Speech Language & Hearing

Assessment of localization ability – A subjective tool in Kannada Version Hemanth Narayan Shetty, Vinodhini Palaniappan, Swathi Susheel Chambayil, Aisha Syeda Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):1-7 Introduction: Majority of the audiology clinics are not equipped to assess the localization ability due to the problem in availability of instrument, infrastructure and or cost involvement. Thus, questions from standardized tools sensitive to Indian scenario were selected to assess the localization ability. The objectives of the study were to a) develop Kannada localization questionnaire b) validate the developed questionnaire using degree of error (DOE) and c) investigate the relationship between localization ability from questionnaire and DOE from localization task. Materials and Method: Two experiments were carried out in this study. In Experiment -1 questionnaire was developed by translation, reverse translation and rated for goodness of questionnaire. The developed questionnaire was administered on 103 participants of different age groups from 11-70 years. In Experiment -2 using localization task an aggregated degree of error was measured for the target test stimuli (truck and automobile horns) in the presence of traffic noise at 65 dB SPL and 75 dB SPL. Results: On factor analysis a factorability of correlation suggested 14 of the 17 questions correlated well above 0.3. The questionnaire developed has Cronbach's alpha of 0.78 for 10 items and 0.53 for 4 items. In addition a significant reduction in localization ability on questionnaire and increased error on localization task were observed with advanced in age. Further a moderate negative correlation was noticed between localization ability scores and degree of error. Conclusions: The developed questionnaire can be effectively used in a clinic where there is an unavailability of localization experiment test setup.

Consequence of long-standing auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder on voice Sandeep Maruthy, Varsha Rallapalli, Shailaja Shukla, MB Priya Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):8-13 Introduction: Individuals with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) are known to have temporal processing deficits and poor speech perception abilities. The distorted auditory perception, if long-standing, may influence speech production abilities. The present study was undertaken to probe into the voice characteristics of individuals with long-standing ANSD, on a perceptual scale. The study used standard groups comparison research design. Materials and Methods: The study involved 11 individuals with acquired long-standing ANSD and 20 age-matched individuals (10 males and 10 females) with normal-hearing sensitivity. The recorded reading samples of the participants were presented randomly to nine speech-language pathologists who were blindfolded to the purpose of the study. The analysis was done using the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice which provides a 100-mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlations were carried out. Results: The results obtained revealed that individuals with long-standing ANSD present with deviant voice characteristics in terms of rough voice, breathiness, strain, high pitch, and reduced loudness. These deviations in voice could be attributed to defective auditory feedback secondary to hearing loss. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found to exist between the duration of hearing loss and the severity of deviant voice in these individuals. Conclusions: The findings suggest that voice is deviant in individuals with long-standing ANSD. This finding necessitates early identification and rehabilitation in individuals with long-standing AD to avoid negative influence on other domains of communication such as speech production.

Speech rhythm in goan konkani speakers Theaja Kuriakose, Vaishnavi Vidyadhar Dhupkar, R Bharath Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):14-17 Introduction: Languages of the world vary in their rhythm. Rhythm is hierarchical in nature in language, as it is in music. All spoken languages exhibit isochronous units of speech, and all languages can be classified based on rhythm. The present study aimed to investigate the rhythm in Goan Konkani speakers. Materials and Methods: Ten females in the age group of 18–22 years were participated in the study. All of them were screened for speech-, language-, and hearing-related problems. A speech sample of each participant was elicited using pictures depicting a story, and these samples were audiorecorded. The speech samples were transferred into PRAAT software, and the vocalic (V) and intervocalic (IV) durations were found out. The duration difference between successive vocalic and IV segments was calculated and averaged to get the normalized pairwise variability index (nPVI) and raw pairwise variability index (rPVI), respectively. Results: The mean nPVI and rPVI values obtained were 50.64 and 60.87, respectively. The results of paired sample t-test revealed a significant difference between the nPVI and rPVI values. Conclusions: The trend of low nPVI value and high rPVI value is a basic characteristic of syllable-timed language. Similar trend was identified in the present study, suggesting Konkani as a syllable-timed language.

