A Scoping Literature Review of Relative Fundamental Frequency (RFF) in Individuals with and without Voice Disorders

Abstract

Relative fundamental frequency (RFF) is an acoustic measure that characterizes changes in voice fundamental frequency during voicing transitions. Despite showing promise as an indicator of vocal disorder and laryngeal muscle tension, the clinical adoption of RFF remains challenging, partly due to a lack of research integration. As such, this review sought to provide summative information and highlight next steps for the clinical implementation of RFF. A systematic literature search was completed across 5 databases, yielding 37 articles that met inclusion criteria. Studies most often included adults with and without tension-based voice disorders (e.g., muscle tension dysphonia), though patient and control groups were directly compared in only 32% of studies. Only 11% of studies tracked therapeutic progress, making it difficult to understand how RFF can be used as a clinical outcome. Specifically, there is evidence to support within-person RFF tracking as a clinical outcome, but more research is needed to understand how RFF correlates to auditory-perceptual ratings (strain, effort, and overall severity of dysphonia) both before and after therapeutic interventions. Finally, a marked increase in the use of automated estimation methods was noted since 2016, yet there remains a critical need for a universally available algorithm to support widespread clinical adoption.