Objective:

To evaluate the impact of menopause on specific aspects of vocal quality and function in women, including frequency and perceptual scores.

Approach:

Key Findings:

• Postmenopausal women exhibited lower vocal frequency and lower perceptual scores for grade, roughness, and strain compared to premenopausal women, with statistical significance noted.
• No significant differences were found in voice-related quality of life (VHI-10) or other acoustic measures like jitter and shimmer.
• Age correlated significantly with perceptual voice quality scores and vocal frequency, indicating a potential confounding factor.

Interpretation:

Voice changes in postmenopausal women are attributed to hormonal changes affecting vocal fold edema and muscle atrophy; however, these changes do not negatively impact their quality of life.

Limitations:

• The study did not include participants undergoing hormone therapy, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
• Further research is needed to explore laryngeal cytological aspects and hormone receptor presence in relation to vocal changes.

Conclusion:

While menopause alters vocal characteristics, it does not diminish the quality of life for postmenopausal women, as evidenced by the lack of significant differences in voice-related quality of life measures.

Sources:

• Ear, Nose & Throat Journal
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