Multiparameter Voice Assessment in Dysphonics: Correlation Between Objective and Perceptual Parameters

Abstract

Background: Perceptual assessment and objective measures of voice provide a quantifiable tool for determining the degree of glottal closure, thus helping to distinguish dysphonic voices from normal voices. The correlation between the perceptual and objective parameters of voice in dysphonic can enable the voice pathologist to be more effective in differentiating the normal voices from dysphonic voices. However, only a few studies have investigated the correlation between these measures.

Objective: To document the differences in the perceptual and objective parameters of voice in participants with dysphonia and normal controls and to investigate the correlation between the perceptual and objective parameters of voice among participants with dysphonia.

Study design: This investigation deployed standard group comparison and a retrospective study.

Methods: Two groups of participants were included in the study. Participants in group 1 were diagnosed as having a voice disorder secondary to organic pathologies and group 2 participants had a clinically normal voice. Phonation samples of all the participants were collected and perceptual analysis was carried out using the GRBAS rating scale. As part of the objective measures, acoustic and cepstral measures were extracted from the phonation samples.

Results: The analysis of the results revealed significant differences in perceptual ratings between the normal (control) and dysphonic groups. The mean values of all the objective measures of voice presented significant differences between participants of both groups. The perceptual ratings of grade, breathiness, and roughness showed better correlations with the cepstral measures than with the time-based acoustic measures.

Conclusions: Further foraging research on the correlation between perceptual and objective measures of voice in various degrees of dysphonia will improve reliability while discriminating and quantifying hoarse, harsh and breathy voices from modal voices.

Keywords: Acoustic measures—Cepstral measures—Dysphonia—Perceptual measures—Voice disorders.