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Acoustic Measure of Hormone Affect on Female Voice During Menstruation
Larry Barnes, Neal Latman

Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use connected speech patterns in acoustic analysis of voice to determine if variations in vocal patterns can be detected during different phases of the menstrual cycle. It was hypothesized that natural hormonal changes during menstrual cycle would alter the acoustic characteristics of voice. Method: This descriptive research design acoustically analyzed 175 audio recorded female voice samples from 35 subjects. The points of measure included the following phases: menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, luteal and premenstrual. Eight parameters were statistically analyzed for significance: mean fundamental frequency, jitter, relative average perturbation, shimmer, peak-to-peak amplitude variation, noise to harmonic ratio, degree of voice breaks, and number of voice breaks. Results: A statistical analysis of data reliability between the 1st and 2nd menstrual periods showed no statistically significant differences for any of the eight acoustic parameters. No statistically significant differences were found for any of the acoustic parameters between subjects using estrogen/progesterone contraceptives and those that were not using them. Conclusion: None of the eight acoustic parameters examined demonstrated statistically significant differences in the four different hormonal phases of the menstrual cycle. Results suggest hormones are not implicated in voice change parameters measured during menstrual cycle.

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