Validation of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index Version 03.01 in Turkish.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) version 3.01 in the Turkish-speaking population.

Materials And Methods: Concatenated voice samples of the sustained vowel [a:] and continuous speech were collected from 127 dysphonic and 128 normophonic participants.

Toward Sham Interventions for Behavioral Voice Treatment Outcome Research in Female Students Without Dysphonia.

Objectives/hypothesis: To develop sham voice treatment techniques to be used in voice treatment outcome research, and to investigate their effectiveness as sham. This entails that the techniques induce no changes in voice or voice physiology, yet still lead to a perception of efficacy.

Study Design: Prospective randomized blinded controlled study.

A Retrospective Study of Acoustic Measures of Glottal Stop Production to Assess Vocal Function in Unilateral Vocal Fold Paresis/Paralysis Patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine (a) diagnostic accuracy of acoustic measures of glottal stop production (GSP; intensity differences, slopes, complete voicing cessation) to distinguish between unilateral vocal fold paresis/paralysis (UVFP) patients and controls; (b) if acoustic measures of GSP significantly correlated with an acoustic measure of voice disorder severity, acoustic voice quality index (AVQI); and (c) if acoustic measures from another type of voicing cessation, voiceless consonant production, also significantly differed between groups.

Method: Ninety-seven patients with unilateral paresis/paralysis and 35 controls with normal laryngostroboscopic signs produced two sets of five repeated [i] and four repeated [isi]. Tokens were randomized by type between groups and analyzed blinded using a customized Praat program that computed intensity differences and slopes between vowel maxima and glottal stop minima for inter-[i] tokens and vowel maxima and voiceless consonant minima for intra-[isi] tokens.

Re-Training of Convolutional Neural Networks for Glottis Segmentation in Endoscopic High-Speed Videos.

Endoscopic high-speed video (HSV) systems for visualization and assessment of vocal fold dynamics in the larynx are diverse and technically advancing. To consider resulting "concepts shifts" for neural network (NN)-based image processing, re-training of already trained and used NNs is necessary to allow for sufficiently accurate image processing for new recording modalities. We propose and discuss several re-training approaches for convolutional neural networks (CNN) being used for HSV image segmentation.

The acoustic voice quality index, version 2.06 and 3.01, for the Persian-speaking population.

Introduction: Dysphonia assessment includes approaches like acoustic analysis, which is non-invasive and easy to use and provides an understandable numerical output. The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) is an acoustic model that can detect dysphonia. The Persian language is spoken by around 70,000,000 native speakers.

Brain adaptation following various unilateral vocal fold paralysis treatments: A magnetic resonance imaging based longitudinal case series.

Aim: Examination of central compensatory mechanisms following peripheral vocal nerve injury and recovery is essential to build knowledge about plasticity of the neural network underlying phonation. The objective of this prospective multiple-cases longitudinal study is to describe brain activity in response to unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) management and to follow central nervous system adaptation over time in three patients with different nervous and vocal recovery profiles.

Materials And Methods: Participants were enrolled within 3 months of the onset of UVFP.

Glottal Stop Production in Controls and Patients With Unilateral Vocal Fold Paresis/Paralysis.

Purposes: The purposes of this study were to determine whether the acoustic measures from glottal stops distinguished between controls and patients with unilateral vocal fold paresis/paralysis (UVFP) at initial evaluation and posttreatment/observation, to explore the types of false vocal fold (FVF) movement during glottal stop production in UVFP, and to assess the agreement between normalization of various measures and reported voice normalization.

Method: Patients with UVFP and controls were recorded acoustically and laryngoscopically speaking two sets of five repeated /i/s, controls once and patients with UVFP initially and posttreatment/observation. Averaged intensity differences and slopes for offsets (maximum voicing intensity to minimum glottal stop intensity) and onsets (minimum glottal stop intensity to maximum voicing intensity) were measured.

Meta-Analysis on the Validity of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index.

Background: Acoustic measurements are useful tools to objectively measure overall voice quality. The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) has shown to be a valid multiparametric tool to objectify dysphonia severity. The increasing number of validity studies investigating AVQI's validity demands a comprehensive synthesis of the available outcomes.

