A relação entre o processamento auditivo temporal e a voz no envelhecimento

With aging, the voice and hearing can be affected at different degrees, being some of the main responsible for the communicative difficulties of the elderly. Adequate vocal production requires auditory integrity and efficient sensory processing at central level, especially regarding the temporal aspects of auditory information. These are fundamental due to their relation to the discrimination of sonority traits and perception of frequency and intensity. This cross-sectional, analytical and correlational study aimed to analyze the correlation between temporal auditory processing and the voice of the elderly. For this purpose, 40 elderly individuals were divided into two groups, with and without vocal alterations, according to the Vocal Symptom Scale (VoSS), and submitted to the evaluation of hearing, resolution and temporal masking skills. We study evaluated the occurrence of voice complaints, vocal self-perception and self-evaluation of vocal quality; acoustic and perceptive-auditory analysis of voice. The most frequent voice complaints were: phlegm, vocal fatigue and weak voice. The majority of the elderly evaluated had decreased voice intensity, normal temporal ordering; altered temporal resolution, and increased target signal detection thresholds in the presence of masking in the time domain. The elderly presented normal vocal quality variability. Regarding the vocal parameters evaluated, only the pitch differed significantly between the groups. There was difference between the sexes regarding frequency, shimmer, overall severity of the change and roughness. There was a correlation between temporal resolution ability with global severity of change and roughness. There is impairment in the central hearing due to aging, which correlate with vocal difficulties in the elderly.