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Purpose: The purpose of this preliminary study was to identify a vocal task that could be used as a clinical indicator of the vocal aptitude or vocal fitness required for vocally demanding occupations in a manner similar to that of the anaerobic power tests commonly used in exercise science. Performance outcomes for vocal tasks that require rapid acceleration and high force production may be useful as an indirect indicator of muscle fiber complement and bioenergetic fitness of the larynx, an organ that is difficult to study directly. Method: Sixteen women (age range: 19-24 years, M[subscript age] = 22 years) were consented for participation and completed the following performance measures: forced vital capacity, three adapted vocal function tasks, and the horizontal sprint test. Results: Using a within-participant correlational analyses, results indicated a positive relationship between the rate of the last second of a laryngeal diadochokinesis task that was produced at a high fundamental frequency/high sound level and anaerobic power. Forced vital capacity was not correlated with any of the vocal function tasks. Conclusions: These preliminary results indicate that aspects of the laryngeal diadochokinesis task produced at a high fundamental frequency and high sound level may be useful as an ecologically valid measure of vocal power ability. Quantification of vocal power ability may be useful as a vocal fitness assessment or as an outcome measure for voice rehabilitation and habilitation for patients with vocally demanding jobs.

Purpose: The purpose of this preliminary study was to identify a vocal task that could be used as a clinical indicator of the vocal aptitude or vocal fitness required for vocally demanding occupations in a manner similar to that of the anaerobic power tests commonly used in exercise science. Performance outcomes for vocal tasks that require rapid acceleration and high force production may be useful as an indirect indicator of muscle fiber complement and bioenergetic fitness of the larynx, an organ that is difficult to study directly. Method: Sixteen women (age range: 19-24 years, Mage = 22 years) were consented for participation and completed the following performance measures: forced vital capacity, three adapted vocal function tasks, and the horizontal sprint test. Results: Using a within-participant correlational analyses, results indicated a positive relationship between the rate of the last second of a laryngeal diadochokinesis task that was produced at a high fundamental frequency/high sound level and anaerobic power. Forced vital capacity was not correlated with any of the vocal function tasks. Conclusions: These preliminary results indicate that aspects of the laryngeal diadochokinesis task produced at a high fundamental frequency and high sound level may be useful as an ecologically valid measure of vocal power ability. Quantification of vocal power ability may be useful as a vocal fitness assessment or as an outcome measure for voice rehabilitation and habilitation for patients with vocally demanding jobs., Ecologically valid methods to assess vocal fitness or aptitude for extensive voice work that is required for occupations such as teaching or fitness instruction have not been developed to date. [...]

The primary aim of this investigation was to evaluate listener auditory-perceptual assessment of employability for individuals with hypernasal speech. Using an online survey platform, listeners with managerial experience evaluated speech samples from individuals with varying hypernasal resonance disorder severity to determine auditory-perceptual judgements regarding intelligence and employability. Speech samples of individuals with hypernasal speech were rated lower on scales of intelligence and employability, and more likely to be selected for jobs with infrequent rates of communication and lower levels of responsibility. Additionally, males with hypernasal speech were perceived as less intelligent, less employable, and more likely to be selected for a job with infrequent communication in comparison to females with hypernasal speech. Results of this preliminary investigation suggest that individuals with hypernasal speech may face employment barriers. The conclusions collected from this initial investigation open the doors for further research addressing linguistic considerations and aspects of employability. This is an important consideration for individuals with either acquired or congenitally related hypernasal resonance disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study investigated the cause of varying estimates of frequency difference limens (DLs) in delayed comparison tasks involving pitch retention in auditory working memory (AWM). Using procedures adapted from the method of constant stimuli (MCS) and the single-interval adjustment matrix (SIAM), we sought to determine via 3 experiments whether the disparity in frequency DLs obtained using each procedure was due to the method of measurement (Experiment 1), the response format (Experiment 2), or performance feedback (Experiment 3). Material and methods: Five adults (ages 21 to 38 years) with hearing within normal limits participated in Experiments 1 and 2, and seven adults (ages 20 to 30 years) with hearing within normal limits participated in Experiment 3. Delayed comparison tasks were used to evaluate frequency DLs under SIAM and MCS. Results: Our preliminary results suggest that DL values for pitch discrimination are more influenced by response format than by the measurement procedure or performance feedback. Regardless of the method used, DL values were greater in the condition containing intervening stimuli compared to the condition lacking intervening stimuli. Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest there is consistency in the listener's adopted criterion (i.e., judgment rationale) across the psychoacoustic methods investigated. Performance measures suggest that SIAM is as accurate as MCS, but it is noteworthy that two SIAM measure- ment runs using the "same/different" response format is more efficient than four runs with MCS. Future application of the SIAM procedure for measuring DL values might, with larger sample sizes, identify additional factors that contribute to performance and the listener's adopted criterion, since data collection time is appreciably shorter with SIAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]