Vocal Change Patterns During a Teaching Day: Inter- and Intra-Subject Variability

Publication date: Available online 8 May 2017
Source:Journal of Voice
Author(s): Angélique Remacle, Maëva Garnier, Silvain Gerber, Claire David, Caroline Petillon
ObjectivesThe study aimed to describe the average response of 22 female teachers to vocal fatigue during a workday, to examine their inter- and intra-subject variability, and to establish a typology of different responses to vocal fatigue.MethodsFundamental frequency (F0), harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), jitter, and shimmer were measured for each participant on sustained vowels at the beginning and at the end of the workday, on three different times of the school year.ResultsGroup average variations during the workday showed a significant increase in F0 and HNR, as well as a significant decrease in jitter and shimmer. However, these variations also showed an important inter- and intra-subject variability. Based on the variation of acoustic parameters during the workday, three distinct responses to vocal fatigue were characterized. The first type is characterized by a greater F0 increase during the day, interpreted as an adequate and common adaptation to vocal fatigue. The second type is characterized by a greater increase in HNR during the day, and a greater decrease in jitter and shimmer, interpreted as a hyperfunctional adaptation to vocal fatigue. The third type is characterized by a greater decrease in F0 and HNR, and a greater increase in jitter and shimmer, suggesting vocal fold closure defaults, inflammation or even phonotrauma following the workday.ConclusionsThe observed variety of responses to vocal fatigue emphasizes the necessity to study this phenomenon idiosyncratically and to target different types of behaviors in order to develop tailored prevention and treatment methods.



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