Children's voice; Gender differences; Acoustic measurements; Normative data; Fundamental frequency; Jitter; Shimmer; Noise-to-harmonics ratio; Frequency range; Pediatric voice
Abstract :
[en] Purpose: Previous research proposed normative data on gender- and age-specific voice acoustics for adults. Such reference values are lacking for children, particularly under the age of 6. This study was intended (1) to collect reliable normative data for the acoustic parameters of 5-year-old children’s voices, and (2) to investigate potential gender-specific differences.
Study: Prospective and cross-sectional.
Methods: Acoustic analyses were done on the voices of 53 normophonic children (26 girls; 27 boys) aged 5;0 to 5;11 years, using Praat software. The fundamental frequency, local jitter, local shimmer, and noise-to-harmonics ratio (NHR) were measured on the sustained vowels [a], [i], and [u]. The highest frequency, lowest frequency, and frequency range were measured using ascending and descending glissandi on the vowel [a].
Results: For the three sustained vowels, the mean fundamental frequency ranged from 255 Hz to 277 Hz, mean jitter ranged from 0.394% to 0.591%, mean shimmer ranged from 2.571% to 5.824%, and mean NHR ranged from 0.009 to 0.034. The frequency range was from 190 Hz to 750 Hz, which corresponds to 23.7 semitones. No gender difference was found, except for NHR on the vowel [a].
Conclusions: The lack of gender differences – other than for NHR on the vowel [a] – led us to propose mixed norms for 5-year-old boys and girls combined.
Implications: These normative data will allow clinicians to compare children’s voice assessments to specific references in order to enhance diagnostic accuracy and measure therapy outcomes.
Disciplines :
Otolaryngology Languages & linguistics
Author, co-author :
Remacle, Angélique ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Logopédie > Logopédie des troubles de la voix
Genel, Ysaline; Université Catholique de Louvain - UCL > Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science
Segers, Magali; Université Catholique de Louvain - UCL > Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science
de Bodt, Marc; Antwerp University > Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Language :
English
Title :
Vocal characteristics of 5-year-old children: Proposed normative values based on a French-speaking population
Alternative titles :
[fr] Caractéristiques vocales d'enfants de 5 ans : Proposition de normes pour une population francophone
Dejonckere PH, Bradley P, Clemente P, et al. A basic protocol for functional assessment of voice pathology, especially for investigating the efficacy of (phonosurgical) treatments and evaluating new assessment techniques: guideline elaborated by the Committee on Phoniatrics of the European Laryngological Society (ELS). Eur Arch Oto-Rhino Laryngol. 2001;258:77–82.
Garcia-Real T, Diaz-Roman TM, Garcia-Martinez V, et al. Clinical and acoustic vocal profile in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. J Voice. 2013;27:787.e11–787.e18.
Barona-Lleo L, Fernandez S. Hyperfunctional voice disorder in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A phenotypic characteristic?. J Voice. 2016;30:114–119.
Guerrero Lopez HA, Mondain M, Amy de la Bretèque B, et al. Acoustic, aerodynamic and perceptual analyses of the voice of cochlear-implanted children. J Voice. 2013;27:523.e1–523.e17.
Berger T, Peschel T, Vogel M, et al. Speaking voice in children and adolescents: normative data and associations with BMI, Tanner stage, and singing activity. J Voice. In press.
Glaze LE, Bless DM, Milenkovic P, et al. Acoustic characteristics of children's voice. J Voice. 1988;2:312–319.
Maturo S, Hill C, Bunting G, et al. Establishment of a normative pediatric acoustic database. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012;138:956–961.
Cartei V, Cowles W, Banerjee R, et al. Control of voice gender in pre-pubertal children. Br J Dev Psychol. 2014;32:100–106.
Mendes Tavares EL, Badra de Labio R, Garcia Martins RH. Normative study of vocal acoustic parameters from children from 4 to 12 years of age without vocal symptoms. A pilot study. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol (Impr). 2010;76:485–490.
Nicollas R, Garrel R, Ouaknine M, et al. Normal voice in children between 6 and 12 years of age: database and nonlinear analysis. Laboratoire D’Audiophonologie Expérimentale et Clinique du Laboratoire Parole et Langage. 2007;22:671–675.
McAllister A, Sjölander P. Children's voice and voice disorders. Semin Speech Lang. 2013;34:71–79.
Sarfati J, Vintenat A-M, Choquart C. La voix de l’enfant [The child’s voice]. Marseille: Solal; 2002. French.
Woisard V, Percodani J, Serrano E, et al. L’évolution de l’appareil phonatoire et la voix de l’enfant [The evolution of the vocal apparatus and the child’s voice]. Rééducation Orthophonique: Les Pathologies Vocales Chez L’Enfant. 1988;194:19–30. French.
Borysiak A, Hesse V, Wermke P, et al. Fundamental frequency of crying in two-month-old boys and girls: do sex hormones during mini puberty mediate differences?. J Voice. 2017;31:128.e21–128.e28.
Gray L. Signal detection analysis of delays in neonates vocalizations. J Acoust Soc Am. 1987;82:1608–1611.
Fort A, Ismaelli A, Manfredi C, et al. Parametric and nonparametric estimation of speech formants: application to infant cry. Med Eng Phys. 1996;18:677–691.
