A Semiautomated Protocol Towards Quantifying Vocal Effort in Relation to Vocal Performance During a Vocal Loading Task.
Eric J Hunter, Mark L Berardi, Susanna Whitling
PMID 35168867WHAT IT FOUND
A lab vocal loading protocol raised perceived vocal effort and voice pitch in healthy students.
Noise alone increased effort by 17.6 on the effort scale; after 30 minutes, effort remained 22.7 higher than baseline. This is not a treatment.
Key findings
01When background noise was added, perceived vocal effort increased by 17.6 from pre-VLT to the first 5-minute segment (p < .001).
02After the full 30-minute task, perceived vocal effort remained elevated by 22.7 compared with pre-VLT (p = .001), while average speech vocal level did not change significantly (1.2 dB increase).
03Background noise also raised voice production measures: speech vocal level increased by 10.6 dB (p < .001), and fundamental frequency increased by 2.74 semitones (p < .0001).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 38 healthy college-aged students participated, so the results do not show how teachers, coaches, telephone operators, or people with voice disorders would respond. The study's main purpose was to test a laboratory protocol, not to validate a clinical assessment or treatment; the authors say the research question was only a tool to examine protocol validity. Only speech vocal level and fundamental frequency were analyzed here, so other voice-quality, aerodynamic, or perceptual outcomes were not tested. Some within-task changes, including a nearly 13 VEL increase during the task and a steady fundamental frequency increase, were not statistically significant. Several metrics did not meet equal variance assumptions, and only 10 women and 8 men consented to a public dataset while 38 students fully participated.
Declared interests
All authors receive salary to perform academic research, including this paper. The authors also state it is in their financial interest to conduct such research and write papers. No other conflicts are declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 17.6 or 22.7 vocal effort increases as proof that a vocal loading task causes vocal fatigue in people with voice disorders. The study tested a laboratory protocol in healthy college students, and the authors state the research question was only to examine protocol validity.