Because communication involves both a sender of messages, each person could influence the other’s feelings about speaking and listening. The reactions of each member of this communication network will determine how communication will flow in the future. With an understanding of the feedback system between speakers and listeners, researchers have designed management programs which allow the speaker who stutters to develop a new pattern of speech which does not hinder his communication efforts. Fluency is the primary consideration, and normalcy of speech is second. One such program has been devised by Casteel (1974). In Casteel’s stuttering management program a person moves through four stages of speaking to be fluent. The client learns to sacrifice specific components of speech and these components are systematically reinstated while fluency in reading, monologue, and dialogue are maintained. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to determine if breathy and imprecisely articulated speech (Stage III) interferes with the speaker’s ability to communicate.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect(s) of tinnitus maskers and tinnitus instruments on speech discrimination utilizing a population of subjects who currently have tinnitus and are presently wearing these devices. The hypothesis which guided this investigation states that there is no difference between discrimination scores with and without tinnitus maskers. In an attempt to test this hypothesis, speech discrimination scores were obtained from 26 listeners both in quiet and in the presence of cafeteria noise, with and without use of their tinnitus maskers.

The general purpose of this investigation was to specify further the activity of the pulmonary tract in esophageal speech. Specifically, the study sought to determine whether pulmonary airflow (PAF) rate varied in continuous speech as a function of manner of production, voicing, syllabic position, and perceived level of stoma noise. PAF rate variation was defined as the frequency and magnitude of changes occurring in association with the variables of this study. Six esophageal speakers utilizing the inhalation method of air intake were classified as high or low stoma (pulmonary) noise speakers on the basis of ratings by three speech pathologists. The /p, b, s, z/ phonemes were placed in arresting and releasing syllabic positions of single syllable words which were combined with other words to comprise two word phrases. The resulting eight phrases were uttered three times in random order by each speaker, while PAF rate was monitored at the tracheastoma, and recorded simultaneously with the phrases on the graphic printout. The graphic printout of the PAF rate curves revealed that air flowed from the stoma continuously throughout the phrase for each phrase and each speaker, but showed no fluctuations in rate within phrases for any of the variables of the study. Additionally, it was noted that PAF rate was not associated with perceived level of stoma noise.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of increased intensity on the bone conducted speech discrimination ability of normal listeners utilizing standard audiological equipment. The NU-6 word lists were utilized to test the bone conducted speech discrimination skills of ten normal hearing subjects, 21 to 30 years of age, on standard clinical equipment. Both the hearing levels (dB HL) and the sensation levels (dB SL) of the test administration were considered. In general, it was recommended that 100 dB Hl is the most appropriate dial setting for the administration of bone conducted speech discrimination tests even though comparable speech discrimination scores may be obtained with a 95 dB HL dial setting. This study indicates that the most appropriate sensation levels for the administration of bone conducted speech discrimination tests are 55 and 60 dB SL. Most normal listeners can be expected to achieve a 55 dB sensation level at the limits of the speech audiometer (100 dB HL). Additionally, it was found that when bone conducted speech discrimination tests are administered at levels of less than 55 dB SL, the results may be compromised by variances that occurred in this normal hearing sample. Therefore, the clinical audiologist should accept bone conducted speech discrimination results as valid only when the scores obtained at 40, 45 and 50 dB sensation levels are within the limits of clinical normality (90% or better). Recommendations for further research are discussed.

This study sought to determine the basic intelligibility of synthesized speech as produced by the HC 120 Phonic Mirror Handivoice. It involved 48 male and female subjects divided into two groups. Group 1 had 40 subjects ranging in age from 18 to 44 years. Group 2 had eight subjects ranging in age from 18 to 33 years. All subjects were screened for normal hearing. Testing for normal hearing was done in an audiological suite at Portland State University. The study was designed to determine the degree to which a group of normal hearing college students could recognize words and phrases as produced by the HC 120 Phonic Mirror Handivoice.

In recent years, tympanometry has been used to provide objective and definitive information regarding the status of middle ear conditions and functions. The present standard for tympanometric normalcy is based upon between-subject measures. This standard, however, does not allow precise differentiation between normal and pathological tympanometry curves. A within-subject comparison of right and left ear tympanometry curves of normal-hearing subjects could provide a narrow standard of tympanometric normalcy which would be more useful in differentiating between pathologic and non-pathologic middle ear function. The within-subject relationship between tympanometry curves for right and left ears was investigated by comparing the individual right and left ear tympanometry curves at 220 and 660 Hz of 30 normal-hearing young adults. This was done to determine if a difference exists between within-subject right and left ear tympanometry curves. Three characteristics, curve peak amplitude, curve width, and pressure at curve peak, were measured and compared for each tympanometry curve. All tympanometry was conducted with a Grason-Stadler Otoadmittance Meter (Model 1720) utilizing a combined mode of conductance and susceptance. All tympanometry curves were graphically recorded on a Hewlitt-Packard X-Y plotter (Model 7035B). Statistical analysis and graphic illustration showed that for practical purposes no significant clinical difference exists between within-subject right and left ear tympanometry curves and that measurement variability is predominantly due to between-subject differences. The ranges of between-ear differences were much reduced in comparison to the computed ranges for between-subject measures. These findings would suggest that a definition of tympanometric normalcy should be based not only upon between-subject measures, but also upon between-ear comparisons

Student speech-language pathologists begin their academic preparation as observers. Observations of the clinical management session are for the purpose of providing student clinicians with insight into the management process by providing clinical models. To make observation experiences meaningful there must be some guiding framework which will demonstrate the significance of behaviors observed.

Measurement of maximum duration of phonation has been suggested by several voice experts as a clinical tool for assessing vocal function (Arnold, 1955; Irwin, 1965; Yanagihara, Koike and von Leden, 1966; and Boone, 1971). Most of the investigations of maximum phonation time have been conducted using adult populations. exceptions to this can be found in the studies by Launer (1971) and Coombs (1976). An apparent need, therefore, existed to investigate maximum phonation time in children. The present study was designed to investigate the affects of age, sex, height, weight and vital capacity on the maximum duration of phonation of sustained /a/ in children eight and ten years of age when controlling for pitch and intensity.

The purpose of this study was to establish a normal, bone conducted intensity level for the speech reception threshold (SRT) and obtain a normal performance intensity function by bone conduction from 0 dB SL (threshold) through the maximum output level of the standard audiometer. All bone conducted speech test materials consisted of pre-recorded W-2 spondiac words and NU-6 monosyllabic speech discrimination word lists.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the central auditory processing of children who had sustained chronic middle ear problems during their early language-learning years. A 60% compressed recording of the NU-6 speech discrimination word lists was administered to twenty eight and nine year old normal hearing public school children, reported by their parents to have had repeated middle ear problems during their early years, and to twenty control subjects matched for age from the same public school classes. Differences in compressed and uncompressed word discrimination scores between the experimental and control groups were not found to be statistically significant. These results indicate that the experimental subjects' ability to process compressed speech was not impaired by early middle ear difficulties. The alternative was suggested that if these children actually sustained central damage due to distorted or degraded input during their hearing deficit episodes, then such effects may be neutralized by subsequent auditory experience and neurological maturity. A significant difference for both groups of children was noted between scores obtained with NU-6 lists 2A and 3A at 60% compression. While apparently equivalent in the uncompressed form, list 3 was found to be significantly more difficult than list 2 when compressed. Implications for further research are discussed.