ON THE RELEVANCE OF MEASURING HIGH FORMAN TS IN CONNECTION WITH AUDITIVE VOICE ASSESSMENT

The measurement of sound energy in the spectral region between 2 and 5 kHz provides additional information to the auditive assessment of voi ce duality. It can be applied to healthy an sick voices, e.g. in traci ng the therapeutic course. Devices for measuring voice range profiles with the possibility of evaluating the high formant region are especia lly useful and valuable. But, nonetheless, simultaneous auditive asses sment is crucial to avoid misinterpretation. Calculation of the quotie nt of the sound pressure level in the region between 2 and 5 kHz by th e total sound pressure level allows to determine vocal sound character istics and changes of the sound. Pre- and postoperative sound spectra obtained from the voices of patients with diseases of the vocal folds illustrate the improvement of the harmonic structure and the decrease of noise components. The measurement of the high formant intensity has proven to be appropriate for the registration of the voice quality be fore and after therapy in 130 cases. Although the value of these measu rements is highly validated in the phoniatric practice, extensive stud ies and especially, expert discussions are still needed. The authors c ome to terms with opinions that question the validity of the described methods.