Changes in acoustic characteristics of the voice across the life span: measures from individuals 4-93 years of age.

PURPOSE The purpose of the present investigation was to examine acoustic voice changes across the life span. Previous voice production investigations used small numbers of participants, had limited age ranges, and produced contradictory results. METHOD Voice recordings were made from 192 male and female participants 4-93 years of age. Acoustic measures of fundamental frequency (F0), sound pressure level (SPL), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were made. Coefficients of variation for F0, SPL, and SNR served as measures of variability. Variables were analyzed separately with stepwise regressions, using age and sex as predictors. RESULTS Differences in F0 and SNR across the life span were sex specific. Male and female participants demonstrated significant nonlinear trends for F0, but the trends were stronger for male participants. Female participants demonstrated a similar nonlinear trend for SNR, whereas male participants demonstrated linear increases in SNR with age. Variability of F0, SPL, and SNR followed nonlinear trends, higher at younger and older ages. CONCLUSIONS Changes in voice production occur throughout the life span, often in a nonlinear way and differently for male and female individuals. Higher variability of acoustic measures of voice in both young and old speakers reflects changes in anatomic structure, physiologic mechanisms, and motor control.

[1]  W. S. Brown,et al.  Speaking rate and fundamental frequency as speech cues to perceived age. , 2008, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[2]  W. S. Brown,et al.  Age-related voice measures among adult women , 1987 .

[3]  Anne Smith,et al.  Articulatory movements in adolescents: evidence for protracted development of speech motor control processes. , 2002, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[4]  D. Klatt,et al.  Analysis, synthesis, and perception of voice quality variations among female and male talkers. , 1990, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[5]  The interrelationship of measures related to vocal function, speech rate, and laryngeal appearance in elderly women. , 1989, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[6]  Jody Kreiman,et al.  Measures of the glottal source spectrum. , 2007, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[7]  H. Hollien “Old voices”: What do we really know about them? , 1987 .

[8]  S. Linville Intraspeaker variability in fundamental frequency stability: an age-related phenomenon? , 1988, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[9]  N. Isshiki,et al.  VOCAL INTENSITY AND AIR FLOW RATE. , 1965, Folia phoniatrica.

[10]  Shelly Chadha,et al.  A study of voice changes in various phases of menstrual cycle and in postmenopausal women. , 2010, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[11]  N. Isshiki,et al.  Laryngoscopic and voice characteristics of aged persons. , 1980, Archives of otolaryngology.

[12]  G. E. Peterson,et al.  Control Methods Used in a Study of the Vowels , 1951 .

[13]  Howard N Zelaznik,et al.  Development of functional synergies for speech motor coordination in childhood and adolescence. , 2004, Developmental psychobiology.

[14]  J. Sundberg,et al.  Breathiness and insufficient vocal fold closure , 1986 .

[15]  C. Sapienza,et al.  Glottal airflow characteristics of women's voice production along an aging continuum. , 1996, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[16]  B. Story,et al.  Listener perception of respiratory-induced voice tremor. , 2006, American journal of speech-language pathology.

[17]  E. Yumoto,et al.  Harmonics-to-noise ratio and psychophysical measurement of the degree of hoarseness. , 1984, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[18]  A Russell,et al.  Speaking fundamental frequency changes over time in women: a longitudinal study. , 1995, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[19]  S. Linville,et al.  Source characteristics of aged voice assessed from long-term average spectra. , 2002, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[20]  I. Hirsh,et al.  Development of speech sounds in children. , 1969, Acta oto-laryngologica. Supplementum.

[21]  C. Sapienza,et al.  Articulatory, developmental, and gender effects on measures of fundamental frequency and jitter. , 1994, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[22]  J. Abitbol,et al.  Sex hormones and the female voice. , 1999, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[23]  E. Mendoza,et al.  Differences in voice quality between men and women: use of the long-term average spectrum (LTAS). , 1996, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[24]  Jessica E Huber,et al.  Age-related changes to speech breathing with increased vocal loudness. , 2008, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[25]  G. Friedrich,et al.  Sex hormones and the elderly male voice. , 2010, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[26]  Jessica E. Huber Effects of utterance length and vocal loudness on speech breathing in older adults , 2008, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.

[27]  Elaine T. Stathopoulos,et al.  Variability revisited: An acoustic, aerodynamic, and respiratory kinematic comparison of children and adults during speech , 1995 .

