Voice Changes in Trans Men Administered Testosterone: Why Voice Intervention for Trans Men is not Required

Abstract

Trans men are biological females who have a male identity and have a sense of discomfort with their own feminine physical characteristics. The administration of testosterone, a male hormone, for the treatment of gender incongruence induces physical masculinization, including changing the sound of the voice. We previously showed that continuous administration of testosterone lowered the basic frequency (F0) and masculinized the voice abruptly at three to six months from the treatment onset. We therefore examined and compared the voice changes in patients and their feelings of discomfort with their voice using the voice handicap index (VHI) before and after testosterone administration. We also compared these findings with the VHI scores of trans women before intervention. The VHI scores of trans men were lower after testosterone administration than before and not significantly different from those of a control group without voice disorder. Trans women were found to have a stronger feeling of discomfort with their voice before intervention than trans men, which may be why most individuals who receive voice treatment are trans women.