Descriptors of breathy, rough, and healthy voice quality in common sense

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Identify the terms mentioned by the general population for healthy, rough and breathy vocal quality.

Methods

A test was carried out with 50 participants, in person, without academic or professional ties with Speech Therapy. The task was to hear three voices and define them freely. The first voice presented was predominantly breathy; the second, predominantly rough and the third, vocally healthy. The sustained emission of the vowel / Ɛ / and the count from one to ten were presented. Each participant should respond to the command: “Listen to that voice. Which term would you name it?”, Typing the answer on a line displayed on the PowerPoint screen.

Results

For the healthy voice, the term that was repeated the most was “normal” (36%), other terms were: “clean”, “common”, “standard”, “clear”, “clear”, “firm”, “good”, “open sound”, “defined”. For the rough voice, twenty-five participants (50%) responded with the term “hoarse” and the others were divided into terms such as “noisy”, “smoker's voice”, “deep”, “elderly”, “cavernous”, “abnormal”, among other similar terms. For the breathy voice, twenty-four participants (48%) used the term “tired”; five participants assigned the adjective “weak”; three responded with the term “out of breath”; there were two correspondences to the terms “dragged” and “sick”; and the other participants responded with terms similar: “exhausted”, “lazy”, “sleepy”, “fatigued” and the like.

Conclusion

The terms “normal” for a healthy voice, “hoarse” for a rough voice and “tired” for a breathy voice, allow a more usual perception of these clinical parameters of vocal quality, for individuals outside the technical-scientific language of Speech Therapy.

Keywords:
Voice; Voice disorders; Voice quality; Auditory perception; Hoarseness