PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate change in mean fundamental frequency (fo) and estimated vocal tract length (VTL) after laryngeal manual therapy and laryngeal reposturing with voicing in a group of transmasculine speakers, a group for which current research is lacking.
METHOD: Fifteen transmasculine individuals were recruited for this study. Participants were recorded at baseline (timepoint 1), again after 15 minutes of laryngeal manual therapy (timepoint 2), and again after 15 minutes of laryngeal reposturing with voicing (timepoint 3). Recordings consisted of the following: 1) elongated productions of “pot, seed, coop, cat, hut” to isolate the vowel sounds /ɑ, i, u, æ, ʌ/; 2) a 30–60 second spontaneous speech sample. Mean fo was calculated from the speech samples and VTL was estimated using an average of the third and fourth formants calculated from the middle of the vowel /ʌ/ in “hut.” Two separate repeated measures analyses of variance were completed for mean fo and estimated VTL with main effects of timepoint, followed by post hoc t tests.
RESULTS: The repeated measures analyses of variance showed a statistically significant effect of timepoint on fundamental frequency and on estimated VTL. Tukey simultaneous tests for differences of mean fo across timepoints found significance between timepoints 3 and 2. Tukey simultaneous tests for differences of estimated VTL across timepoints found significance between timepoints 3 and 1.
CONCLUSION: Laryngeal reposturing with voicing and laryngeal manual therapy together led to a significant increase in estimated vocal tract length, and laryngeal reposturing with voicing led to a significant decrease in mean fo. Individual outcomes varied, but overall results showed effectiveness for the use of these intervention techniques in the treatment of transmasculine individuals seeking gender-affirming voice care.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/42942 |
| Date | 26 August 2021 |
| Creators | Francois, Felicia Angela |
| Contributors | Stepp, Cara E. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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