Acoustic characteristics of voice after severe traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the acoustic characteristics of voice in individuals with motor speech disorders after traumatic brain injury (TBI).


METHODS
Prospective study of 100 individuals with TBI based on consecutive referrals for motor speech evaluations.


METHODS
Subjects were audio tape-recorded while producing sustained vowels and single word and sentence intelligibility tests. Laryngeal airway resistance was estimated, and voice quality was rated perceptually.


RESULTS
None of the subjects evidenced vocal parameters within normal limits. The most frequently occurring abnormal parameter across subjects was amplitude perturbation, followed by voice turbulence index. Twenty-three percent of subjects evidenced deviation in all five parameters measured. The perceptual ratings of breathiness were significantly correlated with both the amplitude perturbation quotient and the noise-to-harmonics ratio.


CONCLUSIONS
Vocal quality deviation is common in motor speech disorders after TBI and may impact intelligibility.
McHenry
M
M
Transitional Learning Center, Galveston, Texas 77553, USA.
D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D014833:Voice Quality