Normative voice data for younger and older adults. 2013

Huiwen Goy, and David N Fernandes, and M Kathleen Pichora-Fuller, and Pascal van Lieshout
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVE We constructed age- and gender-specific norms for healthy adults on a large number of speech and voice measures using standardized recording procedures. METHODS Participants were 159 younger (mean = 19.1 years, standard deviation [SD] = 1.4) and 133 older (mean = 72.0 years, SD = 4.8) healthy native English male and female speakers who did not currently smoke and had typical hearing for their age group. METHODS Participants phonated the vowel [a] under various instructions and read an abbreviated version of the Rainbow Passage. Voice measures based on the productions of [a] included fundamental frequency (F(0)), jitter, shimmer, harmonics-to-noise ratio, noise-to-harmonics ratio, maximum phonation time, minimum phonation intensity, maximum pitch, and the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI). Mean speaking fundamental frequency (SF(0)), SF(0) standard deviation (SF(0)SD), and signal intensity were measured from the reading passage. RESULTS Noteworthy age-related differences were found for males and females. Older females had a lower F0 and SF(0) and smaller SF(0)SD than younger females, but younger and older males did not differ. Shimmer increased with age for males, but neither jitter nor shimmer increased with age for females, whereas noise measures were similar for both ages. Younger and older males had a similar DSI, whereas older females had a higher DSI than younger females. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a unique database containing a wide variety of voice measures collected from a large sample of adults in good health using standardized recording procedures. Males and females differed on the type and extent of age-related vocal changes, but overall age-related differences were limited.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D012016 Reference Values The range or frequency distribution of a measurement in a population (of organisms, organs or things) that has not been selected for the presence of disease or abnormality. Normal Range,Normal Values,Reference Ranges,Normal Ranges,Normal Value,Range, Normal,Range, Reference,Ranges, Normal,Ranges, Reference,Reference Range,Reference Value,Value, Normal,Value, Reference,Values, Normal,Values, Reference
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000162 Acoustics The branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves. In medicine it is often applied in procedures in speech and hearing studies. With regard to the environment, it refers to the characteristics of a room, auditorium, theatre, building, etc. that determines the audibility or fidelity of sounds in it. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed) Acoustic
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly
D000369 Aged, 80 and over Persons 80 years of age and older. Oldest Old

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