Immediate vocal effects produced by the Shaker^® device in women with and without vocal complaints

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To evaluate the acoustic and self-perception modifications obtained after the first, third, fifth and seventh minutes of voice oral high-frequency oscillation practice accomplished with the Shaker® device.

Methodology

Twenty-seven women aged between 18 and 41 years with and without vocal complaint participated in the study. The sustained vowel / ε / was recorded at maximum phonation time before (pre-exercise) and after the first, third, fifth and seventh minutes of voice oral high-frequency oscillation practice accomplished with Shaker®. The acoustic analysis of the following parameters was performed: noise, fundamental frequency, glottal to noise excitation, Jitter, Shimmer and number of harmonics.

Results

There were no significant differences in the comparison of the acoustic parameters between the participants with and without vocal symptoms. It was observed an improvement in the self-perception of vocal discomfort in the groups of women with and without vocal symptoms, comparing the moment before the practice with the first and third minutes of practice. There was a reduction in Jitter values when comparing the time before practice with the moments after one and seven minutes and when comparing the moments after five and seven minutes of exercise in the group of women with vocal symptoms.

Conclusion

The Shaker® technique showed positive results both in individuals with symptoms and in individuals without vocal symptoms.

Keywords
Voice; Voice Quality; Speech Acoustics; Voice Training; Speech Therapy