Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2019 Nov;62(11):637-641. 10.3342/kjorl-hns.2019.00178.

The Effect of Adenotonsillectomy on Korean Children's Voice

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Busan Saint Mary's Hospital, Busan, Korea. ktk0305@hotmail.com
  • 2Department of Language and Information, College of Humanities, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Adenotonsillectomy is a commonly performed surgical procedure carried out by otolaryngologists for children. Anatomical changes to the vocal tract occur after the surgery and may alter the patient's voice. This study evaluated the effects of adenotonsillectomy on the voice in Korean children.
SUBJECTS AND METHOD
total of 20 children who underwent adenotonsillectomy were enrolled. The speech of patients was recorded before and at one month of the surgery and acoustic features, especially the formant frequency, were analyzed. Perceptual analysis was also carried out and the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (PVHI) questionnaire was used to assess subjective changes in the children's voice and the effects of these changes on social functions.
RESULTS
Acoustic analysis revealed significant decreases in the vowel /i/ in the second formant, compact-diffuse, and grave-acute features of the voice (p=0.026, 0.022, and 0.031, respectively). A significant decrease was also observed in the intensity of the voice for the vowel /u/ (p=0.025). Perceptual analysis revealed that 86.6% of patients' voice recordings had post-operative changes. The mean preoperative PVHI score was 2.70±3.37, which decreased to 1.65±2.21 (p=0.011) after the surgery.
CONCLUSION
The results suggest that adenotonsillectomy affects Korean children's voices both acoustically and perceptually.

Keyword

Child; Korea; Tonsillectomy; Voice

MeSH Terms

Acoustics
Child
Humans
Korea
Methods
Tonsillectomy
Voice*
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