Menstrual cycle effects on otolith-ocular reflex pathway Sujeet Kumar Sinha, Manisha Sahu Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):18-22 Introduction: Studies have shown morphological changes in the vestibule leading to alter the physiological changes during menstruation. And during the cycle, the level of hormones differs during different phases of the cycle. Hence, it is important to study the hormonal influences in the otolith-ocular pathways of females as the ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP) results might be interpreted wrongly if the different phase of the menstrual cycle affects the oVEMP results. The aim of the present study was to measure the changes in latency and amplitude of oVEMP test during three phases of the mensuration cycle. Materials and Methods: Twenty healthy females volunteers participated for the study and their otolith-ocular system was evaluated using oVEMP in three phases of the same cycle, i.e., menstruation phase (day 1–4), ovulation phase (day 12–17), and luteal phase (day 22–28). Results: oVEMP was present for all the participants in all the three phase of the menstrual cycle. For the obtained nonnormal data, nonparametric Freidman's Chi-square test was administered. The results showed no significant difference in latency or amplitude parameters of oVEMP across three recordings in participants, indicating that there was no significant effect of hormonal changes on oVEMPs recordings in females. Conclusions: It can be concluded that while assessing the vestibular system through an electrophysiological test like oVEMP, will not render differences in females based on their phases of menstruation cycles.

Cross-linguistic generalization of fluency to untreated language in bilingual adults who stutter Kashyap Priyanka, Santosh Maruthy Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):23-31 Introduction: Majority of the studies in bilingual persons who stutter have reported that stuttering frequency is greater in nondominant or less proficient language. However, there is limited research concerning the efficacy of speech therapy in bilingual adults who stutter (BAWS). The current study aimed at investigating whether there is a generalization of fluency to a nontreated language in BAWS. Materials and Methods: Five BAWS participated in the study. The efficacy of prolonged-speech therapy was evaluated using a modified single-subject ABA withdrawal design. In all the five participants, nonprogrammed prolonged-speech therapy was provided in their first language, and fluency was monitored in both the first and second languages. Mean and standard deviation were derived for a percentage of syllables stuttered. Relative mean differences and effect sizes (Cohen's d) were derived for each participant and language. Results: All the five participants showed a significant reduction in %SS in the withdrawal condition when compared to the pretreatment baseline condition. Most importantly, there was a significant generalization of achieved fluency to untreated language in all the five participants. However, the amount of treatment generalization to nontreated language varied across participants. Conclusions: The present results highlight that there was a significant cross-linguistic generalization of achieved fluency to the nontreated language in all the five bilingual individuals using the nonprogrammed prolonged-speech therapy.

Variation in speech perception in noise as a function of age in typically developing children Nerale Maraiah Mamatha, Asha Yathiraj Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):32-37 Introduction: Speech recognition performance has been observed to vary with the age of the listener. Children having difficulty in understanding speech in noisy situations is found to have an adverse effect on learning. The primary aim of the study was to determine the difference in word and phoneme scores in the presence of noise in three age groups of children studying in primary school. The secondary aim was to check whether there was a gender difference within an age group. Materials and Methods: Three groups of typically developing children (≥7 to <8; ≥8 to <9; and ≥9 to <10 years), who were exposed to Kannada from early childhood, were evaluated to determine their speech perception abilities in the presence of noise. Results: Within each age group, no significant difference was observed between gender for word and phoneme scores in all four lists. The word and phoneme scores were similar across the lists within an age group but differed across age groups for all lists. The older children outperformed the younger children. Conclusion: The study indicated that with increase in age, word and phoneme recognition scores improve. However, within an age group, children obtained similar word and phoneme scores across the four lists, indicating the equivalence of the lists in the presence of noise. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in word and phoneme scores between the males and females for all lists within each age group.

