Perceptual-Auditory and Acoustic Analysis of Breathiness in Cis and Transgender Men and Women

Marina F Canal; Aline O Santos; Julia F Sanchez; Aline E Wolf; Kelly C A Silverio; Alcione G Brasolotto

doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2024.02.015

Perceptual-Auditory and Acoustic Analysis of Breathiness in Cis and Transgender Men and Women

J Voice. 2024 Mar 30:S0892-1997(24)00055-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2024.02.015. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Marina F Canal¹, Aline O Santos¹, Julia F Sanchez², Aline E Wolf², Kelly C A Silverio¹, Alcione G Brasolotto³

Affiliations

¹ Department at Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, FOB USP, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil.
² Department of Health Sciences, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, FMRP USP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
³ Department at Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, FOB USP, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: alcione@usp.br.

PMID: 38556379
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2024.02.015

Abstract

Objective: To verify breathiness in the cisgender and transgender men and women's voices, compare values of acoustic and perceptual indicators of breathiness and fundamental frequency (f0) between groups, and compare them between the voices attributed as female and male.

Study design: Cross sectional retrospective study.

Methods: The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (4,937,140). Sustained vowel /a/ and continuous speech recordings of 21 cisgender men (CISM), 31 transgender men (TM), 32 cisgender women (CISW), and 31 transgender women (TW) were analyzed. Three judges conducted a perceptive-auditory analysis regarding the degree breathiness, using a visual analog scale, and attributed gender (female or male). The ABI (Acoustic Breathiness Index) was extracted using the PRAAT software (6.1.16). The f0, Harmonic-Noise Ratio (HNR), Voice Turbulence Index (VTI), and Soft Phonation Index (SPI) were analyzed using the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (KayPentax).

Results: The ABI value for CISM was lower than for TM and CISW. CISW had a higher f0 than; TM had a higher f0 than CISM; and TW had a higher f0 than CISM. The groups did not differ for HNR and VTI. Regarding the SPI, CISM had higher values than CISW. Regarding the auditory perception, TM presented more intense breathiness than CISM in the vowel. Regarding gender attribution by voice, the voices CISM and CISW were 100% identified as male and female. On the other hand, in the vowel analysis, 45.2% of the TM voices were perceived as female, and 59.4% of TW voices as male.

Conclusion: Breathiness occurs differently between groups and the voices perceived as male and female. Even when TM is submitted to the use of testosterone and undergoes vocal changes, the transglottal airflow remains, which is a female characteristic of phonation.

Keywords: Speech acoustics; Transgender people; Vocal quality.