Phonetographic aspects of physiological and perceptual voice characterist

Pitch and intensify ranges of 60 children were recorded and plotted in terms of phonetograms. Different aspects of the phonetograms were investigated, such as minimum phonation threshold, pitch range, and maximum dyrramic range. The vocal cord status of all children was determined in a phoniatric examination. Seven voice experts listened to recordings of the voices and rated their properties along 16 pararrreters including hoarseness. Using these ratings, the hoarse children were identified. The phonetogram characteristics of adults and children were compared, as well as those of chronically hoarse and nonhoarse children and tenyear-olds with and without vocal nodules or glottal chinks. The phonetograms of children with beginning mutational voices were compared to those of adults. INTRODUCTION In recent voice investigations, phonetograms, or voice range profiles, have been frequently used (Coleman, Mabis, & Hinson, 1977; Gramming, 1988). Although it only displays sound pressure level of softest and loudest possible phonation versus fundamental frequency of phonation throughout the total pitch range, it has been found informative also with respect to other voice characteristics than those related to dynamics (Schutte, 1980; Ohlsson, Jarvholm, & Lofqvist, 1987; Gramming & Akerlund, 1988). Pabon & Plomp (1988) supplemented phonetography by aperiodicity information and observed that dysphonic voices of various types, apart from aperiodicity characteristics, also frequently exhibited deviant phonetogram contours. This suggests that it might be worthwhile to examine the relations between phonetograms and hoarseness in more detail. Among voice experts, hoarseness is often considered a controversial term, comprising several perceptual parameters. Still, according to a previous study, the term was found to be reasonably well-defined and unequivocal within a panel of speech and language pathologists (Sederholm, McAllister, Sundberg, & Dalkvist, 1992). We identified three predictors of hoarseness: hyperfunction, breathiness and roughness, a result that was in clear accordance with the findings of Isshiki, Okamura, Tanabe, & Morimoto (1969). In the past, child hoarseness has sometimes been assumed to be harmless and to automatically disappear during puberty (Htikansson & Kitzing, 1984). However, some authors have taken the opposite view, claiming that by over-looking voice change during childhood, pathologies may be diagnosed at too late a stage (Cohen, Geller, Thompson, & Birns, 1983). Also, child hoarseness may reflect psychological factors or specific personality traits that may be important (Toohill, 1975). Having a hoarse, dysfunctional voice might influence negatively the child's self perception as well as the listeners' evaluation of her/his personal traits and capacities (Ruscello, j I I *Dept. o f Speech Pathology, Danderyd hospital, S-182 88 Danderyd.