Purpose: The goal of this study was to present vocal aerodynamic measurements from pediatric and adult participant pools. There are a number of anatomical changes involving the larynx and vocal folds that occur as children age and become adults. Data were collected using two methods of noninvasive aerodynamic assessment: mechanical interruption…

Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether a simplified, and potentially more stable, acoustic-aerodynamic voice outcome ratio (ratio of sound pressure level [SPL] to subglottal pressure) is comparable to a traditional vocal efficiency measure (ratio of acoustic power to the product of average subglottal pressure and average phonatory airflow)…

Purpose: This exploratory study aims to investigate variations in voice production in the presence of background noise (Lombard effect) in individuals with nonphonotraumatic vocal hyperfunction (NPVH) and individuals with typical voices using acoustic, aerodynamic, and vocal fold vibratory measures of phonatory function. Method: Nineteen…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether estimates of glottal aerodynamic measures based on neck-surface vibration are comparable to those previously obtained using oral airflow and air pressure signals (Espinoza et al., 2017) in terms of discriminating patients with phonotraumatic and nonphonotraumatic vocal hyperfunction (PVH…

The trajectory of a ball in air is affected by aerodynamic drag and lift. In general, the trajectory needs to be calculated numerically since the acceleration varies with time in both the horizontal and vertical directions. If the trajectory remains approximately parabolic, then simple analytical solutions can be found, giving useful insights into…

Every so often an article appears in the popular press pointing to the apparent confusion surrounding the topic of aerodynamic lift and alleging that even the "experts" don't fully understand it. This makes attention-grabbing copy, but it overstates the case. Actually, the science of lift is not in dispute. It is well understood in terms…

This dissertation investigates language-specific acoustic and aerodynamic phenomena in language contact situations. Whereas most work on second language and bilingual phonology has focused on individual consonants and vowels, this project examines patterns of coarticulation in the two languages of Spanish-English and French-English bilingual…

Purpose: This study evaluated the efficacy of a 4-week straw phonation in water (SPW) exercise program on aging-related vocal fold atrophy (VFA), with a secondary objective to examine the immediate effects of SPW exercises. Method: Thirty-eight older adults aged 60 years and above formally diagnosed with aging-related VFA were randomly assigned…

In the companion paper, "Aerodynamic Lift, Part 1: The Science," I described the key features of lifting flows. The objective of the present paper is to explain those features and the cause-and-effect relationships between them in a manner consistent with the laws of physics. [For Part 1, see EJ1195081.]

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine if differences in stress system activation lead to changes in speaking fundamental frequency, average oral airflow, and estimated subglottal pressure before and after an acute, psychosocial stressor. Method: Eighteen vocally healthy adult females experienced the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to…

Purpose: Recent studies have shown that an acoustic measure, relative fundamental frequency (RFF), has potential for the assessment of excessive laryngeal tension and vocal effort associated with functional and neurological voice disorders. This study presents an analysis of the test-retest reliability of RFF in individuals with healthy voices and…

Although the physics of cycling itself is a complex mixture of aerodynamics, physiology, mechanics, and heuristics, using cycling as a context for teaching physics has a tradition of certainly more than 30 years. Here, a possible feature is the discussion of the noticeable resistant forces such as aerodynamic drag and the associated power…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of preliminary reports showing that glottal aerodynamic measures can identify pathophysiological phonatory mechanisms for phonotraumatic and nonphonotraumatic vocal hyperfunction, which are each distinctly different from normal vocal function. Method: Glottal aerodynamic measures…

Purpose: The acoustic measure relative fundamental frequency (RFF) was investigated as a potential objective measure to track variations in vocal effort within and across individuals. Method: Twelve speakers with healthy voices created purposeful modulations in their vocal effort during speech tasks. RFF and an aerodynamic measure of vocal effort,…

Purpose: The present study compared laryngeal aerodynamic function of healthy older adults (HOA) to adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) while speaking at a comfortable and increased vocal intensity. Method: Laryngeal aerodynamic measures (subglottal pressure, peak-to-peak flow, minimum flow, and open quotient [OQ]) were compared between HOAs and…