. This trend was also observed in the male NF1 patients compared with male controls. However, a significant difference could not be demonstrated. Finally, DSI scores were significantly lower and VHI values were significantly higher in both sexes of the patient group compared with controls. Conclusion: NF1 patients appear to have a vocal quality that is worse compared with controls. In particular, it seems that NF1 patients have reduced laryngeal possibilities with respect to fundamental frequency and sound intensity compared with controls. They are also more likely to present a more marked psychosocial voice impact compared with controls

HMM-based Speech Synthesis with an Acoustic Glottal Source Model

A major cause of degradation of speech quality in HMM-based speech synthesis is the use of a simple delta pulse signal to generate the excitation of voiced speech. This paper describes a new approach to using an acoustic glottal source model in HMM-based synthesisers. The goal is to improve speech quality and parametric flexibility to better model and transform voice characteristics

Sound symbolism, speech expressivity and crossmodality

The direct links existing between sound and meaning which characterize sound symbolism can be thought of as mainly related to two kinds of phenomena: sound iconicity and sound metaphors. The first refers to the mirror relations established between sound and meaning effects (Nobile, 2011) and the latter as coined by Fonagy (1983) refers to the relationships based on analogies between meaning and speech sound production characteristics. Four relevant codes to the study of sound symbolism phenomena have been mentioned in the phonetic literature: the frequency code (Ohala, 1994), the respiratory code, the effort code (Gussenhoven, 2002) and the sirenic code (Gussenhoven, 2016). In the present work sound symbolism is taken to be the basis of speech expressivity because the meaning effects attributed to the spoken mode by the listeners are thought to be based on the acoustic features of sounds deriving from the various articulatory maneuvers yielding breath, voice, noise, resonance and silence. Based on the impression caused by the acoustic features, listeners attribute physiological, physical, psychological and social characteristics to speakers. In this way, speech can be considered both expressive and impressive, because it is used to convey meaning effects but it also impress listeners. Both segmental and prosodic elements are used to express meaning effects in speech. Among the prosodic elements vocal quality settings have received less attention regarding speech expressive uses. We argue that the investigation of the expressive uses of voice quality settings can be better approached if these settings are grouped according to their shared acoustic output properties and vocal tract configurations. Results of experiments relating symbolic uses of vocal qualities to semantic, acoustic and visual features by means of multidimensional analysis are reported and the expressive and impressive roles of vocal quality settings in spoken communication are discussed in relation to motivated links between sound forms and meaning effects. KEY WORDS: sound and meaning;  sound symbolism; speech expressivity; voice quality; acoustic analysis; perceptual analysis

The voice of patients with laryngeal carcinoma after oncosurgery

The voice of patients indicated for surgical procedures in treating of dysphonia is already damaged before the operation. The problem, which exists at the level of glottis patients usually try to solve by compensative mechanisms. The quality of voice after the interventions in larynx depends on the type and width of resection, disturbance of physiological phonation mechanisms, and ability to establish optimal phonation automatism. The damage of laryngeal structure, especially its glottic part and vocal cords as its central part, no matter if they are just fibrous or they are partially or totally absent, leads into the development of substitutive phonation mechanisms. The most frequent substitutive mechanisms are: vestibular, ventricular, and chordoventricular phonation. There are some variations of these phonation mechanisms, which are conditioned not only by applied surgical technique, but as they are also individual characteristics, they can be the consequence of applied rehabilitation methods. The diagnosis of voice condition before and after the oncosurgical procedure is done by: laryngostroboscopy, subjective acoustic analysis of voice, and objective acoustic analysis of voice (sonography or computer analysis of acoustic signal). The most of laryngeal carcinomas appear in glottic region, so the function of phonation imposes itself as the objective parameter to measure the quality of life after the oncosurgery of larynx. That is the reason why according to the priority, it is just behind the principle of "oncologic radicalism". Phonation as the most complex laryngeal function seems to have secondary importance. All known operative techniques, especially partial resections, have the preservation of phonation as their goal

Voice analysis before and after vocal tiredness

Background/Aim. A school teacher's occupation is one of the most vocal demanding professions. Vocal tiredness affects acoustic characteristics of voice, leads to the change in acoustic quality during vocal production. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of vocal tiredness on voice acoustic characteristics of school teachers. Methods. The study included 36 school teachers (16 male and 20 female) of 27-58 years of age. Vocal tiredness was evaluated by analyzing acoustic parameters of voice, using computerized laboratory "Kay Elemetrics". The voices were recorded before the first class on the beginning of a working week and after the last class at the end of a working week. Signal, noise and tremor parameters were processed. In their analysis the methods of descriptive statistics, as well as the analytical statistics (Student's t-test for paired samples, chi(2) test, Mann Whitney U-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient) were applied. Results. The obtained results showed statistically significant differences in average values of parameters as a consequence of the vocal tiredness (p lt 0.01), while gender, age and being smoker or not, did not have a significant effect on voice acoustic characteristics in this group of examinees (p > 0.05). Conclusion. The results of the study suggest a casual relationship between vocal tiredness and voice quality in vocal professionals