Use of Auditory Feedback Amplifier in Women Without Voice Complaints: A Comparison of Acoustic Measures, Self-Rated Vocal Effort, and Voice Intensity.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To compare the immediate effects of using MindVox in women without voice complaints for 1, 3, 5, and 7 minutes of reading tasks, on acoustic measurements of the vocal signal in low, medium, and strong intensity emissions; on self-rated effort vocal, and on the intensity of voice reception and production. METHODS: Participants read one text using MindVox for 1, 3, 5, and 7 minutes. After each time, measures of self-rated vocal effort were collected (BORG CR10-BR Scale), as well as samples of the vowel /e/ at low (>70 dB), moderate (≥70 dB and ≤80 dB), and high intensities (>80 dB). Acoustic measurements (F0, short-term acoustic measurements, and cepstral peak prominence measurements) were also collected before and after the procedure and subsequently analyzed in the CTS 5.0 Vox-Metria Program. Voice reception and production intensities were captured during the reading task using two decibel meters. One decibel meter was installed near the ear (average intensity received by the ear (EAVG)) and the other near the lips (average intensity captured near the lips (LAVG)), and the data were submitted for analysis. RESULTS: The Cepstral Peak Prominence-Smoothed increased in the first minute, the Cepstral Peak Prominence increased in the third minute, and the jitter decreased from the first minute. All these changes were observed at low intensity and were maintained at the other time points. For every 5 dB of amplification (EAVG), there was a 1 dB decrease in voice production (LAVG). CONCLUSION: Using MindVox in women without voice complaints brings positive immediate effects in cepstral measures and jitter at low intensity. There is a connection between the intensity of the voice received by the ear and the intensity of voice production.