Author/Editor		Hočevar-Boltežar, Irena; Žargi, Miha
Title		Sprememba kakovosti glasu pri gluhih po vstavitvi polževega vsadka
Translated title		Voice quality changes in deaf subjects after cochlear implantation
Type		članek
Source		In: Zbornik referatov 2. slovenskega posveta o rehabilitaciji oseb s polževim vsadkom; 2002 nov 8-9; Maribor. Maribor: Center za sluh in govor,
Publication year		2002
Volume		str. 85-9
Language		slo
Abstract		Background. Hearing ability is very important in control of voice production. The characteristics of voice in deaf subjects are high fundamental frequency, instability of frequency and amplitude. After cochlear implantation, the deaf subject can hear his/her voice and the control of his/her voice production is better. Purpose. The aim of the study was to assess the success of hearing rehabilitation of deaf subjects after cochlear implantation by determination of acoustic characteristics of their voices. Subjects and methods. Forty deaf subjects (33 children, 7 adults) were included into the study. In all subjects, acoustic analysis (Multi-Dimensional Voice Program, Kay Elemetrics Corp., USA) of a voice sample (vowel /a/) was performed before cochlear implantation and six to 48 months after it. The authors compared fundamental frequency, pitch perturbation (jitter), amplitude perturbation (shimmer) and noise-toharmonic ratio of the voice samples. Results. After cochlear implantation, fundamental frequency of the voice samples only slightly decreased. A statistically significant improvement was noticed in the measurements of pitch perturbation (p=0.001), amplitude perturbation (p=0.003), and noise-to-harmonic ratio (p=0.013). Conclusiou. Deaf subjects can better regulate their voice production after cochlear implantation. Hearing ability helps them to control pitch and loudness of their voices. The improvement in voice quality offers better possibilities for intelligible speech and more successful social rehabilitation.
Descriptors		DEAFNESS COCHLEAR IMPLANT VOICE QUALITY