Mechanics of vocal fold vibration and laryngeal articulatory gestures produced by hearing-impaired speakers.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how abnormal laryngeal mechanical valving actions might contribute to excessive air volume expenditures during the speech of the deaf. High-speed laryngeal film and high-quality acoustic data were collected simultaneously from two normally hearing and four hearing-impaired adults. Results indicate that hearing-impaired speakers (a) may be unable to control the intrinsic laryngeal musculature which maintains periodic vocal fold oscillation, and (b) may exhibit inappropriate positioning of laryngeal structures during speech production.