Fact · Accessibility and health
In a study of voice quality after dictating with speech recognition software, one of the most consistent changes was a rise in pitch, which the authors read as the voice compensating for early voice fatigue.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“One of the most consistent results was a rise in pitch, a common finding in voice fatigue studies. It is interpreted as part of a hyperfunctional mechanism countering early signs of voice fatigue.”
Voice fatigue and use of speech recognition: a study of voice quality ratings, Christel de Bruijn and Sandra Whiteside, Proceedings of Interspeech 2007 (ISCA), 2007, Abstract.
Open the original (DOI 10.21437/Interspeech.2007-384)- What it measures
- 25 native British English speakers without voice problems dictated with speech recognition software for 2 hours, with either discrete (word by word) or continuous recognition, and a listener panel rated recordings made before and after.
- What it does not show
- Small sample, a single 2-hour session and 2000s-era software that often required speaking word by word. It shows short-term change, not lasting voice damage.