CHAPTER 1: NATURE OF SOUND
This is the back-and-forth movement of a molecule or wave, measured in Hertz.
What is frequency?
This is the equilibrium lung level between breaths where elastic recoil forces balance.
What is Resting Expiratory Level (REL)?
This common pulmonary test uses FVC and FEV₁ to assess lung efficiency.
What is spirometry?
This theory explains phonation as an interaction of muscle force, tissue elasticity, and airflow/pressure.
What is the Myoelastic–Aerodynamic Theory of Phonation?
This common noninvasive tool uses electrodes on the neck to measure VF contact during vibration.
What is electroglottography (EGG)?
This term refers to the distance a wave travels during one cycle, calculated as 330 m/s divided by frequency.
What is wavelength?
For speech, this percentage of the respiratory cycle is spent on exhalation.
What is 90%?
This flow measure uses a handheld meter to track asthma management through a red–yellow–green zone system.
What is peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR)?
This phase difference explains why the bottom of the VFs opens and closes before the top.
What is the mucosal wave / vertical phase difference?
This ratio indicates how much periodic VF sound is present relative to turbulent noise. Higher values mean less noise.
What is harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR)?
A sound made of only one frequency produced by simple harmonic motion is called this.
What is a pure tone?
Infants use this structure (not their rib cage) to create lung volume changes because their thorax is not strong enough.
What is the diaphragm?
This graph plots airflow velocity against volume and helps diagnose obstructive vs restrictive disease.
What is a flow-volume loop (FVL)?
This measure is the minimum subglottal pressure needed to start vocal fold vibration.
What is phonation threshold pressure (PTP)?
This imaging technique uses a strobing light to make VF vibration appear in slow motion.
What is videostroboscopy?
When two waves combine so that their amplitudes add, increasing total amplitude, this type of interference occurs.
What is constructive interference?
During speech below REL, these two muscle groups actively contract to continue exhalation.
What are the intercostals and abdominals?
This symptom features audible inspiratory turbulence caused by airway narrowing.
What is stridor?
In this vocal register, VFs are tense, produce very high pitch, and create a “thin” sound with fewer harmonics.
What is falsetto (loft)?
People with this condition may sound normal but show early acoustic abnormalities such as high jitter and reduced MPFR.
What is ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)?
DAILY DOUBLE: These are whole-number multiples of the fundamental frequency in a complex wave.
What are harmonics?
Older adults waste 2–3 times more air than young adults because of this age-related respiratory change.
What is reduced respiratory efficiency / decreased elastic recoil / weaker expiratory muscle function?
This type of dysarthria, caused by cerebellar damage, results in “scanning speech” characterized by equal and excess stress.
What is ataxic dysarthria?
These two acoustic measures reflect cycle-to-cycle fluctuations in frequency and amplitude.
What are jitter (frequency perturbation) and shimmer (amplitude perturbation)?
This condition presents with erratic spasms of the vocal folds creating “strained-strangled” voice quality.
What is spasmodic dysphonia (adductor type)?