Abstract
The present study employed an inventory of acoustic parameters in the quantitative evaluation of the recovery of normal phonation in dysphonia after severe closed head trauma. The amount of spectral energy in the 1 to 5 KHz range and above 5 KHz was sufficient to differentiate two subgroups of patients and their main patterns of reorganization ofphonatory function. One subgroup showed a voice quality compound of breathy and tense, which gradually normalised in the follow-up period, whereas the other one initially exhibited a normal or lax, breathy voice, which subsequently became more tense. The variance of spectral energy and the duration of aspiration preceding voice onset additionally indicated signs of tense and breathy voice production. Furthermore, the fundamental period perturbation showed that roughness is a less important feature of dysphonia after severe closed head trauma.
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