A study of vocal characteristics and their relationships to physical fitness

Abstract

It is well known that as people age their voices sound older. In other words the voice ages. There have been many studies done on the fundamental frequency of voice and its relationship to old age. Fundamental frequency is defined as the rate of glottal vibration which is heard as pitch. It is the lowest component frequency of a periodic wave. In general, we find that voice fundamental frequency decreases until old age and then it begins to increase for men, not for women.Consequently, fundamental frequency isn't the only parameter to be investigated in the study of the aging voice. Jitter and shimmer and vowel duration have been examined in the aging voice. Jitter and shimmer are vocal perturbation caused by cycle-to-cycle variation in frequency and intensity.With the increased interest in physical fitness in the 80's it seems appropriate to question the relationship between voice and physical fitness. There is some question as to whether or not people in good physical condition are more apt to have a younger sounding voice or vocal characteristics similar to a young person. Since the larynx contains intrinsic and extrinsic muscles it may be possible that these too are affected by the exercising or lack of exercising found in individuals.Effects of physiological aging on selected acoustic characteristics of voice such as fundamental frequency, vowel duration, and jitter and shimmer have been studied. It is still not clear as to what may contribute to these differences. It may be the changes in the laryngeal mechanism or changes in pulmonary support of the voice.