Doctoral Degrees (Audiology)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/6728
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Item Crispy, crunchy and crackly: An exploration of food textural acoustics on the swallow mechanism.(2021) Karani, Tasneem Fareed.; Pillay, Mershen.Background: Dysphagia (swallowing disorders) leads to a myriad of consequences such as dehydration, malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, reduced quality of life and mortality. As a result of the dysphagia, individuals face concerns with safe feeding, and those mainly from low- to-middle income contexts may encounter further challenges such as limited access to suitable foods and dysphagia services. This may contribute to the global crisis of food insecurity and challenges to food sovereignty. Given these challenges faced by individuals with dysphagia, this study aims to address this by re-aligning the lens from the limited access to resources and practitioners toward the food provided to individuals with dysphagia. In the field of dysphagia,textural and its associated acoustic properties (i.e. food textural acoustics) has not been sufficiently considered in diet textural modifications. As a result of this gap, the purpose of this study is to explore the influence of food textural acoustics on human swallow responses and on dysphagia. Methods: This study employed an exploratory study design that used a mixed-methods approach. The broader study consisted of four components; (a) conceptual and theoretical exploration of the construct of food textural acoustics, (b) pilot study to evaluate the swallow responses to food acoustics of texturally hard foods, (c) exploration of the sensibility of the construct using revised scoping review methods and expert consultations, and (d) exploration of the utility of the construct for dysphagia research and practice. Results: A synthesis of the overall doctoral study results demonstrated the complexity of eating, emphasizing the salience of acoustic properties. The preliminary result of the pilot study revealed the positive influence of acoustic properties of textually hard foods on physiological and perceptual swallow responses in healthy adults. The results further highlighted the sensibility of considering the construct of food textural acoustics to understand eating for individuals with dysphagia. The study concluded by proposing four subject areas under girding the construct of food textural acoustics; multi-sensory eating, auditory processing, swallow physiology responses,and perceptual swallow responses, with the need to acknowledge the methodological dilemmas of studying the construct. Conclusion: Food acoustic stimuli are salient. We propose investing in the sensory aspects of diet textural modifications through consideration of food textural acoustics. This will promote the development of foods for individuals with dysphagia that are safe, pleasurable and potentially therapeutic to improve swallowing. We anticipate that this paper will inspire further inquiry into food textural acoustics and its potential use in global dysphagia practice. It is time to start promoting the change of the rhetoric of sound, the “forgotten flavour sense” to the“celebrated flavour sense.”