Vocal Fold Vibration in Older Adults With and Without Age-Related Dysphonia

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which 7 measures of glottal area timing and regularity differ between older adults with and without age-related dysphonia (ARD). Method Laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy was completed at 4,000 frames per second for 42 adults aged 70 years and older (ARD: 9 female, 5 male; control group: 15 female, 13 male). Relative glottal gap, open quotient, speed index, maximum area declination rate, harmonics-to-noise ratio, harmonic richness factor, and standard deviation of fundamental frequency were measured from a 0.5-s segment of the glottal area waveform. Eta squared (η2) was computed to estimate group effect. Results Small effect sizes (η2 = .18–.35) were present for relative glottal gap, open quotient, maximum area declination rate, harmonic richness factor, and standard deviation of fundamental frequency. Speed index and glottal harmonics-to-noise ratio did not explain group membership (η2 = .001 and .05, respectively). Conclusion These finding...