Transmasculine voice after laryngeal manipulation (Dahl et al., 2022)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the short-term effects of circumlaryngeal massage and laryngeal reposturing on acoustic and perceptual characteristics of voice in transmasculine individuals.Method: Fifteen transmasculine individuals underwent one session of sequential circumlaryngeal massage and laryngeal reposturing with a speech-language pathologist. Voice recordings were collected at three time points—baseline, postmassage, and postreposturing. Fundamental frequency (fo), formant frequencies, and relative fundamental frequency (RFF; an acoustic correlate of laryngeal tension) were measured. Estimates of vocal tract length (VTL) were derived from formant frequencies. Twelve listeners rated the perceived masculinity of participants’ voices at each time point. Repeated-measures analyses of variance measured the effect of time point on fo, estimated VTL, RFF, and perceived voice masculinity. Significant effects were evaluated with post hoc Tukey’s tests.Results: Between baseline and end of the session, fo decreased, VTL increased, and participant voices were perceived as more masculine, all with statistically significant differences. RFF did not differ significantly at any time point. Outcomes were highly variable at the individual level.Conclusion: Circumlaryngeal massage and laryngeal reposturing have short-term effects on select acoustic (fo, estimated VTL) and perceptual characteristics (listener-assigned voice masculinity) of voice in transmasculine individuals.Supplemental Material S1. Individual acoustic and perceptual outcomes for transmasculine speakers at three timepoints—baseline, after circumlaryngeal massage (post-massage) and after laryngeal reposturing (post-reposturing). Dahl, K. L., François, F. A., Buckley, D. P., & Stepp, C. E. (2022). Voice and speech changes in transmasculine individuals following circumlaryngeal massage and laryngeal reposturing. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-21-00245

研究目的：本研究旨在评估环绕喉部按摩及喉部重塑对跨性别个体语音声学及感知特性的短期影响。研究方法：十五名跨性别个体在言语语言治疗师的指导下进行了一次的连续环绕喉部按摩及喉部重塑。在基线、按摩后和重塑后三个时间点收集了语音录音。测量了基频（fo）、共振峰频率以及相对基频（RFF；喉部紧张度的声学对应物）。通过共振峰频率推导出声带长度（VTL）的估计值。在每一个时间点，十二名听众对参与者语音的感知男性化程度进行了评分。重复测量方差分析用于评估时间点对fo、估计的VTL、RFF和感知语音男性化程度的影响。通过事后Tukey检验评估了显著效应。研究结果：从基线到会话结束，fo降低，VTL增加，参与者语音被感知为更具男性化，所有这些变化均具有统计学意义。RFF在任何时间点均无显著差异。个体层面的结果差异较大。研究结论：环绕喉部按摩及喉部重塑对跨性别个体语音的特定声学特性（fo、估计的VTL）和感知特性（听众分配的语音男性化程度）具有短期影响。补充材料S1：跨性别演讲者在三个时间点（基线、环绕喉部按摩后[按摩后]和喉部重塑后[重塑后]）的个体声学和感知结果。Dahl, K. L.，François, F. A.，Buckley, D. P.，& Stepp, C. E.（2022）。跨性别个体在接受环绕喉部按摩和喉部重塑后的语音和言语变化。美国言语-语言病理学杂志。在线预发表。https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-21-00245