Exploring the Relationship Between Acoustic Measurements and Self-Perception of Voice in Trans Women

Sinem Şimşek; Fatma Esen Aydinli; Ayşenur Taşkin; Koray Başar; Taner Yilmaz; Esra Özcebe

doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2024.03.015

Exploring the Relationship Between Acoustic Measurements and Self-Perception of Voice in Trans Women

J Voice. 2024 Apr 26:S0892-1997(24)00086-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2024.03.015. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sinem Şimşek¹, Fatma Esen Aydinli², Ayşenur Taşkin¹, Koray Başar³, Taner Yilmaz⁴, Esra Özcebe¹

Affiliations

¹ Hacettepe University, Faculty of Health Science, Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Ankara, Turkey.
² Hacettepe University, Faculty of Health Science, Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: fesen04@gmail.com.
³ Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey.
⁴ Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ear-Nose-Throat, Ankara, Turkey.

PMID: 38677906
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2024.03.015

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore the strength and direction of the relationship between spectral cepstral-based, time-based acoustic measures and the self-perception of voice in trans women.

Methods: Forty-eight trans women were included in the study. Analysis of the sustained vowel phonation was performed using Multidimensional Voice Profile Analysis (MDVP), and spectral-cepstral analyses of the sustained vowel phonation, all-voiced weighted sentence, and spontaneous speech were made via Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice (ADSV) software. For self-perceptual evaluations, the Trans Woman Voice Questionnaire (TWVQ) and the Self-perception of Voice Femininity Scale (SPVF) were used. The correlation between MDVP, spectral-cepstral parameters, and TWVQ and SPVF scores was calculated.

Results: The present study found a positive relationship between F0, SPVF, and TWVQ. Among the perturbation parameters, the jitter was the only one found to correlate with SPVF and TWVQ. The CPPF0 parameter was found to be associated with a more feminine voice perception and a higher voice-related quality of life in all speech samples in the present study. In addition, higher CPP values achieved from vowel phonation were associated with less feminine voice perception and lower voice-related quality of life. The present study also suggests a weak correlation with the SPVF and Cepstral Peak Prominence Standard Deviation (CPPF0 SD) of the spontaneous speech sample in a negative direction.

Conclusions: This study found weak and moderate levels of correlations between F0, jitter (%), CPP, CPPF0, CPPF0 SD parameters, and self-perceptual measures. These findings suggested that such a level of relationship is attributable to the fact that these tools evaluate different aspects of voice in accordance with the International Classification of Functioning System. According to this pioneering study, it would be beneficial to incorporate spectral-cepstral measures into the objective assessment protocol for trans women's voices.

Keywords: Cepstral peak prominence (CPP); Spectral-cepstral analyses; The Self-perception of Voice Femininity Scale (SPVF); The Trans Woman Voice Questionnaire (TWVQ); Time-based analyses.