title: Quantifying dysphonia severity using a spectral/cepstral-based acoustic index: Comparisons with auditory-perceptual judgements from the CAPE-V.
abstract: This study investigated the relationship between acoustic spectral/cepstral measures and listener severity ratings in normal and disordered voice samples. CAPE-V sentence samples and the vowel /a/were elicited from eight normal speakers and 24 patients with varying degrees of dysphonia severity. Samples were analysed for measures of the cepstral peak prominence (CPP), the ratio of low-to-high spectral energy, and their respective standard deviations. Perceptual ratings of overall severity were also obtained for all samples. Results showed that all acoustic variables combined in a four-factor model which correlated with perceived severity with R = 0.81 (R(2) = 0.65). For the vowel /a/, a five-factor model incorporating all acoustic variables and gender correlated with perceived severity with R = 0.96 (R(2) = 0.91). Results indicate that a strong relationship between perceptual and acoustic estimates of dysphonia severity can be achieved in both continuous speech and vowel contexts using a model incorporating spectral/cepstral measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Audiology & Speech Pathology, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301, USA. sawan@bloomu.edu
authors.forename: Shaheen N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Awan
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Marie E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Jetté
authors.forename: Geoffrey S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Meltzner
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hillman
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001307:Auditory Perception; D055154:Dysphonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D007802:Language; D008144:Loudness Perception; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D013060:Speech; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D014833:Voice Quality