Another Installment from the Ageism Can of Worms: What About Your Voice?
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Oh, this one’s rich. What began in a simple conversation while handling day to day affairs led to my gaining some novel information. This simple saga begins and ends with a hint of or the propensity for ageism.
I was on the phone with a call center representative either asking for more information or pushing an issue (as I so often am wont to do). I’d been enjoying [sic] a lengthy phone call-dance, one in which the rep had to place me on hold to see about this or that, or to confer with a supervisor.
Nancy was not getting the information she wanted or was not successful in getting a rate reduced or a better package, something. I cannot remember what it was now, however I do remember the rep’s response to my statement about being a senior, or senior-aged while I was fishing for any special plans or prices.
I hadn’t planned to “play the age card,” as they say, but I think I asked just that: Were there any special plans or prices for which I as a 68-year-old might qualify?
“You don’t SOUND like a 68-year-old” was the rep’s reply.
Now let us hope that the representative was being nice, that the remark was meant to be a (really odd sort of) compliment. But it hung with me.
After I ended the call (I cannot even remember if I ever got what I needed or was after) the remark echoed in my head. Musing, I said to myself “What DOES a 68-year-old sound like?”
Had I somehow just been deemed? Was my call dispositioned, or the importance of it possibly discounted when it was divulged that I was categorically a senior? Does this sort of thing occur in or contribute to outcomes in healthcare, consumer affairs, and even more?
In my mind I began to pivot, from circumstance to situation, to life’s encounters: How would my voice help, hurt, or impact me? I actually dedicated time on my calendar to think about this, and to research it.
Responding to that I did some research and soon found out (or satisfied my weird craving for All Things Weird) that there has been a lot of research about voice, aging, stigma, and benefit.
There are times that people are evaluating your voice, how we are sounding and presenting (clinical term). I’d like to think that as due to a buy-in of sorts, that those people are interested in where I am coming from, or what I contribute. Or perhaps it is a service thing (like being a rep in a call center), or a sales thing (sizing me up, perhaps assigning age, intelligence, or at least consumer savvy), but wishing to be OF service. That is what I prefer to think, anyway. Perhaps it is a clinical thing and I am being checked against a norm (my own norm, or the norm that represents someone like myself - whatever that is. Do you see how murky this all can get?).
Turns out that voice and voice changes are studied, and aging voices are also. I found out some neat stuff.
Voice changes
As people age, their voice can become rougher, shakier, and softer. The voice box, vocal folds, and other voice-producing mechanisms age along with the rest of the body.
Accuracy
People are good at estimating the age of children and teenagers, but have a harder time with adults. For example, in one study, people's guesses were at least 10 years off for male speakers between the ages of 45 and 65. (I wonder how my 68-year-old voice would have done in that study?).
Reason
People are good at estimating age because of physiological changes that occur in the voice as people age, such as changes in pitch, word choice, and pronunciation. (I would add speed, tone, and temperance to that).
It makes sense to realize that the voice does change with age. As we grow from kids to adults, our voice generally gets deeper and stronger as our bodies grow. There's much more space for the sound to vibrate. We get a bigger sound and our voice box (you can feel your voice box; simply put your hands just on your throat and you say “AHH” to feel it vibrating there) is stronger when we are younger adults. The voice box is made up of a bunch of muscles, which get stronger as we move into adulthood and weaker as we move into older age.
In our twenties and thirties our voices are more animated, generally faster, louder, as our vocal cords are more agile and stronger. We could blather on for hours. The research suggests our muscle coordination starts to slow down by around age 40.
The articles I read said that others may hear a change in us when we enter our sixties or seventies. Often our voice will become softer in volume. It's breathier (with audible emission of breath), it's scratchier. There might be some vocal tremors, you know, that stereotypical “grandma voice” that we may be familiar with. (It’s ‘stereotypical’ because there are large numbers associated with it, reigning in familiarity, and maybe improperly creating a norm. But all that is perception, and perception invites sorting, division, categorization, and deem, to whatever end).
Physically our vocal cords dry up a bit with age. They're not as lubricated, and they can't move as fast when they are not as strong.
Guess who else is on the case? AI.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be more accurate than humans at estimating age from a person's voice. AI can analyze more than 1,000 "micro-characteristics" that the human ear can't process.
The problem, in my opinion, comes when we (as humans) begin to JUDGE.
Although AI can judge, that discernment can be used “for the greater good”: Nuance, a company that makes voice recognition products for businesses, says it has developed age-detection AI that can single out senior citizens, say, for priority service. It can also help detect fraud by looking for mismatches between the age of the caller and the account holder on file. It follows that Nuance is hoping to sell the technology to banks, insurance companies, and government agencies as well.
Hmm, I wonder how this kind of detection could help – or hurt- in healthcare? Or social services? Or employment. Or, or, or... I simply must gather some “learn-ed” folks together for a spirited discussion here.
Interestingly enough, and from the healthcare arena, I found that there is “treatment” for aging voices! And GUESS WHAT the number one treatment is? (Spoiler alert: it is an injectable substance that is used on seemingly everything that ails us vain humans).
It’s Botox.
I am not making light of persons struggling with voice tremor or vocal chord issues, not at all. However, if the common guy or gal who is obsessed with remaining youthful happens to read this post, I will just bet they will head to the internet to investigate Botox as a way to keep sounding young. I feel certain there are marketing campaigns already in development (“Ask your doctor if Botox is right for your voice”).
I began this article with a story of my voice, and the potential prejudice from someone hearing my voice and with that assigning an age, right or wrong. I don’t wish to be sized up, sorted, nor deemed as anything, young, old, eligible, or not, good or bad, credible or not, deserving or not. People, corporations and agencies, and even AI can make decisions and assign importance or priority, or even eligibility based upon it. A new dimension of ageism, perhaps?
Let’s hope not. Hoping is one thing, and awareness and working to prevent or advocate against ageism are next steps.
Nancy Ruffner is a patient advocate who provides strategy for aging, healthcare navigation, and solo aging. Nancy consults with clients in a triage fashion, offering one-hour consultations to find a path, gain a deeper understanding of “how stuff works” in eldercare, or to specifically problem-solve. Schedule your 1-Hour session now, without obligation of commitment or continuing costs. nancyruffner.com.