Govor, Vol. 38 No. 2, 2021.
Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.22210/govor.2021.38.11
Acoustic analysis and self assessment of speech with face masks and shields
Aneta Jurišić
Iva Bašić
orcid.org/0000-0002-2171-9300
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
During coronavirus pandemic we have been faced with a new lifestyle, which, among many
other changes, includes wearing face coverings. Everyday use of face masks and/or face shields
makes breathing and speech more difficult. These difficulties are more prominent in vocaly challenging professions, such as teaching. Therefore, the acoustical impact of different face
coverings (surgical mask, cloth mask, face shield) on speech has been studied using the
following parameters: fundamental frequency, intensity and long-term average speech
spectrum (LTASS). Also, a self assessment questionnaire about voice, voice habits and
problems has been filled by the teachers. Acoustic analysis showed that speech with surgical
face mask resembles the speech without face coverings the most. On the other hand, speech
with face shield has shown the greatest intensity loss. Speech sound loss has been detected in
the frequency region around 1 kHz, but the greatest loss has been present around 4 kHz. While speaking with different face coverings, the lowering of fundamental frequency has been noticed in most of the speech samples. Speech with face surgical mask showed F0 lowering from 0.5 Hz to 5.93 Hz while speech with face cloth mask F0 showed lowering from 0.3 Hz to 6.06 Hz. Speech with face shield showed more consisted F0 lowering, ranging from 0.6 Hz to 4.6 Hz. Intensity losses have been detected in all speech conditions: speech with surgical (from 0.06 dB to 7.05 dB) and cloth masks (from 0.15 dB to 3.3 dB) as well as in speech with face shield (from 0.45 dB to 5.66 dB). The self assessment results from VHI before and during coronavirus pandemic showed more frequent and heavier voice problems during pandemic in
comparison to period before pandemic. Also, none of the participants were aware of speech
and voice exercises for voice care, which would be useful in their profession in general and
especially during the pandemic.
Keywords
coronavirus; face mask; face shield; acoustic analysis; self assessment
Hrčak ID:
273889
URI
Publication date:
15.3.2022.
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