Acoustic characteristics of voice after severe traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To describe the acoustic characteristics of voice in individuals with motor speech disorders after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

STUDY DESIGN

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.