Michelsson K, Eklund K, Leppänen P, et al. Cry characteristics of 172 healthy 1- to 7-day-old infants. Folia Phoniatr Logop. 2002;54:190–200.
Lee S, Potamianos A, Narayanan S. Acoustics of children’s speech: developmental changes of temporal and spectral parameters. J Acoust Soc Am. 1999;105:1455–1468.
Whiteside SP, Hodgson C. Acoustic characteristics in 6-10-year-old children’s voices: some preliminary findings. Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. 1999;24:6–13.
Hacki T, Heitmüller S. Development of the child’s voice: premutation, mutation. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 1999;49:141–144.
Abo-Ras YA, El-Maghraby R, Abdou RM. The normative study of acoustic parameters in normal Egyptian children aged 4-12 years. Alexandria J Med. 2013;49:211–214.
De Bodt M. A framework for voice assessment. The relation between subjective and objective parameters in the judgement of normal and pathological voices [dissertation]. Antwerp: Antwerp University; 1997.
Weinrich B, Salz B, Hughes M. Aerodynamic measurements: normative data for children ages 6:0 to 10:11 years. J Voice. 2005;19:326–339.
Brockmann-Bauser M, Beyer D, Bohlender JE. Reliable acoustic measurements in children between 5;0 and 9;11 years: gender, age, height and weight effects on fundamental frequency, jitter and shimmer in phonations without and with controlled voice SPL. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2015;79:2035–2042.
Natour YS, Wingate JM. Fundamental frequency characteristics of Jordanian Arabic speakers. J Voice. 2009;23:560–566.
Nygren M, Tyboni M, Lindström F, et al. Gender differences in children’s voice use in a day care environment. J Voice. 2012;26:817.e15–817.e18.
Baker S, Weinrich B, Bevington M, et al. The effect of task type on fundamental frequency in children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2008;72:885–889.
Baker Brehm S, Weinrich BD, Sprouse DC, et al. An examination of elicitation method on fundamental frequency and repeatability of average airflow measures in children age 4:0-5:11 years. J Voice. 2012;26:721–725.
Hunter EJ. A comparison of a child’s fundamental frequencies in structured elicited vocalizations versus unstructured natural vocalizations: a case study. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009;73:561–571.
McAllister A, Kofoed Brandt S. A comparison of recordings of sentences and spontaneous speech: perceptual and acoustic measures in preschool children’s voices. J Voice. 2011;26:673.e1–673.e5.
Hunter EJ, Halpern AE, Spielman JL. Impact of four non-clinical speaking environments on a child’s fundamental frequency and voice level: a preliminary case study. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2012;43:253–263.
Reich AR, Mason JA, Frederickson RR, et al. Factors influencing fundamental frequency range estimates in children. J Speech Hear Disord. 1989;54:429–438.
Zraick RI, Nelson JL, Montague JC, et al. The effect of task on determination of maximum phonational frequency range. J Voice. 2000;14:154–160.
Ma EP-M, Li TK-Y. Effects of coaching and repeated trials on maximum phonational frequency range in children. J Voice. 2017;31:243.e1–243.e8.
Kreiman J, Sidtis D. Foundations of voice studies: an interdisciplinary approach to voice production and perception. Boston: John Wiley & Sons; 2013.
Linders B, Massa GG, Boersma B, et al. Fundamental voice frequency and jitter in girls and boys measured with electroglottography: influence of age and height. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 1995;33:61–65.
Cappellari VM, Cielo CA. Vocal acoustic characteristics in pre-school aged children. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2008;74:265–272.
McAllister A, Sederholm E, Ternström S, et al. Perturbation and hoarseness: a pilot study of six children's voices. J Voice. 1996;10:252–261.
Boersma P, Weenink D. Praat: doing phonetics by computer [Internet]. Amsterdam; [cited 2018 Jul 12]. Available from: http://www.praat.org
Scheiner E, Hammerschmidt K, Jürgens U, et al. Acoustic analyses of developmental changes and emotional expression in the preverbal vocalizations of infants. J Voice. 2002;16:509–529.
Brockmann-Bauser M, Beyer D, Bohlender JE. Clinical relevant of speaking voice intensity effects on acoustic jitter and shimmer in children between 5;0 and 9;11 years. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78:2121–2126.
Perry TL, Ohde RN, Ashmead DH. The acoustic bases for gender identification from children’s voices. J Acoust Soc Am. 2001;109:2988–2998.
Viegas F, Viegas D, Baeck HE. Frequency measurement of vowel formants produced by Brazilian children aged between 4 and 8 years. J Voice. 2015;29:292–298.
Baeck HE, Nogueira de Souza M. Longitudinal study of the fundamental frequency of hunger cries along the first 6 months of healthy babies. J Voice. 2007;21:551–559.
Wuyts FL, De Bodt MS, Molenberghs G, et al. The Dysphonia Severity Index: an objective measure of vocal quality based on a multiparameter approach. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2000;43:796–809.
Wertzner HF, Schreiber S, Amaro L. Analysis of fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer and vocal intensity in children with phonological disorders. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2005;71:582–588.
Brockmann-Bauser M, Bohlender JE, Mehta DD. Acoustic perturbation measures improve with increasing vocal intensity in individuals with and without voice disorders. J Voice. 2018;32:162–168.
