Science AI Journal
Medicine · Research topic

Open research questions in Voice and Speech Disorders

577 gap statements mined from Voice and Speech Disorders papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,116 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Voice and Speech Disorders? See the ranked Medicine journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • Recurrence estimates are influenced by lesion type, outcome definition, and follow-up. The distinction between persistence and recurrence is crucial for accurate outcome definition. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of different surgical techniques for treating benign vocal fold lesions.

    Recurrence of Benign Vocal Fold Lesions: Risk Factors and an Exploratory Comparison of Cold-Instrument and CO2 Laser Surgery in a Retrospective Cohort · 2026 · DOI

  • Reference datasets based on open-source tools remain limited for Turkish-speaking adults. Language and age-specific reference databases are necessary to support more appropriate interpretation of acoustic voice measures.

    Age and gender variability and preliminary reference data for acoustic and cepstral voice measures in Turkish adults · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to investigate the relationship between LTAS features and disease severity in other neurological diseases. Studies should explore the use of LTAS in combination with other speech analysis techniques to improve diagnostic accuracy. Research should investigate the potential of LTAS to monitor disease progression and treatment response.

    Screening speech disorders in progressive neurological diseases via long-term average spectrum · 2026 · DOI

  • One challenge is the risk of vocal overloading due to increased fundamental frequency and sound pressure level in teaching situations. Another challenge is the need for appropriate vocal functioning in teaching situations. The study also highlights the challenge of promoting learning through effective communication in the classroom.

    Talking Like a Teacher—A Study of Pre-Service Teachers’ Voice and Speech Characteristics in Learning and Teaching Situations · 2024 · DOI

  • Rhythmic auditory exposure modulates subsequent speech processing, yet its effect on speech production remains poorly understood.

    When rhythm guides speech production: Insights from Parkinson's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia · 2026 · DOI

  • "Yi Jin Jing, Wohu Pushi" posture-voice therapy (YJJ-WPVT), emphasizing postural coordination, offers a promising yet underexplored alternative.

    “YiJinJing, Wohu Pushi” Posture‐Voice Therapy for Dysarthria in Parkinson's Disease Patients Following Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation: A Randomized Controlled Trial · 2025 · DOI

  • Research on the possible influence of lateralised basal ganglia dysfunction on speech in Parkinson's disease is scarce.

    Is speech function lateralised in the basal ganglia? Evidence from de novo Parkinson’s disease · 2024 · DOI

  • Additional studies on micro-gestural expression in performance further support the idea that small sonic details can carry significant expressive weight (Windsor, 2011; Leman, 2016).

    Snoring as Involuntary Vocalisation: Mapping Its Rhythmic, Timbre-Based, and Affective Qualities in Experimental Music Composition · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited sample size of the available Chinese speech database. Relative scarcity of high-quality annotated speech data. Current limitations in expertise and technical resources.

    Study on the characteristics analysis and recognition method of vowels in patients with type Ⅱ diabetes · 2026 · DOI

  • The current state of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) for dysarthric speech is limited. The available data for dysarthric speech is limited.

    How can deep learning technique be leveraged to enhance ASR systems for dysarthric speech recognition? · 2026 · DOI

  • Conductors need to adapt their pedagogical approaches to the age and developmental level of their students.

    Vocal Pedagogy and Rehearsal Strategies in Adolescent Choral Settings: An Observational Study of Australian National Choirs · 2026 · DOI

  • The physiological underpinnings of atypical stop consonant productions in PD are not well understood. There is a need to investigate the articulatory correlates of atypical stop consonant production in speakers with PD.

    Articulatory kinematics during atypical stop productions in Parkinson’s disease · 2026 · DOI

  • Future work can address this by incorporating Explainable AI (XAI) techniques, such as feature attribution methods, to provide insight into how input features influence model predictions.

    Parkinson's Disease Prediction Using ML · 2026 · DOI

  • The model's performance is limited by its tendency to falsely diagnose non-cancerous patients with cancer. The precision score for malignant classes is low. The model is prone to bias.

