Investigation and Comparison of the Normative Nasalance Score in Normal Persian-Speaking Men and Women Aged 21-33 Years

Background and Objective: Measuring the data of normative nasalance scores in the speech of normal people helps speech therapists obtain more accurate results regarding the condition of their clients. The present study aimed to investigate the normative nasalance score and the relationship between gender and nasalance in normal Persian-speaking people aged 21-33 and the influence of gender on it. Materials and Methods: The present descriptive-analytical and non-experimental study, using convenience sampling, was conducted on 106 Persian-speaking, accent-less participants without production, amplification, sound, and hearing disorders (53 women and 53 men) aged 21-33 in 2024 in Hamadan, Iran. The mean normative nasalance scores were measured using the nasometer model ANDREA SN: 8538, the SNAP test, and readings of the Rainbow and Bahare’s Bag texts. Results: The mean nasalance score in the syllable /ʃa/ was 14.30±4.41 for males and 12.21±4.18 for females, respectively. Moreover, the mean nasalance score in the carrier phrase focused on lingual alveolar consonants was 16.47±4.60 for males and 14.71±3.75 for females, in respective order. In general, the mean nasalance score was significantly higher for men compared to that for women. However, there was no significant difference between the mean nasalance scores of other speech contexts in men compared to women. Conclusion: The mean scores of normative nasalance did not demonstrate a significant difference between males and females in most contextures. Additionally, obtaining normative nasalance scores in Persian-speaking men and women can be used as a baseline for assessing, diagnosing, and treating resonance disorders in the Persian language.