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Changes in the male voice at puberty: vocal fold length and its relationship to the fundamental frequency of the voice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

Meredydd Harries ,
Sarah Hawkins ,
Jeremy Hacking  and
Ieuan Hughes
Meredydd Harries*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, The Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton
Sarah Hawkins
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, Cambridge University, Cambridge
Jeremy Hacking
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge
Ieuan Hughes
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatrics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
*
Address for correspondence: Meredydd Lloyd Harries, The Voice Clinic, The Royal Sussex County Hospital, Eastern Road, Brighton BN2 5BE
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Abstract

Ultrasound measurements of the vocal folds were taken for a number of boys passing through puberty. The boys were grouped according to their pubertal stage as defined by Tanner and there was a gradual increase in the length of the vocal folds as puberty progressed. The fundamental frequency of the boys' speaking voice was recorded via laryngography and a good correlation between the length of the vocal folds and the frequency of the voice was seen. The sudden drop in frequency seen between Tanner stages 3 and 4 did not correlate with similar changes in the length of the vocal folds at this time but stroboscopic findings suggest a change in the structure and mass of the vocal folds at this time of maximum frequency change.

Keywords

VoicePuberty, Vocal fold
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 112 , Issue 5 , May 1998 , pp. 451 - 454
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1998

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