Investigating the Effectiveness of Modified Lip Buzz Protocol in Healthy Adults

Furkan Ali Irklı Elçin Tadıhan Özkan Elif Meryem Ünsal

Abstract

Purpose: Semi-occluded vocal tract exercises activate the vocal system at different levels, including breathing, phonation and resonance. The relative occlusion in the vocal tract increases the source filter interaction by increasing the pressure over the glottis and intraoral pressure. Semi-occluded vocal tract exercises minimize collision stress of the vocal folds and allow efficient use of the respiratory system. There are many types of semi- occluded vocal tract exercises in the literature, such as straw phonation, lip trills, tongue trills, lip buzz, hand-over- mouth, and others. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Modified Lip Buzz Exercise Protocol using aerodynamic and acoustic parameters in individuals who do not have any voice disorder and who are not professional voice users. Methods: This study was conducted in Anadolu University Speech and Language Disorders Education, Research and Therapy Center (DİLKOM) voice laboratory. A total of 10 volunteers (5 females and 5 males) participated in the study. In the study, a single group pre-test and post-test model was used. The average age of the participants was 22.3, SD = 0.95, with a range of 21- 24. There were 30 minutes between the pre-test and the post-test. During this 30-minute period, participants performed the 4-step Modified Lip Buzz Exercise Protocol, which was modeled by the clinician. In the post-test phase, the immediate effect of the exercises was examined. During the implementation of the exercises, all participants were given the same instructions and the same process was followed. Maximum /ʌ/ phonation time and acoustic parameters (F0, jitter, shimmer, soft phonation index) of the participants, sustained /s/ and /z/ were measured both before and after the practice of the exercise. The s/z ratio was calculated using the measured maximum duration of sustained /s/ and /z/. The data obtained from the measurements were analyzed by non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test using SPSS 22.0 package program. Results: The measurements of maximum duration of sustained /s/ and /z/ and Shimmer acoustic parameters pre- and post lip buzz exercise showed a significant difference while F0, Jitter, soft phonation index acoustic parameters, s/z ratio and maximum /ʌ/ phonation time did not. After the implementation of the protocol, participants’ maximum duration of sustained /s/ and /z/ were significantly higher than pre-test results. Also, it was found that shimmer acoustic parameter of the participants decreased significantly compared to the pre-exercise. Conclusion: The significant difference between the /s/ and /z/ phonation times and the shimmer acoustic parameter before and after the exercise indicated that the participants benefited from lip buzz training. The results show that lip buzz exercise has a positive effect on respiratory and phonation systems.

Keywords

semi-occluded vocal tract exercises, lip buzz, acoustic parameters, s/z ratio, maximum phonation time, voice quality

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