Comparison of acoustic analysis and perceptual sound data in the geriatric population according to young, middle and late old age periods

The aim of the study is to determine the subjective voice characteristics of geriatric individuals, who constitute a large part of the society, and to examine the effect of age change on the acoustic properties of the voice in young, middle and late elderly in the light of these data. A total of 167 geriatric individuals, 85 men and 82 women, aged 65 and over and who had not previously had any swallowing, speech or voice disorders, participated in the study. Participants were evaluated in 3 age groups: 65-74, 75-85 and over 85 years of age. Turkish Voice Handicap Test-10 (SHI-10) was applied for the perceptual voice evaluation of the participants. Voice data was collected from all participants and later analyzed with the help of the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) voice analysis program. As a result of the analysis, maximum phonation time (MFZ), Fundamental frequency (F0), s/z ratios, jitter, shimmer data were obtained. These data were separated and compared according to age groups and gender. According to the statistical analysis, there was a significant increase in SHI-10 scores for the 75-85 age range (p = 0.01) and the values were higher in men than in women (p = 0.02). While there was an increase in F0 values in men, it decreased in women, but no significant difference was found between age groups (p>0.05). According to gender variable, F0 is higher in women (p=0.01). There was a significant increase in the Shimmer parameter with increasing age, especially in the 75-85 age group (p<0.05) and the values were significantly higher in men (p<0.05). The jitter parameter is higher in men than in women, and according to the age variable, a significant increase was observed between the groups with increasing age (p <0.05). There was a significant decrease in MFZ with age in both men and women (p=0.01), and MFZ in men was significantly higher than in women (p=0.01). A significant increase was observed in the s/z ratio with increasing age in both genders (p=0.01), and the s/z ratio was higher in men than in women (p<0.05). With increasing age in the geriatric population, a shortening of the MFZ and an increase in the s/z ratio were observed in aerodynamic measurements. In the voice evaluation, a significant increase in shimmer and jitter parameters was observed, confirming the breathy, rough and hoarse voice mentioned in old age. There was an increase in the F0 parameter in men and a decrease in women, as stated in the literature. It has been observed that satisfaction with one's own voice decreases with increasing age, with increasing SHI-10 scores.