Personal Protective Equipment Effects

May 10, 2022 updated by: ahmet mutlu, Istanbul Medeniyet University

Effects of Personal Protective Equipment on Speech Acoustics

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 transmits through droplets; thus, oral, nasal, and conjunctival mucosas are related to contamination, and wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) is strongly suggested. Several communication problems between the patient and healthcare workers related to PPE use are reported. In this study, investigators aimed to investigate changes in the acoustic parameters of speech sounds when different PPE are used.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

It was planned as a cross-sectional study enrolled 18 healthy male and female participants. After the informed consent, participants were asked to pronounce a [ɑː] vowel for at least 3 seconds for voice quality estimation. Afterward, all Turkish vowels were produced for a minimum of 200 ms. Finally, three Turkish fricative consonants ([f], [s], [ʃ]) were produced in consonant/vowel/consonant format and in different vowel contexts within a carrier sentence. Recordings were repeated for the following conditions: no PPE, surgical-mask, N99-mask, face shield, surgical-mask+faceshield, and N99+faceshield. All recordings were analyzed with proper statistical methods.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

36

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey
      • Istanbul, Turkey, 34722
        • Istanbul Medeniyet University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy individuals. Based on health caregiving people (doctors, nurses)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • native Turkish speakers

Exclusion Criteria:

  • having an acute respiratory system infection history of any vocal fold surgery

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
no mask
no mask use
surgical mask
surgical mask use
Device: mask use
face mask use
N99 mask
N99 mask use
Device: mask use
face mask use
face shield
face shield use
Device: mask use
face mask use
surgical mask+ faceshield
surgical mask+ faceshield use
Device: mask use
face mask use
N99 mask+ faceshield
N99 mask+ faceshield use
Device: mask use
face mask use

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The change on voice acoustics due to different personal protective equipments use
Time Frame: 1 months
speech material for six different conditions: no PPE,surgical mask,N99 mask,face shield,surgical mask+ face shield, N99+face shield were recorded with a microphone.Recordings were performed in a random order. Obtained speech records were segmented according to the speech material and saved. Each of the segmented files was analyzed using Praat software and related scripts. The voice quality parameters were estimated on sustained [ɑː] vowels via Praat software (Praat is an open source software which enables voice acoustics analysis). Mean values of the different formant frequencies and formant bandwidth frequency values at midpoints of the analyzed segments of the vowels were measured. Spectral moments of the consonants were measured. The formant and spectral moment were measured using Praat scripts. All outcome measurements are in Hertz (Hz), so all measurements are held in primary outcome 1 measure section.
1 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Istanbul Medeniyet University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: ahmet mutlu, Istanbul Medeniyet University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 16, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 16, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

February 16, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 25, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 6, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

May 11, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 16, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2022

Last Verified

May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Effects on speech acoustics

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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