Variation of Harmonics to Noise Ratio from the Age Range of 9–18 Years Old in both the Genders

Voice is the perception of physical complexity of the laryngeal tone modified by a resonating cavity. The voice parameters are the vital signs of an individual to project their personality and gender. The basic acoustical parameters of voice are: Fundamental frequency, Intensity, Jitter, Shimmer and Harmonics to noise ratio (HNR) and among these parameters HNR is the most significant. The voice component represents the periodic and aperiodic signals and predominantly aperiodic signals. There are many research work have been documented on acoustical analysis of voice with narrowed age range at different zonals in India. The motive of the study was mainly focused on the ratio between periodic and aperiodic components of voice and its changes from pre pubertal to post pubertal stages in both the genders. Due to the paucity of literature on changes in HNR in developing children, the present study was conducted to find out how do the changes in HNR occur in both the genders. Observational study design with convenient sampling method was used for the collection of raw data. A total of 198 subjects comprising of group I males (n = 99) and group II females (n = 99). These groups were further subdivided into 9 sub groups in males (n = 99) and females (n = 99) based on the age range. Sustained phonation of /a/ was used as a stimulus for voice sample. The data was analyzed using PRAAT software. The over mean Harmonic to Noise Ratio was found to be higher in males compared to the females. When age wise comparison was done, a significant difference in the Harmonic to Noise Ratio was found in males with no significant changes noticed in females. The transition in the Harmonic to Noise Ratio in males was seen to start at the age of 14–15 years.