The immediate and long-term effects of tube and mask+ tube phonation in water exercises and their duration as measured by electroglottographic and nasometric parameters

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the immediate effects and their persistence (at 15 minutes) of various durations of semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) (standard tube into water and modified mask+tube into water exercises) as measured by electroglottographic (EGG) and nasometric parameters. Methods: The study included 30 women aged 19 through 28 years with healthy voices, and it comprised five randomly implemented procedures (Ps): P1-tube phonation into water for 5 minutes; P2-tube phonation into water for 10 minutes; P3-tube+ventilation mask phonation into water for 5 minutes; P4-tube+ventilation mask phonation into water for 10 minutes; P5-phonation with ventilation mask for 5 minutes. Fifteen-minute voice rest breaks were provided between each procedure. Nasometric and electroglottographic measurements were taken before, during, immediately after and at 5, 10, and 15 minutes after the exercises, and the recorded measurements were analyzed. Results: The immediate effects of P3 and P4 on voice quality showed better performance than the other procedures. Among all the procedures, P1 had the smallest effect on voice quality in terms of nasometric and EGG parameters and the least degree of effect permanence. In all the fluctuating SOVTE procedures except P1, the nasalance scores decreased (P1, P2, P3, and P4: fluctuating SOVTE; P5: steady SOVTE). Conclusion: The tube phonation exercises modified by the addition of a ventilation mask were highly advantageous in terms of EGG parameters. In addition to this, regardless of the mode of application of the retention time, it was observed that the positive effect (ie, lower vertical laryngeal position) of the exercises applied for 10 minutes was higher than the exercises applied for 5 minutes.