Perceptual-auditory and Acoustic Analysis of Air Traffic Controllers' Voices Pre- and Postshift

Publication date: Available online 5 January 2016
Source:Journal of Voice
Author(s): Anna C.N.W.B. Villar, Gustavo P. Korn, Renata R. Azevedo
ObjectiveTo characterize the vocal quality and acoustic parameters of voices of air traffic controllers (ATCs) without any vocal complaints before and after a shift.MethodThe voices of a group of 45 ATCs were recorded before and after a 2-hour shift, regardless of their operational position or number of previously worked shifts; both genders were included, participants had a mean age of 25 years, and they had a mean length of occupational experience of 4 years and 2 months. Each of these professionals was recorded phonating a sustained /a/ vowel and counting from 1 to 20, and the recordings were acoustically analyzed using the Praat software. A perceptual-auditory analysis of the recordings was then performed by three speech therapists specializing in voice, who evaluated the characteristics of each emission using a visual analog scale (VAS). The acoustic analysis was performed on the sustained /a/ vowel. The measures of intensity; frequency; maximum phonation time (MPT); and the first, second, third, and fourth formants were considered in this analysis.ResultsThere were no significant differences between the random pre- and postshift samples, either in the acoustic or in the perceptual-auditory analysis. The perceptual-auditory analysis revealed that 44% (n = 20) of ATCs showed alterations in vocal quality during the sustained /a/ vowel emission, and this dysphonia was also observed in connected speech in 25% (n = 5) of this group.ConclusionPerceptual-auditory analysis of the /a/ vowel revealed that a high percentage of ATCs had vocal alterations (44%), even among a group of subjects without vocal complaints.



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