Study of the fundamental frequency in elderly women with hearing loss.

UNLABELLED: Increased life expectancy raises demands for special attention for the elderly population; speech, language and hearing science deals with their communication disorders. Hearing loss is a common disorder affecting this age group. It is known that the auditory feedback system is essential to human vocalizing, as it organizes voice production.

AIM: To assess and correlate the hearing system and the Fundamental Frequency (F0) of women who have variable degrees of sensorineural hearing loss.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: a cross-sectional descriptive study. 30 women with a mean age of 75.95 (SD = 7,41) were included. Inclusion criteria were: symmetric sensorineural hearing loss, a high-frequency sloping configuration, and a type A tympanogram. Subjects underwent Pure Tone Audiometry, a Word Recognition Test, Tympanometry, and Voice Assessment.

RESULTS

Patients with higher degrees of hearing loss showed an increased fundamental frequency.

CONCLUSION

In aged individuals with hearing loss, audiovocal monitoring is altered, resulting in voice parameter changes.