[28]  Helen M. Hanson,et al.  Glottal characteristics of male speakers: acoustic correlates and comparison with female data. , 1996 .

[29]  S. Linville,et al.  Acoustic-perceptual studies of aging voice in women* , 1987 .

[30]  N. D. De Biase,et al.  Vocal nodules and laryngeal morphology. , 2002, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[31]  R. N. Ohde,et al.  Fundamental frequency correlates of stop consonant voicing and vowel quality in the speech of preadolescent children. , 1985, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[32]  Harry Hollien,et al.  Speaking fundamental frequency characteristics as a function of age and professional singing , 1991 .

[33]  D Ingrisano,et al.  Sex identification of preschool children's voices. , 1980, Folia phoniatrica.

[34]  J. Kahane A morphological study of the human prepubertal and pubertal larynx. , 1978, The American journal of anatomy.

[35]  S N Awan,et al.  Improvements in estimating the harmonics-to-noise ratio of the voice. , 1994, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[36]  A. Aronson,et al.  Adductor spastic dysphonia as a sign of essential (voice) tremor. , 1981, The Journal of speech and hearing disorders.

[37]  E. Luschei,et al.  Modulations in respiratory and laryngeal activity associated with changes in vocal intensity during speech. , 2000, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[38]  J. Sundberg,et al.  Relations between voice range profiles and physiological and perceptual voice characteristics in ten-year-old children. , 1994, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[39]  K. Tjaden,et al.  Rate and loudness manipulations in dysarthria: acoustic and perceptual findings. , 2004, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[40]  F. Emanuel,et al.  Some waveform and spectral features of vowel roughness. , 1978, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[41]  Lorraine Olson Ramig,et al.  The Aging Voice: A Review, Treatment Data and Familial and Genetic Perspectives , 2001, Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica.

[42]  K. Johnson,et al.  Formants of children, women, and men: the effects of vocal intensity variation. , 1999, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[43]  L. Ramig,et al.  Effects of physiological aging on selected acoustic characteristics of voice. , 1983, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[44]  Bruce L. Smith Effects of experimental manipulations and intrinsic contrasts on relationships between duration and temporal variability in children's and adults' speech. , 1994 .

[45]  P. Pontes,et al.  Morphological and Functional Aspects of the Senile Larynx , 2006, Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica.

[46]  J. Perkell,et al.  Glottal airflow and transglottal air pressure measurements for male and female speakers in soft, normal, and loud voice. , 1988, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[47]  C. Sapienza,et al.  Developmental changes in laryngeal and respiratory function with variations in sound pressure level. , 1997, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[48]  S. Linville,et al.  Acoustic characteristics of perceived versus actual vocal age in controlled phonation by adult females. , 1985, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[49]  Harry Hollien,et al.  Influences of listener characteristics on perceived age estimations , 1987 .

[50]  Raymond D. Kent,et al.  Anatomical and neuromuscular maturation of the speech mechanism: evidence from acoustic studies. , 1976, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[51]  I. Titze Physiologic and acoustic differences between male and female voices. , 1989, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[52]  M. Hirano,et al.  Age-Related Changes of Collagenous Fibers in the Human Vocal Fold Mucosa , 2002, The Annals of otology, rhinology, and laryngology.

[53]  C. Ferrand Harmonics-to-noise ratio: an index of vocal aging. , 2002, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[54]  S Bennett,et al.  Sexual characteristics of preadolescent childrens' voices. , 1979, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[55]  Raymond D. Kent,et al.  An auditory-feedback-based neural network model of speech production that is robust to developmental changes in the size and shape of the articulatory system. , 2000, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[56]  N. Connor,et al.  Discoordination of laryngeal and respiratory movements in aged rats. , 2005, American journal of otolaryngology.

[57]  S E Linville,et al.  Elderly listeners' estimates of vocal age in adult females. , 1986, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[58]  A. Smith,et al.  Spatiotemporal stability of lip movements in older adult speakers. , 1998, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[59]  L Max,et al.  Speaking Fo and cepstral periodicity analysis of conversational speech in a 105-year-old woman: variability of aging effects. , 1996, Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation.

[60]  R F Orlikoff,et al.  The relationship of age and cardiovascular health to certain acoustic characteristics of male voices. , 1990, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[61]  S. Linville,et al.  Glottal gap configurations in two age groups of women. , 1992, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[62]  D. Bless,et al.  Vibratory characteristics of the vocal folds in young adult and geriatric women , 1989 .