On May 19, 2023
at 13:30,
Somayah Al-Ees will present Elimination of nasality in typical speakers using forward voice focus and biofeedback.
The Zoom link for the meeting is here. The password will be distributed through the mailing list.
Abstract
Background: Nasality disorders, such as hypernasality, impact speech intelligibility and cause social stigma. Current speech therapy interventions have limited efficacy in controlling the velopharyngeal sphincter, the muscles that regulate nasality. To address this, this study aims to combine two promising techniques—forward voice focus and biofeedback— which can be effective in reducing nasality and improving speech intelligibility. Hypothesis: The combination of forward voice focus and biofeedback will lead to a significant reduction in nasality in the speech of typical speakers, as indicated by a decrease in nasalance score after the intervention. Methods: Twenty typical speakers were divided into two groups receiving visual or tactile biofeedback. Nasometer measured Nasalance Scores for sentences with nasal sounds in different speaking conditions, comparing baseline and final recordings. Results: Both visual and tactile biofeedback groups showed significant reduction in nasalance scores after treatment and washout (p<0.001). The visual biofeedback group decreased from 59.99 (SD 7.85) to 28 (SD 14.75) without biofeedback. The tactile group decreased from 61 (SD 8) to 32.9 (SD 18.94) without biofeedback. Discussion: The study shows that combining forward voice focus and biofeedback effectively reduces nasality in typical speakers. Further research is needed for hypernasal speakers. The findings suggest that voluntary velopharyngeal closure can be learned, as participants sustained low nasalance scores even without biofeedback and after washout.