    Robust Voice-based Laryngeal Cancer diagnosis via Machine Learning · 2026 · DOI

  • The study is a case report and therefore has a limited sample size. The study did not have a control group. The study relied on self-reported data from the client.

    Massage Therapy for a Voice Student with Behavioral Dysphonia When Singing: A Case Report · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of treatment approaches that address the vocal system as a whole, including breath, phonation, resonance, articulation, and posture. There is a limited number of reports describing the effect of massage therapy on the vocal system anatomy of a singer with behavioral dysphonia.

    Massage Therapy for a Voice Student with Behavioral Dysphonia When Singing: A Case Report · 2026 · DOI

  • The Voice Handicap Index-10 lacks singing-specific sensitivity. The full Singing Voice Handicap Index is lengthy and limits clinical utility.

    The Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 (SVHI-10): A Systematic Review · 2026 · DOI

  • There was a lack of comprehensive synthesis of the literature on the SVHI-10. Previous reviews focused mainly on the full SVHI, not the SVHI-10.

    The Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 (SVHI-10): A Systematic Review · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of research on the effectiveness of voice training programs for teachers. There is a need for studies on the follow-up effects of voice seminars for teachers.

    How effective are voice seminars for teachers? Long-term evaluation results of the German Lower Saxony voice seminar “Strong voice – successful at work” and critical consideration of current possibilities for measuring follow-up effects · 2026 · DOI

  • Although clinical aspects are understood, how UVFP affects a person's employment and job security is poorly characterized.

    Job Accommodations and Job Loss From Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis · 2025 · DOI

  • To explore the use of other machine learning models and techniques for laryngeal cancer diagnosis.

    Robust Voice-based Laryngeal Cancer diagnosis via Machine Learning · 2026 · DOI

  • Investigate the effects of voice training on pre-service teachers, - Explore the impact of speech and voice modifications on student learning…

    Talking Like a Teacher—A Study of Pre-Service Teachers’ Voice and Speech Characteristics in Learning and Teaching Situations · 2024 · DOI

  • In-depth analysis of the specific roles played by the six types of Chinese vowels in diabetes detection. Collection of larger datasets with high-quality annotated speech data.

    Study on the characteristics analysis and recognition method of vowels in patients with type Ⅱ diabetes · 2026 · DOI

  • The current ASR development efforts within SONIVA have focused on the most impaired speakers - Future releases may include more automated annotations across milder profiles - The dataset continues…

    SONIVA database: Speech recognition validation in aphasia · 2026 · DOI

  • Expanding the dataset to include more automated annotations across milder profiles - Designing downstream tasks such as classification, longitudinal tracking, or severity prediction - Including more languages and cultures…

    SONIVA database: Speech recognition validation in aphasia · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Voice and Speech Disorders

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Voice and Speech Disorders sub-topic

This page shows what the Voice and Speech Disorders literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 7.9M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Medicine

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
4,200 open questions
Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
2,789 open questions
Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
2,285 open questions
Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
2,273 open questions
Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment
2,102 open questions
Sports Performance and Training
1,952 open questions
Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
1,915 open questions
Mosquito-borne diseases and control
1,849 open questions
Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of different surgical techniques for treating benign vocal fold lesions (“Recurrence of Benign Vocal Fold Lesions: Risk Factors and an Exploratory…”, 2026); (2) Reference datasets based on open-source tools remain limited for Turkish-speaking adults (“Age and gender variability and preliminary reference data for acoustic and…”, 2026); (3) Further research is needed to investigate the relationship between LTAS features and disease severity in other neurological diseases (“Screening speech disorders in progressive neurological diseases via long-term…”, 2026); (4) Rhythmic auditory exposure modulates subsequent speech processing, yet its effect on speech production remains poorly understood (“When rhythm guides speech production: Insights from Parkinson's disease and…”, 2026); (5) The physiological underpinnings of atypical stop consonant productions in PD are not well understood (“Articulatory kinematics during atypical stop productions in Parkinson’s disease”, 2026). 577 gap statements have been mined from Voice and Speech Disorders papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,116 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 1,100,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? Acceptance odds for top, mid and open/emerging journals, in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck for prior publication across 7 sources and our local library.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

How Pre-Check worksHow AI Review works

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.