Influence of Phonatory Break Duration and Pause Time on Auditory-Perceptual Ratings of Speech Acceptability and Listener Comfort in Adductor-Type Laryngeal Dystonia.

Introduction: This study empirically evaluated the influence of phonatory break duration and pause time on auditory-perceptual measures of speech produced by 26 adult speakers diagnosed with adductor-type laryngeal dystonia (AdLD).

Type Of Study: Experimental.

Methods: Fifteen inexperienced, young adult normal-hearing listeners provided ratings of speech acceptability and listener comfort for samples of running speech. Four phonatory break and pause time conditions were assessed using visual analog scaling methods. All stimuli were randomized for presentation and listeners were presented with experimental stimuli in a counterbalanced manner.

Results: Results indicate that the duration of phonatory breaks directly influenced listener ratings of speech acceptability (P < 0.001) and listener comfort (P < 0.001), with significant differences between original and modified recordings for both. Speech acceptability and listener comfort ratings were strongly correlated across all timing conditions (r = 0.85-0.97).

Conclusions: The duration of phonatory breaks and pauses have significantly influence judgments of speech acceptability and listener comfort for AdLD. This suggests that temporal factors such as phonatory break duration and pause time in AdLD may carry substantial negative impact on listeners' perception relative to other auditory-perceptual features that co-exist in the signal.