Mobile Phone Applications Voice Tools and Voice Pitch Analyzer Validated With LingWAVES to Measure Voice Frequency

Lidewij S Boogers; Britney S J Chen; Marieke J Coerts; Rico N P M Rinkel; Sabine E Hannema

doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.10.013

Mobile Phone Applications Voice Tools and Voice Pitch Analyzer Validated With LingWAVES to Measure Voice Frequency

J Voice. 2022 Nov 9:S0892-1997(22)00318-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.10.013. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Lidewij S Boogers¹, Britney S J Chen¹, Marieke J Coerts², Rico N P M Rinkel², Sabine E Hannema³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Endocrinology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands; Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands.
² Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands; Department of Otolaryngology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands.
³ Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands; Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands. Electronic address: s.e.hannema@amsterdamumc.nl.

PMID: 36371270
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.10.013

Abstract

Objectives: Voice frequency can be measured to assess the voice change in transgender men and women during treatment. There are many applications that can analyze voice frequency. This validation study aimed to compare the ability to measure voice frequency of the mobile phone applications "Voice Tools" and "Voice Pitch Analyzer" with the registration program LingWAVES as the gold standard.

Study design: Prospective validation study.

Methods: A total of 45 participants of whom 20 transgender individuals were included. They were asked to read "The North Wind and the Sun" twice. The first measurement compared voice frequency measured by Voice Tools with LingWAVES while the second measurement compared Voice Pitch Analyzer with LingWAVES. The two applications that were being compared simultaneously measured the voice frequency. Pearson's regression correlations were performed to test for correlation between the mobile phone applications and LingWAVES.

Results: Significant correlations were demonstrated between the measurements of Voice Tools and LingWAVES (P < 0.001) and between Voice Pitch Analyzer and LingWAVES (P < 0.001). Voice Tools overestimated voice frequency with a median deviation of 2Hz (range -4 to 20). The overestimation was more pronounced in the high ranges. Voice Pitch Analyzer showed underestimation of voice frequency in high ranges. Median deviation was -2Hz (range -16 to 14).

Conclusions: This validation study shows that voice frequency can be reliably measured with the mobile phone applications "Voice Tools" and "Voice Pitch Analyzer". Combined with the ease of use, these applications can be used to measure voice frequency in clinical practice and for research purposes.

Keywords: Smartphone application; Transgender; Voice; Voice frequency.