MODELING THE EFFECTS OF VOICE THERAPY USING TUBES

What is it about?

Phonations into a tube with the distal end either in the air or submerged in water are used for voice therapy. This study explores the effective mechanisms of these therapy methods.

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Why is it important?

The study applied a physical model complemented by calculations from a computational model, and the results were compared to those that have been reported for humans. The effects of tube phonation on vocal tract resonances and oral pressure variation were studied. The relationships of transglottic pressure Ptrans(t) variation in time vs. glottal area variation GA(t), were constructed. In both therapy methods, part of the airflow energy required for phonation is substituted by the acoustic energy utilizing the first acoustic resonance. Thus, less flow energy is needed for vocal fold vibration, which results in improved vocal efficiency. The effect can be stronger in water resistance therapy if the frequency Fb approaches the acoustic mechanical resonance of the vocal tract, while simultaneously F0 is voluntarily changed close to F1.

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