Journal of Voice
Volume 25, Issue 1 , Pages 54-61, January 2011

An Exploratory Study of Voice Change Associated With Healthy Speakers After Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation to Laryngeal Muscles

A portion of this research was presented at the 35th Annual Voice Symposium, titled Voice Change in Normal Speakers Associated with Surface Electrical Stimulation, Philadelphia, PA, June 2006.

  • Linda P. Fowler

      Affiliations

    • Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence and reprint requests to Linda P. Fowler, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3979, Atlanta, GA 30302-3979.
    • ,
  • Mary Gorham-Rowan

      Affiliations

    • Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia
    • ,
  • Edie R. Hapner

      Affiliations

    • Emory Voice Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Accepted 21 July 2009. published online 18 January 2010.

Summary 

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to determine if measurable changes in fundamental frequency (F0) and relative sound level (RSL) occurred in healthy speakers after transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) as applied via VitalStim (Chattanooga Group, Chattanooga, TN).

Study Design

A prospective, repeated-measures design.

Methods

Ten healthy female and 10 healthy male speakers, 20–53 years of age, participated in the study. All participants were nonsmokers and reported negative history for voice disorders. Participants received 1 hour of TES while engaged in eating, drinking, and conversation to simulate a typical dysphagia therapy protocol. Voice recordings were obtained before and immediately after TES. The voice samples consisted of a sustained vowel task and reading of the Rainbow Passage. Measurements of F0 and RSL were obtained using TF32 (Milenkovic, 2005, University of Wisconsin). The participants also reported any sensations 5 minutes and 24 hours after TES.

Results

Measurable changes in F0 and RSL were found for both tasks but were variable in direction and magnitude. These changes were not statistically significant. Subjective comments ranged from reports of a vocal warm-up feeling to delayed onset muscle soreness.

Conclusions

These findings demonstrate that application of TES produces measurable changes in F0 and RSL. However, the direction and magnitude of these changes are highly variable. Further research is needed to determine factors that may affect the extent to which TES contributes to significant changes in voice.

Key Words: Transcutaneous electrical stimulation, Percutaneous electrical stimulation, Muscle fatigue, Delayed onset muscle injury

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PII: S0892-1997(09)00115-5

doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2009.07.006

Journal of Voice
Volume 25, Issue 1 , Pages 54-61, January 2011

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