The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) in People with Parkinson's Disease Before and After Intensive Voice and Articulation Therapies: Secondary Outcome of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: The majority of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience voice and speech problems during the course of the disease. Despite the importance of voice quality in communication and the documented disordered voice quality in PD, few studies have explored the effects of speech treatment on this variable.

Study Design/methods: A parallel arm, unblinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with two active comparators, LSVT LOUD (n = 23) and LSVT ARTIC (n = 20), and an inactive comparator group of untreated individuals with PD (n = 22).

Neural Correlates of Healthy Sustained Vowel Phonation Tasks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies.

Objective: This review of the methodology and results of studies involving a sustained vowel phonation task during functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) aims to contribute to the identification of brain regions involved in phonation for healthy subjects.

Data Sources: This review was performed using the PubMed electronic database.

Review Methods: A review was conducted, according to PRISMA guidelines, between September and November 2020, using the following search term pairs: "fMRI and Phonation" and "fMRI and Voice.

Exploration of the Influences of Temporary Velum Paralysis on Auditory-Perceptual, Acoustic, and Tomographical Markers.

Purpose To better understand hypernasality (HN), we explored the relations between velopharyngeal orifice, auditory perception of HN, and acoustic-spectral measures in an in vivo within-subject design: (a) with a normally functioning velum as the control condition and (b) with a temporarily paralyzed velum as the experimental condition. Method The velum of eight volunteers was injected with ropivacaine hydrochloride (Naropin) in the area of the levator veli palatini and tensor veli palatini muscles to induce temporary velopharyngeal inadequacy (VPI) and HN. Sustained [a] and [i] and oronasal text readings were recorded, and 3D cone-beam computed tomography images of the vocal tract were built before and during velar anesthesia.

Need for velopharyngeal surgery after primary palatoplasty in cleft patients. A retrospective cohort study and review of literature.

Background: Enabling intelligible speech plays an important role in achieving social inclusion and a good quality of life of cleft patients. A crude measure of primary palatal repair quality is the incidence of operations to correct velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) after speech-language therapy has proven inadequate. This study assessed the necessity for surgery to correct velopharyngeal insufficiency following our standardized two-staged protocol, compared the results with the literature, and identified factors that may influence velopharyngeal competence.

Two Cases of Atraumatic Laryngeal Fractures.

Introduction And Aim: Atraumatic laryngeal fractures are extremely rare and are most commonly provoked by sneezing or coughing. Only seven cases have been described in medical literature, and only one case described a fracture after swallowing. We present two cases of atraumatic laryngeal fracture after swallowing.

The MO-meatocanalplasty: long-term results in the narrow external auditory canal with recurrent otitis externa or the inability to wear a hearing aid.

Objective: The MO-meatocanalplasty is the oblique modification of the M-meatoplasty. The MO-meatocanalplasty was designed to address the superior quadrants of the meatus and the bony canal without the need for a retro-auricular incision. This retrospective analysis was performed to evaluate the long-term results of the MO-meatocanalplasty in patients with a narrow external auditory canal (EAC) with recurrent otitis externa or in patients unable to wear a hearing aid.

Are Acoustic Markers of Voice and Speech Signals Affected by Nose-and-Mouth-Covering Respiratory Protective Masks?

Background: Worldwide use of nose-and-mouth-covering respiratory protective mask (RPM) has become ubiquitous during COVID19 pandemic. Consequences of wearing RPMs, especially regarding perception and production of spoken communication, are gradually emerging. The present study explored how three prevalent RPMs affect various speech and voice sound properties.

Validation of the acoustic breathiness index to the Brazilian Portuguese language.

Objective: To assess the concurrent validity and the diagnostic accuracy of the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) in Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: The counting numbers 1-20 and the vowel /a/ of 150 subjects were recorded (37 vocally healthy and 113 with dysphonia). The analyzed samples were the counting number 1-11 and 3 s of the sustained vowel.

Validation and Test-Retest Reliability of Acoustic Voice Quality Index Version 02.06 in the Turkish Language.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the validity (both concurrent and diagnostic) and test-retest reliability of Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) version 2 (AVQI 02.06) in Turkish speaking population.

