Peer-reviewed research
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 · DOI 10.21437/Interspeech.2007-384
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A University of Sheffield study in which 25 British English speakers with no voice problems dictated with speech recognition software for 2 hours, using discrete or continuous recognition, while a listener panel rated voice samples recorded before and after. It also reviews earlier user reports of voice problems linked to dictation software.
- How much weight it carries
- A peer-reviewed conference paper, openly available. The sample is small (4 groups of 4 to 8 people), the software was 2000s-era, and it measured short-term changes in one session rather than long-term injury.
Facts taken from this source
- In the 2007 study, four groups of speakers each did a speech recognition task for 2 hours, with voice samples recorded before and after.
“Four different subject groups carried out a speech recognition task for 2 hours.” (2. Methodology)
- 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.
“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.” (Abstract)
- Before formal research, users of speech recognition software reported voice problems ranging from a dry throat to being unable to speak for more than half an hour a day.
“The problems and symptoms reported varied from a dry throat to being unable to speak more than half an hour a day.” (1. Introduction)
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