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CC BY 4.0 · Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2024; 28(01): e57-e69
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1768139
Original Research

Voice and Temporal Auditory Processing in Elderly People: A Correlation Study

Mariana Batista de Souza Santos 
1   Department of Speech Therapy, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
,
Lílian Ferreira Muniz
1   Department of Speech Therapy, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
,
Adriana de Oliveira Camargo Gomes 
1   Department of Speech Therapy, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
,
Cleide Fernandes Teixeira
1   Department of Speech Therapy, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
,
Karina Paes Advíncula
1   Department of Speech Therapy, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
,
Zulina Souza de Lira
1   Department of Speech Therapy, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
,
Bruno Teixeira de Moares
2   Otorhinolaryngology, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
,
Jonia Alves Lucena
1   Department of Speech Therapy, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
› Author Affiliations
Funding The present research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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Abstract

Introduction The voice and hearing can be affected to different degrees by aging, which can cause communication difficulties for elderly people. Vocal production requires effective temporal auditory processing at central levels within the nervous system, which can be compromised by the aging process.

Objective To analyze the correlation between voice and temporal auditory processing in older adults.

Materials and Methods A total of 40 elderly people aged 60 years or older were subdivided into 2 groups according to the presence or absence of vocal symptoms measured by the Voice Symptom Scale. All of the participants were submitted to auditory temporal tests, vocal self-assessment, and acoustic and perceptual auditory analyses of voice.

Results Most of the subjects assessed had decreased voice intensity and normal variability in terms of vocal quality. The performance was normal in the Pitch Pattern Sequence test and altered in the Random Gap Detection test. In the Masking Period Pattern test, the detection thresholds for the target signal were increased in the presence of masking in different temporal target signal positions. Only pitch differed between the two groups. There were differences between the genders regarding frequency, shimmer, the overall severity of the alteration, and roughness. There was a correlation regarding temporal resolution ability and the overall severity of the alteration and roughness of the voice.

Conclusion There is a central auditory impairment in temporal resolution which is correlated with vocal alterations in the elderly.

Keywords

speech - language - hearing - pathology - aging - voice - older adult


Publication History

Received: 14 December 2021

Accepted: 03 November 2022

Article published online:
05 February 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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