title: Correspondence between nasalance scores and listener judgments of hypernasality and hyponasality.
abstract: The relationship between nasalance scores and perceptual judgments of hypernasality and hyponasality was examined for 74 subjects (51 with cleft palate and 23 noncleft controls). Twenty-nine of the 51 subjects with cleft palate had received pharyngeal flap surgery. Predictive analyses were performed to assess the sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency of the Nasometer as a screening instrument. The overall relationship between perceptual judgments of hypernasality and nasalance scores was good for the nonflap subjects when a nasalance cutoff score of 26 was used. A sensitivity coefficient of 0.87 and a specificity coefficient of 0.93 were obtained. Ninety-one percent of the nasometry-based classifications accurately reflected listener judgments of hypernasality. The correspondence between nasalance scores and clinical judgments of hyponasality was also good for the nonflap subjects when a nasalance cutoff score of 50 was used. Ninety-one percent of these classifications were consistent with the listener judgments. Efficiency of nasometry was poorer for the flap subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hardin
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Van Demark
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Payne
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008365:Manometry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009666:Nose / Q000503:physiopathology; D015588:Observer Variation; D010700:Phonetics; D011312:Pressure; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000379:methods