Analysis of the immediate effect of the high-frequency oral oscillation exercise on individuals with and without vocal symptoms.
Miriã Isabela Dos Santos Dantas, Ana Cristina Côrtes Gama, Lorena Luiza Costa Rosa Nogueira and 1 others
PMID 39936731WHAT IT FOUND
Blinded judges mostly did not hear a difference after three minutes of the Classic Shaker voice exercise, although all four groups reported less vocal discomfort and some voice sound measurements changed.
Key findings
01Men and women, with and without vocal symptoms, reported significantly less vocal discomfort after the exercise.
02Women with symptoms showed several significant acoustic changes after the exercise, including increased fundamental frequency (p=0.010), increased harmonic-to-noise ratio (p=0.011), increased CPP (p=0.002), and decreased jitter (p=0.014).
03Blinded judges found no significant group difference for sustained vowel (p=0.379), but did find a significant group difference for connected speech (p=0.003).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample of 50 adults, and after grouping by sex and symptom status each group had only 12 or 13 people, so some tests had low power. The age range from 18 to 60 years is wide, and the authors note voice can change during the climacteric period. Groups were split using a self-report scale, so some people placed in the no-symptoms group may have had voice problems. The study looked only at immediate effects and did not examine the larynx, so long-term effects and physical vocal fold changes were not tested. All participants received the exercise before and after testing, with no control group.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the significant acoustic changes and lower self-reported discomfort as proof that the Classic Shaker improves voice quality for listeners. Blinded judges mostly did not hear a difference, and the study tested only immediate effects with no control group.