Development of oral expression scale in hindi for children of age range 3–7 years Suman Kumar, James Mathew Tudu, Joyanta Chandra Mandal Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):38-42 Introduction: Oral expression pertains to the use of words and includes the ability to formulate and produce words and sentences with appropriate vocabulary, grammar, and application of conversational rules. Children's oral expression skills are essential for their learning and academic success. Materials and Methods: This study is aimed to develop a test for measuring the oral expression skills among native Hindi speaking children between the ages of 3–7 years and to establish normative for the same. The Oral expression comprised three subtests, namely Vocabulary, Pragmatic, and Syntax, each subtest containing 20 stimulus items, respectively. Results: For establishing the normative, 120 native Hindi speaking participants were selected and divided into four age groups of 1-year age interval. Each group comprised 30 participants including males and females. The results indicated that there is a significant difference in the mean scores obtained across the age groups, along with a trend of increase in score with an increase in age. Moreover, a strong positive correlation between the test and retest trials, indicated that the Oral Expression Scale can yield similar results across contexts, independent of clinic and test administrator, thus establishing it as a reliable tool for the assessment of oral expression. Conclusion: To conclude, the Oral Expression Scale is an efficient and reliable tool that can be used with native Hindi speakers. It may also be included as a part of test battery for evaluating oral expression skills among individuals with expression deficits like specific language impairment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Autism.

Acoustic correlates of perceived emotions among hindustani singers HR Aravinda, K Sandhya, K Chetan, NR Geetesh Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):43-46 Introduction: Music induces precise corporal process as well as mental processes in listener's mind which is generally perceived as emotion. A raga composition consists of a particular combination of notes which creates a mood or atmosphere which can be specialized to uniqueness of the ragas which are perceived subjectively. This study aimed to understand the correlation between acoustic parameters and emotions among Hindustani singers. Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out on ten trained Hindustani singers in the age range of 20–40 years. Singing samples of ascending and descending scales were recorded for chosen ragas and each raga was analyzed for various acoustic parameters. Results: The results revealed a significant difference (P < 0.01) for the first three formants in swaras such as S2, S3, and S5. Conclusion: Hence it can be concluded that, among three ragas (R1, R2, and R3), change of formant frequency at the position of S2, S3, and S5 will result in perception of different emotions.

Comparative analysis of swallowing efficacy in young adults and geriatric population by 100 ml water swallow test Zainab Ismail, K Thirumanjari, V Sri Ranjani, Syed Tasbiha Fathima, Mereen Rose Babu, BS Premalatha Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):47-51 Introduction: This study aimed to carry out a comparative analysis of swallowing efficacy in young adults and geriatric population using the 100 mL Water Swallow Test (WST). Materials and Methods: A total population of 100 individuals performed WST which included 50 young adults and 50 geriatrics. Individuals were given 100 mL of water and were asked to drink at their comfortable pace with no spillage, gulp or residue in the cup. Meanwhile, the clinician counted the number of hyolaryngeal movements for swallowing by using the four-finger test and monitored the time taken to drink 100 mL of water using a stopwatch. Results: Result of the study revealed that among the parameters obtained, swallowing capacity and time per swallow was better in young adults than geriatrics. Volume per swallow parameter carried similar values in both young adults and geriatrics. Conclusion: The study findings thus show that 100 mL WST can be a tool to monitor and identify the swallowing efficiency. This study shows the importance of considering the influence of age-related changes in an elderly individual before reaching a diagnosis and carrying out rehabilitation of geriatrics with swallowing dysfunction.

A case report on the management of phagophobia Abeer Khalifa Al-Haifi, Tina Merin Job Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association 2019 33(1):52-54 Phagophobia is the fear of swallowing. It often causes dysphagia without an organic cause. The incidence of phagophobia is sparse in literature. The client is a 29-year-old female who presented with dysphagia. Following the change in her lifestyle and increased stress levels, she developed faulty eating habits and soon presented with inability to swallow food and fear of food getting stuck in her throat. This case study aims to highlight some of the management strategies that were most effective in the treatment of our client's phagophobia. Special emphasis is given to the role of visual feedback using fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallow in the treatment of phagophobia in addition to educating the client about the physiology of swallowing and use of other cognitive behavioral techniques.

Alexandros Sfakianakis
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