Laryngeal Aerodynamics in Healthy Older Adults and Adults With Parkinson's Disease Purpose The present study compared laryngeal aerodynamic function of healthy older adults (HOA) to adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) while speaking at a comfortable and increased vocal intensity. Method Laryngeal aerodynamic measures (subglottal pressure, peak-to-peak flow, minimum flow, and open quotient [OQ]) were compared between HOAs and individuals ... Research Article
Research Article  |   March 01, 2017
Laryngeal Aerodynamics in Healthy Older Adults and Adults With Parkinson's Disease
Deborah Matheron, Elaine T. Stathopoulos, Jessica E. Huber, and Joan E. Sussman
 
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Deborah Matheron
    Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, SUNY University at Buffalo, NY
    Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, SUNY College at Cortland, NY
  • Elaine T. Stathopoulos
    Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, SUNY University at Buffalo, NY
  • Jessica E. Huber
    Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
  • Joan E. Sussman
    Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, SUNY University at Buffalo, NY
  • Disclosure: Huber, Stathopoulos, and Sussman received grant support from the National Institutes of Health. This grant support provided salary support to all four authors at some point during the course of the grant period. Huber is on the Board of Directors for SpeechVive, Inc., which is responsible for the manufacturing and sales of the SpeechVive device. Huber also holds stock in SpeechVive, Inc.
    Disclosure: Huber, Stathopoulos, and Sussman received grant support from the National Institutes of Health. This grant support provided salary support to all four authors at some point during the course of the grant period. Huber is on the Board of Directors for SpeechVive, Inc., which is responsible for the manufacturing and sales of the SpeechVive device. Huber also holds stock in SpeechVive, Inc.×
  • Correspondence to Jessica E. Huber: jhuber@purdue.edu
  • Editor: Julie Liss
    Editor: Julie Liss×
  • Associate Editor: Bruce Gerratt
    Associate Editor: Bruce Gerratt×
  • Copyright © 2017 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Article Information
Hearing Disorders / Special Populations / Older Adults & Aging / Speech, Voice & Prosody / Speech / Research Articles
Research Article   |   March 01, 2017
Laryngeal Aerodynamics in Healthy Older Adults and Adults With Parkinson's Disease
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, March 2017, Vol. 60, 507-524. doi:10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-14-0314
History: Received November 10, 2014 , Revised August 7, 2015 , Accepted June 23, 2016
 
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, March 2017, Vol. 60, 507-524. doi:10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-14-0314
History: Received November 10, 2014; Revised August 7, 2015; Accepted June 23, 2016

Purpose The present study compared laryngeal aerodynamic function of healthy older adults (HOA) to adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) while speaking at a comfortable and increased vocal intensity.

Method Laryngeal aerodynamic measures (subglottal pressure, peak-to-peak flow, minimum flow, and open quotient [OQ]) were compared between HOAs and individuals with PD who had a diagnosis of hypophonia. Increased vocal intensity was elicited via monaurally presented multitalker background noise.

Results At a comfortable speaking intensity, HOAs and individuals with PD produced comparable vocal intensity, rates of vocal fold closure, and minimum flow. HOAs used smaller OQs, higher subglottal pressure, and lower peak-to-peak flow than individuals with PD. Both groups increased speaking intensity when speaking in noise to the same degree. However, HOAs produced increased intensity with greater driving pressure, faster vocal fold closure rates, and smaller OQs than individuals with PD.

Conclusions Monaural background noise elicited equivalent vocal intensity increases in HOAs and individuals with PD. Although both groups used laryngeal mechanisms as expected to increase sound pressure level, they used these mechanisms to different degrees. The HOAs appeared to have better control of the laryngeal mechanism to make changes to their vocal intensity.

Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Grant No. 5R01DC9409 funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and a pilot grant from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (Grant No. TR000006) funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical and Translational Sciences Award. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the National Institutes of Health, or Indiana CTSI. We would also like to thank James Jones and Kirk Foster from the Biomedical Engineering Department at Purdue University for the technical expertise in the design and development of the SpeechVive.
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