Lend Your Voice: African-Americans Needed
For Important Research Study

Released: August 27, 2004

MILWAUKEE – A researcher at Marquette University is seeking participants for a study of African-American voices that will ultimately help doctors treat patients with voice disorders. Dr. Sue Ellen Linville will spend the next three years studying African- American voices to determine whether vocal-aging patterns identified in Americans of European descent apply to the African-American population as well.

The data Dr. Linville collects will help treat a variety of conditions. Since a number of neurological disorders have a voice characteristic as one of the early symptoms (for example, in Parkinson's disease, a voice tremor is symptomatic), Linville's findings may offer physicians another tool to use when diagnosing normal vocal aging versus a change that may be symptomatic of a serious health problem.

Her research will go beyond studying acoustic characteristics in the voices of young African-American adults (ages 21-29) and older adults (over 65). She will also look at how a person's culture factors into vocal aging.

"There is evidence that the pitch of women's voices in general has lowered during the past 30 years. Most likely that is a result of most women being in the workplace and the lower pitch is more authoritative," Linville says to explain the impact a cultural factor can carry. She hopes to find out if similar influences can be identified among African-Americans as they age.

Linville and her research assistants will select 128 people in the immediate community to participate in the three year project. If you are interested in participating, please contact Dr. Sue Ellen Linville, at (414) 288-1406 or by
e-mail at sueellen.linville@marquette.edu.