Evaluation of noise excitation as a method for detection of hypernasality

Hypernasality is a disorder where excess nasal resonance is perceived during speech, often as a result of abnormal coupling between the oral and nasal tracts known as velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). The most common cause of VPI is a cleft palate, which affects around 1 in 1650 babies, around ⅓ of whom have persistent speech problems after surgery. Current equipment-based assessment methods are invasive and require expert knowledge, and perceptual assessment methods are limited by the availability of expert listeners and differing interpretations of assessment scales. Spectral analysis of hypernasality within the academic community has resulted in potentially useful spectral indicators, but these are highly variable, vowel specific, and not commonly used within clinical practice. Previous works by others have developed noise excitation technologies for the measurement of oral tract transfer functions using resonance measurement devices (RMD). These techniques provide an opportunity to investigate the structural system abnormalities which lead to hypernasality, without the need for invasive measurement equipment. Thus, the work presented in this study adapts these techniques for the detection of hypernasality. These adaptations include augmentation of the hardware and development of the software, so as to be suitable for transfer function measurement at the nostrils rather than the mouth (nRMD). The new method was tested with a single participant trained in hypernasal production, producing ‘normal’ and hypernasal vowels, and the recordings validated through a listening test by an expert listener and calculation of nasalance values using a nasality microphone. These validation stages indicated the reliability of the captured data, and analysis of the nRMD measurements indicated the presence of a systematic difference in the frequency range 2 to 2.5 kHz between normal and hypernasal speech. Further investigation is warranted to determine the generalisability of these findings across speakers, and to investigate the origins of differences manifesting in the transfer functions between conditions. This will provide new insights into the effects of nasal tract coupling on voice acoustics, which could in turn lead to the development of useful new tools to support clinicians in their work with hypernasality.