• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.67-74
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• 2021

This study examines the effectiveness of semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) conducted through telepractice for 10 female teachers who have experienced vocal discomfort while working in early childhood education facilities (childcare centers, kindergartens). The effects of SOVTE conducted through telepractice were evaluated based on the Korean voice handicap index (KVHI), the Korean version of the voice activity and participation profile (K-VAPP), vocal effort, and auditory perception evaluation by using the grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain (GRBAS) scale. The results show that total, functional, and physical scores of KVHI significantly reduced after SOVTE. The total score in K-VAPP significantly reduced after SOVTE. Moreover, vocal effort significantly decreased after SOVTE. However, statistically significant differences were not noted in GRB scales before and after SOVTE. In conclusion, early childhood teachers experienced reduced vocal discomfort SOVTE conducted through telepractice. The study results indicate that voice therapy conducted through telepractice is an effective method for reducing vocal discomfort in early childhood teachers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2019

Background and Objectives : Functional aphonia is characterized by incomplete closure of the vocal folds. Semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) allows smoothly vocal folds collision without damage to the vocal folds tissues to produce normal vocal intensity. The purpose of this study is to report the effect of SOVTE in patients with functional aphonia. Materials and Method : Seven patients diagnosed with functional aphonia were treated with 1-3 voice therapy sessions using voiced lip-trill, humming, Lax Vox in SOVTE. To assess the effectiveness of semi-occluded vocal tract exercise, cepstral analysis and auditory perceptual assessment were performed before and after voice therapy. Results : F0 (fundamental frequency), CPP (cepstral peak prominence) and L/H ratio (low/high spectral ratio) were significantly increased, while CPP Standard deviation, L/H ratio Standard deviation were decreased. In addition, 'Grade', 'Breathiness' and 'Asthenia' were significantly decreased in the GRBAS scale after SOVTE (p<0.05). Conclusion : In our study, SOVTE seemed to be effective to elicit voice quickly and promote vocal folds vibration without muscular effort in patients with functional aphonia.

• 재활복지
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.157-168
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of semi-closed vocal training-based Vocal Aerobic Treatment on the voice improvement of soprano. Study subject was one soprano who appealed to the suffering of her voice problem due to vocal cord nodule. A study method of conducting pre/post acoustic evaluation and subjective voice evaluation to compare the measures was used; Vocal Aerobic Treatment was carried out twice a week for a total of 32 session. In the acoustic evaluation, MDVP (multi-dimensional voice program) and VRP (voice range profile) were used to evaluate the pitch, voice quality, and voice range; in the subjective voice evaluation, SVHI (singing voice handicap index) was used to assess voice satisfaction. As a result of the pitch evaluation, the soprano maintained a proper Fo. As a result of the voice quality evaluation, the jitter, shimmer, and the noise harmonic ratio numbers decreased compared to the numbers shown before the treatment. As a result of the voice range evaluation, the scope of the range was broadened, with the number of semitone increasing from 30 to 35. As for the subjective voice evaluation, the result of the total score obtained after the survey report divided by the number of questions showed a decrease from 3.6 to 0.6. The soprano herself reported of having a minor extent of a voice problem. The summary of the above results reflects that Vocal Aerobic Treatment is useful in the voice improvement of vocalists However, as this study is case research regarding the Vocal Aerobic Treatment effect on one soprano, further research on the treatment effect covering many other vocalists is necessary. Also, there is a need for follow-up studies regarding voice management and voice treatment program on not only the vocalists but also the voice users in many other professions.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.53-58
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• 2023

After thyroidectomy, some patients who show normal vocal cord movement still complain of subjective voice problems, which could lead to a decrease in quality of life related to communication. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a newly designed voice therapy applying neck exercise and semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) to improve voice problems after thyroidectomy without neurological injury. For this purpose, voice therapy was randomly assigned to 10 women who received thyroidectomy. Acoustic analysis [fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonics ratio, min Voice Range Profile (VRP), max VRP, VRP] was performed before and after surgery and immediately after voice therapy to compare voice changes. The study showed a statistically significant increase in max VRP and VRP after voice therapy compared to before surgery. These results suggest that the voice therapy methods in this study effectively improve a major symptom of voice problems after thyroidectomy, specifically the reduction in the high-frequency range. However, this study was limited in the number of s participants and did not control for the type of surgery. Therefore, further research utilizing larger sample sizes and controlled variables is needed to investigate the long-term effects of voice therapy.