A Comparison of Selected Phonatory Behaviors of Healthy Aged and Young Adults

Abstract

Selected phonatory behaviors of healthy aged and young men and women were compared. Inverse-filtered air flow, electroglottograph (EGG), and intraoral air pressure signals were recorded as subjects phonated in each of four conditions: normal, soft, loud, loud/high pitched. Minimum flow offset, flow amplitude, air flow duty cycle, EGG duty cycle, estimated subglottal pressure, and fundamental frequency were derived from the recorded signals and compared among age/gender groups. Males had significantly greater flow amplitude than females regardless of age. Significant Age x Sex interactions were found for fundamental frequency and duty cycle measures. Duty cycles and fundamental frequency increased for males and decreased for females with aging. For the normal phonatory condition, aged men had significantly greater duty cycle measures, flow amplitude, and estimated subglottal pressure than young men. There were significant differences in fundamental frequency and EGG duty cycle between aged and young women during normal phonation. It was concluded that the effects of aging on phonatory behaviors are different in degree and kind for men and women. Fewer significant age-related differences in phonatory measures for women than men were consistent with reports of less age-related laryngeal degeneration in females than males.