Praat-Assisted Nasalance Meter: A Low-Cost Nasalance Measurement System for Evaluation of Nasal Resonance Disorders

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to introduce a low-cost system measuring nasalance, which can often be performed with high-cost systems, and to present the normative nasalance values for adults using this system. Materials and Methods: This study included 96 standard native Turkish-speaking literate volunteers who had no hearing and speech problems or nasal obstruction. Nasalance values were measured using the system developed by the principal author, which is called the praat-assisted nasalance meter, using speech materials and related methods. Results: The participants were 18-65 (average, 33.7) years old. They were divided into three groups according to their age: 18-25, 26-40, and 41-65. A significant difference was found in the nasalance values between the genders. For nearly all speech materials, higher nasalance values were measured in women than in men. Conclusion: There is no generally accepted rule to ascertain if a speaker’s resonance is abnormal according to nasalance values. Therefore, the proposed threshold values should not be considered absolute values but should be decided with perceptual evaluation.