Effects of Visuoauditory Stimuli on the Acoustic Features of Swallowing in the Elderly

Objective: To investigate the effect of audiovisual stimulation on swallowing sounds in the elderly. Method: Mirror therapy (MT) videos were prepared and divided into AMs, LMs, AFs, and LFs. Sixty videos were randomly selected from AMs, LMs, AFs, and LFs. The selected videos were divided into two sections (10 min per section). The control videos were extracted from the film "Le Peuple Migrateur." Finally, the TD (ms), TE (dB), DHE (ms), DHE/TD (%), PI (dB), DPI (ms), FPI (Hz), and PF (Hz) were analyzed. Result: TD of AS was significantly shorter than that of AS. Lower TE and PI were observed in AS compared to those observed in visual and auditory stimuli (VAS). DHE/TD and DPI were longer in AS relative to VAS. In addition, a lower FPI was observed in AS than in VAS. Conclusion: VAS can significantly improve swallowing frequencies, speed up swallowing movements and increase swallowing functional reserve in the elderly. In addition, the decreased swallowing efficacy under auditory stimuli could be reversed by visual stimuli.