Reproducibility of Hoarse Voice Psychoacoustic Evaluation

Abstract

This study investigates the reproducibility of psychoacoustic evaluation of hoarse voices usiing “GRBAS” scales. The voice quality of the vowel /e: /, recorded from ninety patients with various degrees of hoarseness and eight normal speakers, was evaluated five times by six listeners with normal hearing. The correlation among listeners and scales was analyzed.
It was found that reproducibility differed according to listeners and scales. However, the mean correlation coefficient of the listener who showed the highest reproducibility with “G” was 0.87. Therefore, if the listener is prudently selected, it is possible to obtain high reproducibility. It was estimated that the scale “G” was related with “R”, “B” and “S”, and not with “A”.