Vocal characteristics during child development: perceptual-auditory and acoustic data.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze perceptual-auditory and acoustic characteristics of children's voices of different age ranges. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety-three 3- to 10-year-old children grouped from 3 to 5, 6 to 7, and 8 to 10 years served as participants. The severity of vocal deviation and the parameters of roughness, breathiness, strain, and instability were assessed using a visual analog scale. We calculated the mean and standard deviation of fundamental frequency (F0), jitter, shimmer, and glottal-to-noise excitation ratio for the sustained vowel, and the mean of F0 variability for connected speech. RESULTS: The most affected voices were in the age range 8-10 years, and only the phonation tension level was reduced as a result of aging. There were significant differences between children aged 3-5 years and the other age ranges for F0 mean for sustained vowels and F0 variability. CONCLUSION: Children aged 8-10 years had the highest severity of vocal deviation. There was a significant reduction of phonation tension and measure of F0, jitter, and shimmer after the age of 5 years.