Acoustic and Aerodynamic Analyses of the Voice of Prelingually Deaf Young Men After Cochlear Implantation

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize the acoustic and aerodynamics of the voice of young men with prelingual deafness after cochlear implantation (CI) to provide a theoretical basis for their rehabilitation after CI.

Methods: The CI group included 17 young men with prelingual deafness who implanted cochlear at 18-24 years old. The control group included 17 normally hearing young men at the same age. The 10-item Voice Handicap Index, acoustic parameters, and aerodynamic parameters were evaluated.

Results: For the acoustic parameters, the F0, SDF0, and Jitter of the CI group were higher than those of the Control group, and these differences were statistically significant. Additionally, The difference in mean shimmer and mean NHR values between the CI group and the Control group was not statistically significant For the aerodynamic parameters, the subglottal pressure and aerodynamic power of the CI group were significantly higher than those of the Control group, whereas the MPT was significantly shorter.

Discussion: Due to excessive stress on the laryngeal muscle and limited pneumo-phono-articulatory coordination, the young men in the CI group had a thin voice and poor voice control and muscle coordination, and they exhibited excessive laryngeal resistance. We propose that after CI, in addition to regular hearing and speech rehabilitation, voice training is also extremely important for prelingually deaf young men.

Keywords: Acoustic; Aerodynamic; Cochlear implantation; Prelingually deaf young men; Voice.