Computerized Analysis of Acoustic Characteristics of Patients with Internal Nasal Valve Collapse Before and After Functional Rhinoplasty

Abstract

Acoustic analysis of sounds produced during speech provides significant information about the physiology of larynx and vocal tract. The analysis of voice power spectrum is a fundamental sensitive method of acoustic assessment that provides valuable information about the voice source and characteristics of vocal tract resonance cavities. The changes in long-term average spectrum (LTAS) spectral tilt and harmony to noise ratio (HNR) were analyzed to assess the voice quality before and after functional rhinoplasty in patients with internal nasal valve collapse. Before and 3 months after functional rhinoplasty, 12 participants were evaluated and HNR and LTAS spectral tilt in /a/ and /i/ vowels were estimated. It was seen that an increase in HNR and a decrease in LTAS spectral tilt existed after surgery. Mean LTAS spectral tilt in vowel /a/ decreased from 2.37 +/- 1.04 to 2.28 +/- 1.17 (P = 0.388), and it was decreased from 4.16 +/- 1.65 to 2.73 +/- 0.69 in vowel /i/ (P = 0.008). Mean HNR in the vowel /a/ increased from 20.71 +/- 3.93 to 25.06 +/- 2.67 (P = 0.002), and it was increased from 21.28 +/- 4.11 to 25.26 +/- 3.94 in vowel /i/ (P = 0.002). Modification of the vocal tract caused the vocal cords to close sufficiently, and this showed that although rhinoplasty did not affect the larynx directly, it changes the structure of the vocal tract and consequently the resonance of voice production. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in voice parameters after functional rhinoplasty in patients with internal nasal valve collapse by computerized analysis of acoustic characteristics.