Adductor spasmodic dysphonia versus muscle tension dysphonia: exploring the percision of phonatory break analysis as a diagnostic test

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Publication Type thesis
School or College College of Health
Department Communication Sciences & Disorders
Author Whitchurch, Melissa
Title Adductor spasmodic dysphonia versus muscle tension dysphonia: exploring the percision of phonatory break analysis as a diagnostic test
Date 2008-08
Description Adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD) and muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) have voice characteristics that can mimic each other, thus leading to diagnostic confusion. Given the perceptual similarity, specific distinguishing features are needed to objectively compare characteristics of ADSD and MTD. Intraword phonatory breaks, comprising of a complete absence of phonation, are one such acoustic feature that needs further research. This investigation assessed the diagnostic worth of acoustic analysis of phonatory breaks as a possible objective test to distinguish ADSD from MTD. Fifty-nine subjects with MTD and 41 subjects with ADSD were recorded reading an all-voiced consonant sentence: Early one morning a man and a woman were ambling along a one-mile lane running near Rainy Island Avenue. The presence and duration in milliseconds of any within-word phonatory breaks were measured. Estimates of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and likelihood ratios were calculated to determine the precision and worth of phonatory break analysis as a clinical diagnostic test. Results revealed that (a) individuals with ADSD showed a higher mean number of phonatory breaks as compared to individuals with MTD; (b) phonatory breaks occurred in participants with ADSD, particularly at durations less than 60 ms as compared to the MTD group. Also, the ideal duration of phonatory break measurement was 40 ms; (c) all measures of diagnostic precision were markedly better in males. Males with MTD rarely evidenced phonatory breaks, and no male subject with MTD had a break greater than 70 ms; (d) as the number of phonatory breaks increased, diagnostic precision also increased. For example, when a patient has more than four phonatory breaks, it can be quite confidently concluded that the patient has ADSD. It can be concluded that combining information regarding duration and frequency, along with knowledge of gender, improved diagnostic test performance. Automation of the acoustic analysis procedure should be explored.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Master of Science
Language eng
Relation is Version of Digital reproduction of "Adductor spasmodic dysphonia versus muslce tension dysphonia: exploring the percision of phonatory break analysis as a diagnostic test" J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections RF21.5 2008 .W48
Rights Management ©Melissa Whitchurch
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 5,206,858 bytes
Identifier us-etd2,100154
Source Original: University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections
Conversion Specifications Original scanned on Epson GT-30000 as 400 dpi to pdf using ABBYY FineReader 9.0 Professional Edition.
ARK ark:/87278/s6m620v4
Setname ir_etd
ID 192977
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6m620v4