Analysis of the Creaky Nature of Asthmatic Speakers Voice in Sustained Phonation

Asthma is a reversible, obstructive lower respiratory disease, which is most common across all age groups. As the respiration is the source for speech production if there exist any respiratory complications it gets reflected in the signal produced. The current work explores the distinctive acoustical characteristics of obstructive and restrictive asthma by analyzing sustained phonations at soft, comfortable and loud modes. Analysis reveals periodic fluctuations in fundamental frequency, which are quantified through vibrato, and significant fundamental frequency lowering with multi-pulsing that characterizes a creaky voice in asthmatic speech across all severity and phonation modes. Furthermore, a shift in the frequency of high energy spectral component and fluctuations in formants are also observed in asthmatic speech.