Kambeyanda D, Singer L, Cronk S
Rehabilitation Engineering Program, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38163, USA.
Assist Technol. 1997;9(2):95-101. doi: 10.1080/10400435.1997.10132301.
Commercial speech recognition products are being used increasingly as alternate input devices for computers, particularly by persons with physical disabilities. These discrete speech dictation systems require the user to insert brief but distinct pauses after each spoken word. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some persons using these products experience moderate to severe problems with their voices, such as hoarseness, sore throats, and even complete loss of voice. This preliminary study, which includes data gathered from survey dissemination and clinical studies, indicates that persons with cumulative trauma disorder may be the most susceptible to these voice problems. Also, we hypothesized that in using these discrete speech recognition systems, there may be a tendency to maintain constant pitch, volume, and inflection, keeping the vocal tract musculature in a fixed position. Maintaining this fixed position for extended periods may result in muscle fatigue and, eventually, injury to the laryngeal musculature. Further studies are needed, however, to investigate the effects suggested here. In the meantime, we recommend that users become informed about the unnatural speech patterns used with discrete speech recognition systems; learn to use good vocal hygiene, such as performing warm-up and cool-down voice exercises; and use alternate methods of input along with the speech recognition product.
商业语音识别产品正越来越多地被用作计算机的替代输入设备，尤其是身体有残疾的人。这些离散语音听写系统要求用户在每个说出的单词后插入短暂但明显的停顿。轶事证据表明，一些使用这些产品的人会出现中度到重度的嗓音问题，如声音嘶哑、喉咙疼痛，甚至完全失声。这项初步研究包括从调查传播和临床研究中收集的数据，表明患有累积性创伤障碍的人可能最容易出现这些嗓音问题。此外，我们推测，在使用这些离散语音识别系统时，可能会倾向于保持恒定的音高、音量和语调，使声道肌肉组织处于固定位置。长时间保持这种固定位置可能会导致肌肉疲劳，并最终导致喉部肌肉组织受伤。然而，需要进一步的研究来调查这里所提出的影响。与此同时，我们建议用户了解与离散语音识别系统一起使用的不自然语音模式；学会保持良好的嗓音卫生，如进行热身和放松嗓音练习；并与语音识别产品一起使用替代输入方法。