Materials And Methods: Two hundred and fifty five native Turkish subjects with normal voices (n = 128) and with voice disorders (n = 127) were asked to sustain the vowel [a:] and read aloud the Turkish phonetically balanced text.

BAGLS, a multihospital Benchmark for Automatic Glottis Segmentation.

Laryngeal videoendoscopy is one of the main tools in clinical examinations for voice disorders and voice research. Using high-speed videoendoscopy, it is possible to fully capture the vocal fold oscillations, however, processing the recordings typically involves a time-consuming segmentation of the glottal area by trained experts. Even though automatic methods have been proposed and the task is particularly suited for deep learning methods, there are no public datasets and benchmarks available to compare methods and to allow training of generalizing deep learning models.

How Reliable Is the Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Phonation Onset Hardness?

Background: Generally, phonation onset hardness has been similarly defined and categorized throughout literature. There are typically three categories: soft, breathy, and hard onset. Phonation onset hardness is relevant in both assessment and treatment of various voice disorders and is usually determined on an auditory-perceptual basis.

Health Related Quality of Life after the Bony Obliteration Tympanoplasty for COM with Cholesteatoma using the COMQ12 - A Disease Specific PROM.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of canal wall up with bony obliteration tympanoplasty (CWU-BOT) on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma by using the chronic otitis media questionnaire 12 (COMQ-12).

Materials And Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of the COMQ-12 of 26 patients who completed the COMQ-12 before and after a CWU-BOT with eradication of cholesteatoma followed by obliteration of the mastoid and paratympanic space with bone chips and bone pâté and reconstruction of the tympanic membrane and ossicular chain.

Results: All patients were operated upon in our institute between 2014 and 2017.

Intersegmenter Variability in High-Speed Laryngoscopy-Based Glottal Area Waveform Measures.

Objectives/hypothesis: High-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) has potential to objectively quantify vibratory vocal fold characteristics during phonation. Glottal Analysis Tools (GAT) version 2018, developed in Erlangen, Germany, is software for determining various glottal area waveform (GAW) quantities. Before having GAT analyze HSV videos, segmenters have to define glottis manually across videos in a semiautomatic segmentation protocol.

Objective Acoustic Quantification of Perceived Voice Tremor Severity.

Purpose This study compared auditory-perceptual measures of presence/absence and severity of vocal tremor to acoustic markers of vocal tremor. The validity (both concurrent and diagnostic) of various acoustic markers of vocal tremor was also assessed. Method Fifty-six midvowel sustained [a:] recordings were selected to yield a representative convenience sample of vocal tremor.

Validation of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index, Version 03.01, to the Brazilian Portuguese Language.

Introduction: Multiparametric indexes provide a more robust acoustic analysis of voice quality considering more than one acoustic parameter in the evaluation of sustained phonation and continuous speech. However, once the continuous speech is considered, differences among languages must be addressed.

Objective: To assess the concurrent validity and the diagnostic accuracy of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index version 03.

Acoustic Breathiness Index for the Japanese-Speaking Population: Validation Study and Exploration of Affecting Factors.

Objectives The purposes of this study were to validate the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) for the Japanese-speaking population and to determine whether it is independent of factors such as sex, age, and perceptual ratings of roughness. Method First, the concurrent validity of the ABI for perceptual breathiness was evaluated on the concatenations of continuous speech and sustained vowels from 288 patients with varying degrees of dysphonia. The diagnostic accuracy was examined on 343 samples with 55 additional normophonic speakers.

Validity and Test-Retest Reliability of the Dutch Version of the Chronic Otitis Media Benefit Inventory.

Objectives: We aimed to test the validity and test-retest reliability of the Dutch translation of the Chronic Otitis Media Benefit Inventory (COMBI) questionnaire.

Materials And Methods: In total, 30 chronic otitis media (COM) patients with a previous ear surgery completed the questionnaire; 30 patients with a negative medical history of COM complaints and with previous non-otologic surgery as the control group completed the questionnaire. For estimating the test-retest reliability, patients of the COM group completed the questionnaire twice; the scores were compared to those of the control group to test the validity.