Multiparametric Analysis of Dysphonic Voice – An Evidence from the Discriminant Analysis

Even though earlier studies have investigated the relationship between various subjective and instrumental measures of voice, determining a standardized set of voice parameters in evaluating dysphonic voices can help in better diagnostic distinctions and judgment of the treatment outcomes in voice disorders. Thus, the primary objective was to examine the differences in the objective and subjective measures of voice between the participants with dysphonia and participants with a clinically normal voice. The subsequent objective was to identify the group of parameters sensitive to vocal changes in dysphonia using discriminant analysis. Two groups of participants were included in the study. Group 1 comprised of 15 participants with dysphonia. Group 2 included 15 participants with a clinically normal voice. Sustained phonations of vowels were recorded from the participants of both groups and were analyzed perceptually using the GRBAS rating scale. Acoustic, cepstral, spectral, and electroglottographic measures were analyzed from dysphonic voices and normal controls. There were significant differences in both instrumental and perceptual measures between the participants with and without dysphonia. The set of five parameters that were significant predictors that discriminated the dysphonic voice from the clinically normal voice with 100% accuracy was also determined using discriminant analysis. Future investigations on the relation between the specific instrumental and perceptual measures of voice identified in the present study among individuals with various voice disorders can deliver more promising and comprehendible insights into better diagnostic distinctions of voice disorders.