# Convergent evidence for a pitch deficit in hyperfunctional voice disorders

## TL;DR

People with hyperfunctional voice disorders struggle more with pitch discrimination than healthy individuals, even when using the same external voice stimulus.

## Contribution

This study confirms a pitch-related auditory deficit in HVDs using an external voice stimulus, avoiding confounds from vocal quality differences.

## Key findings

- HVD participants showed poorer fo discrimination compared to controls.
- The deficit was observed using an external voice, not their own.
- Results support a consistent auditory pitch processing issue in HVDs.

## Abstract

A recent study in individuals with hyperfunctional voice disorders (HVDs) reported poorer fo discrimination compared to matched controls. In that study, fo discrimination was measured using each individual's own voice as the stimulus, which may have introduced confounds given the differences in vocal quality between the groups. Here, this paper addressed this possibility by using an fo discrimination task where participants with and without HVDs judged the same external voice. In line with the previous study, the HVD group exhibited poorer fo discrimination than controls, providing convergent evidence for a pitch-related auditory deficit in this population.