American Journal of Oral Medicine and Radiology

RADIO PERFORMERS HAVE SPECIAL PATTERNS OF VOCAL FOLD VIBRATION AS REVEALED BY HIGH-SPEED VIDEOENDOSCOPY

Dr Aanchal Jaiswa, Dr Donepudi Rajeev

Vocal fold vibration, Speed quotient, High-speed videoendoscopy, Radio performers, Voice quality

It has been observed in both acoustiRc and perceptual examinations that radio performers’ voices differ somewhat from normal controls. What causes these differences among voices is poorly understood at the mechanism level. The study used high-speed videoendoscopy to see if radio performers have different vocal vibration traits than those who do not work in radio. Using high-speed videoendoscopy, we collected recordings of a mid-phonatory/i/ from 16 male radio performers (from 25 to 52 years old) and matched they and 16 controls (also from 25 to 52 years old). With High-Speed Video Program, the fundamental frequency (f0), open quotient and speed quotient of each video were measured semiautomatically. Analysis of sound pressure level (SPL) was also carried out in 19 Asian subjects. The relationships between SPL and both speed and open quotients were analyzed with Pearson correlations. The male radio hosts had much higher speed quotients than the people their controls were matched with (t?=?3.308, p?=?0.005). There were no important differences noted for f0 or open quotient. No strong connection was identified between open quotient, speed quotient or SPL. It seems that men who do radio work have a higher speed quotient since their vocal folds vibrate for a greater proportion of time with a wide-open glottis compared with controls. This outcome may account for the better timbre, raised sound level and pronounced channel tilt described in earlier studies. The durations of when the vocal folds were closed completely were similar in both groups. To learn more about the main reason behind faster quotient results and for see- through approach to clinical and voice training in performers, it is necessary to validate these results further.