title: Immediate Effect of Stimulability Assessment on Acoustic, Aerodynamic, and Patient-Perceptual Measures of Voice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study was to determine if patients with voice disorders could achieve immediate improvements in acoustic and aerodynamic parameters and patient's perception of the sound and feel of voice following instructions to use clear speech.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 114 patients underwent acoustic and aerodynamic analyses of voice before and after instructions to use "clear speech," while reading a standardized passage. The patient's and speech-language pathologist's (SLP) judgments of voice change were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An increase (improvement) in average vocal intensity (P < 0.001), average airflow (P < 0.001), total breaths taken (P < 0.001), total reading time (P < 0.001), and breaths/second (P < 0.001) was observed as a function of "clear speech" intervention. No change in acoustic analyses was observed. Most patients reported an improvement in the sound or feel of voice immediately after the assessment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study is the first to quantify acoustic and aerodynamic parameters and clinician's and patient's perceptions of a standardized stimulability test for voice change in the voice laboratory. These results are potentially paradigm shifting in the role of the SLP in the evaluative clinic setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: gillespieai@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Amanda I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gartner-Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010699:Phonation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012119:Respiration; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012649:Self Concept; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D014833:Voice Quality; D014834:Voice Training; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acoustics; Aerodynamics; Stimulability; Voice; Voice laboratory