Improving vocal function using Qigong - myth or fact?

Symposium Theme: Care of the Professional Voiceno. SLP4BACKGROUND: Qigong, or Life Energy Cultivation, is a practice of breathing, meditation and martial arts to achieved a balanced life energy. There is a general sceptism about qigong as it is often presented or promoted with a mythical flavor. Indeed, the term “Qigong” was first introduced only about 50 years ago but the practice of Life Energy Cultivation can be traced back to more than a century. This paper will introduce a “Phonatory Qigong” exercise which has been practiced in Chinese monasteries for centuries. This specific qigong method aims at improving vocal function through practicing voicing exercise together with a series of martial …postprin

Whole-body vibration as a potential treatment to improve phonatory function

In Adults with Voice DisorderBACKGROUND: Whole-body vibration, the oscillatory movement transmitted from a mechanical vibration source to the body, has been shown to cause neurogenic adaption of the skeletal muscles and facilitate muscular function improvement (Cardinale & Wakeling, 2005). Phonatory function, in terms of intensity, has been found to improve following whole-body vibration at around 10 -15 Hz when compared to vibration below 10 Hz (Yokoyama and Hoshino, 1973). AIM: To identify whether whole-body vibration, compared to resonant voice training, would improve voice related quality of life and vocal function, in terms of maximum frequency and intensity. METHOD: Adults with self-perceived voice problems were randomly assigned to ...published_or_final_versio

A systematic review of resonant voice therapy

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Effects of practice variability on learning of relaxed phonation in vocally hyperfunctional speakers

The present study investigated the effects of practice variability on the learning of relaxed phonation using a motor learning perspective. Twenty-one individuals with hyperfunctional voice problems were evenly and randomly assigned to three groups of practice conditions: constant, blocked, and random practice conditions. During training, participants in the constant practice condition were asked to read aloud sentence stimuli with four Chinese characters. Participants in the blocked practice condition were asked to read aloud sentence stimuli with increasing sentence length, starting from sets of two characters to five characters. Participants in the random practice condition were asked to practice reading sentence stimuli of variable length from two to five characters presented in a random fashion. Surface electromyographic feedback (sEMG) from the thyrohyoid muscle site was given to each participant after reading every two sentence stimuli. Results demonstrated that for all the participants, voice motor learning was evidenced by the decreased sEMG levels in delayed retention test. Generalization to untrained passage was shown as well. However, results did not reveal any difference in the learning among the three practice conditions. The findings from the present study did not support the hypothesis of contextual interference, which states that practice using variable items presented in a random mode is more beneficial to learning than practice using constant items. © 2011 The Voice Foundation.postprin

A preliminary study of a quantitative analysis method for high speed laryngoscopic images

High speed laryngoscopic study provides new information on the vocal fold vibratory patterns which has not been made possible before. Qualitative analysis of high speed laryngoscopic images is commonly reported in the literature. However, quantitative studies are necessary to provide objective measures for research and clinical purposes. This study reports the development of the High Speed Video Processing Program in analysing high-speed laryngoscopic video images obtained from 15 non-dysphonic speakers. Nine glottal ratio indices that represented the full opened glottal area, glottal width and glottal length were computed using the processing program. Data from two dysphonic participants were included to illustrate the manifestation of these glottal measures in dysphonic voices. Some of these glottal ratio index measures showed high variability across participants. However, significant differences were found in a number of index measures among the creaky, modal and falsetto registers in the non-dysphonic participants. In addition, the glottal area ratio index was found to be specifically sensitive in detecting dysphonia in high speed glottal images. The proposed semi-automatic High Speed Video Processing Program showed value in the analysis of high speed laryngoscopic images. © 2010 The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited.postprin

嗓音科學使用方法: 教師及專用聲人士手冊 (第三版/電子版)

In English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese versionspublished_or_final_versio

Speech Intensity and Phonation Energy of Mandarin Broadcasters

Conference theme: Care of the Professional VoicePoster sessionIntroduction: The present study aimed to compare the speech intensity and its associated phonation energy (skin vibration on the neck) using accelerometers during voice production between broadcasting students and individuals with no broadcasting training. Method: Thirty two broadcasting students (17 males and 15 females, mean age = 21 years), with a minimum of three years of professional broadcasting training, were recruited to participate in the study ...published_or_final_versio

Vibratory and perceptual measurement of resonant voice

Purpose: This study set out to investigate whether there existed a correlation between auditory-perceptual judgment of resonant voice and the physical vibration in the facial bone. The magnitude of bone vibration in the facial bone during different types of voice production (resonant vs nonresonant vs strained voices) was also investigated. Method: Thirty-six healthy normal subjects produced three types of phonations: resonant voice, habitual nonresonant voice, and strained voice. A piezoelectric accelerometer was used to measure the vibrations in the nasal bridge and the perilaryngeal area during the phonation. Seventy-two selected nasal sounds (/ma/) produced under the resonant voice condition by these speakers were rated by two experienced speech pathologists on the magnitude of auditory-perceptual resonance using an 11-point equal-appearing interval scale. The magnitude of bone vibration was also compared across the three voice types. Results: Significant moderate correlations were found between the physical bone vibration and the auditory-perceptual rating of resonant voice at the nasal bridge of the facial bone (0.6). Resonant voice, compared with the strained and nonresonant voice types, was also found to have a significant increase in the magnitude of facial bone vibration. Nasal stimuli, compared with nonnasal stimuli, facilitated greater bone vibration during resonant voice production. Conclusion: Piezoelectric accelerometer, as an objective quantitative tool, measures reliably the extent of bone vibration in resonant voice phonation. It is a useful tool for determining the bone vibration in relation to resonant voice. © 2012 The Voice Foundation.postprin

Voice Risk Assessment: assessing risks for voice problems

Symposium Theme: Care of the Professional VoiceAbstract no. SLP3BACKGROUND: Voice problem has a prevalence rate of 6%. Yet, this prevalence rate is not distributed randomly in the population and certain population groups are more prone to developing voice problems. Multiple factors are involved in the development of voice disorders. The three major factors commonly cited are related to the 1) vocal loading, 2) physiological and 3) psycho-emotional areas. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the risk factors and indicators that are involved with hyperfunctional voice disorders using a self-reported questionnaire The questionnaire was validated to …postprin

Predicting the outcome of conservative (non-surgical) voice therapy for adults with laryngeal pathologies associated with hyperfunctional voice use

Health Services Research Fund & Health Care and Promotion Fund: Research Dissemination Reports (Series 8)published_or_final_versio