Can Peripheral Hearing Justify the Speech Disorders in Children with Operated Cleft Palate?

Introduction Any impairment in the hearing ability of a child with cleft lip and palate may cause difficulties in receptive and expressive language. Purpose Check the association between velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD), compensatory articulation (CA), and peripheral hearing loss in children with cleft palate surgery. Methods Retrospective study with 60 children (group 1: presence of VPD and CA; group 2: absence of VPD, presence of CA; group 3: presence of VDP, absence of CA; group 4: absence of VPD and CA), age 4 to 5 years old, with cleft palate surgery, through the analysis of the hearing, VP, and speech evaluations. Results Group 4 presented 80% normal hearing; group 1 had 60% hearing loss. The conductive hearing loss type was the most frequent. The glottal stop was the most frequent in group 1 and the middorsum palatal plosive in group 2. There was no significant association (p = 0.05) between hearing loss and the presence of compensatory articulations (groups 2 and 4), nor between hearing loss and the presence of VPD (groups 3 and 4; p = 0.12). Statistical significance (p = 0.025) was found when the group with VPD was associated with the group with CA, that is, group 1 with the control group (group 4). Conclusion Significant association between peripheral hearing loss, compensatory articulations, and VPD was verified for the children in group 1, which not only presented compensatory articulations but also VPD.