Evaluation of the effectiveness of voice therapy with a male-to-female transsexual subject

Abstract

The benefits of voice therapy with a 44-year-old male-to-female transsexual subject were investigated. Voice therapy was aimed at increasing the subject's fundamental frequency to approximate that of a female's. Spectrographic analysis revealed that the subject's average fundamental frequency increased from 100.7 Hz to 135.4 Hz. Perceptual analysis of the subject's voice, by a group of raters, indicated that after therapy, her voice sounded less masculine and more feminine than before therapy. The results and their implications are discussed, particularly in light of the structural constraints of the male larynx on the success of voice therapy.

Key Words:

• transsexual
• spectrographic analysis
• perceptual analysis
• voice therapy