Could speech disorders in children with cleft lip and palate be justified by impaired central auditory skills?

ABSTRACT Purpose: to verify the association between central auditory skills and speech disorders related to velopharyngeal dysfunction. Methods: forty-five children, with repaired non-syndromic cleft lip and palate or cleft lip only, aged 7-11 years old, were divided into three groups: G1 (n=15), children with hypernasality, nasal air emission, and compensatory articulations; G2 (n=15), children with hypernasality and nasal air emission, but without compensatory articulations; and G3 (n=15), children without hypernasality, nasal air emission, and compensatory articulations. The medical records of all participants were analyzed to verify the eligibility criteria and obtain speech assessments, and then, they were submitted to an assessment of central auditory skills. Statistical analysis comprised descriptive and chi-square test with a significance level of 5%. Results: G1 presented a higher occurrence of impairment in central auditory skills differing from the other groups, particularly in the temporal ordering and binaural integration skills. A significant difference was observed among groups in temporal ordering ability. No significant association was found between the use of specific types of compensatory articulations and impaired auditory skills. Conclusion: there was an association between changes in temporal ordering auditory skills and binaural integration in children with velopharyngeal dysfunction, regardless of the presence or type of compensatory articulation found.

Podem os distúrbios de fala de crianças com fissura labiopalatina serem justificadas pelas alterações das habilidades auditivas centrais? / Can speech disorders of children with cleft palate be justified by central auditory skills?

As crianças com fissura labiopalatina geralmente apresentam alterações fonoaudiológicas com manifestações em vários aspectos, especialmente no da comunicação. No que se refere à audição, os bebês que nascem com fissura no palato tendem a apresentar acúmulo de fluido na orelha média, devido ao mau funcionamento do mecanismo de abertura e fechamento da tuba auditiva. O quadro pode evoluir para otites, que é umas das causas mais comuns de perda auditiva em crianças com fissura labiopalatina com até 10 anos. Esta perda auditiva geralmente é do tipo condutiva bilateral. Sabe-se que a audição normal é essencial para a aquisição da linguagem oral e efetiva comunicação verbal, e que déficits do sistema auditivo, congênitos ou adquiridos afetam a transmissão e a percepção do som. Qualquer perda auditiva oferece privação sensorial, podendo, assim, levar a alterações em diferentes habilidades auditivas. São crescentes os estudos científicos relacionados às habilidades auditivas em crianças com fissura labiopalatina, contudo, existe uma escassez de trabalhos relacionando habilidades auditivas centrais com as alterações de fala na fissura labiopalatina. Assim, hipotetizou-se que as habilidades auditivas centrais em crianças com fissura labiopalatina que apresentam alterações de fala seriam diferentes das habilidades das crianças com fissura labiopalatina sem alteração de fala e também que poderia existir uma relação entre as alterações de fala relacionadas à Disfunção Velofaríngea e às habilidades auditivas centrais. Este trabalho teve por objetivo verificar a associação entre as habilidades auditivas centrais e alterações de fala decorrentes da Disfunção Velofaríngea (hipernasalidade e emissão de ar nasal), e Articulações Compensatórias em crianças com fissura labiopalatina operada. Nesta pesquisa, foi realizado um estudo prospectivo de 45 pacientes, subdividos em 3 grupos. Todos matriculados no Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais da Universidade de São Paulo, com fissura labiopalatina operada. Foram averiguados inicialmente em prontuário dados quanto à Disfunção Velofaríngea e ao uso de Articulações Compensatórias a fim de compor os três grupos do estudo, sendo o G1 com alterações de fala decorrentes da Disfunção Velofaríngea e Articulações Compensatórias, o G2 com alterações de fala decorrentes da Disfunção Velofaríngea, porém sem Articulações Compensatórias, e G3 (grupo controle) sem alterações de fala decorrentes da Disfunção Velofaríngea e sem Articulações Compensatórias. Posteriormente, os sujeitos foram submetidos à avaliação audiológica periférica e a testes do processamento auditivo central. A Articulação Compensatória de maior ocorrência foi a golpe de glote, seguida pela fricativa faríngea e plosiva dorso médio palatal. O G1 foi o grupo que apresentou o maior número de sujeitos com habilidades auditivas alteradas, seguido pelo G2, e G3. Foi encontrada significância estatística na associação do grupo com alterações de fala decorrentes da DVF e AC com as habilidades de figura-fundo e ordenação temporal. A habilidade de resolução temporal esteve alterada em toda amostra estudada.(AU)

Children with cleft lip and palate usually have speech-language disorders with manifestations in various aspects of communication and supply. With regard to auditing, children with cleft palate tend to have fluid buildup in the middle ear due to malfunction of the opening and closing mechanism of the Eustachian tube. The table may develop into Otitis, which is one of the most common causes of hearing loss in children up to 10 years with cleft lip and palate. This hearing loss is usually conductive type and bilateral. Normal hearing is essential for the acquisition of oral language and effective verbal communication and that deficits of the auditory system, congenital or acquired, affect the transmission and perception of sound. Any hearing loss offers sensory deprivation and may thus lead alteration in different hearing abilities.Scientific studies related to the auditory abilities in children with cleft lip and palate are increasing, however, there is a paucity of studies linking central auditory skills with speech disorders in the cleft lip and palate. Thus hypothesized dry the central auditory skills in children with cleft lip and palate who have speech disorders would be different from the skills of children with cleft lip and palate speechless change and also that could be a relationship between speech disorders related to velopharyngeal dysfunction and central auditory skills .The objective of this study is investigate the association between central auditory skills and speech disorders resulting from the velopharyngeal dysfunction (hypernasality and nasal air emission) and compensatory articulations in children with cleft palate. In this research it performed a prospective study of 45 patients, subdivided into 3 groups. All enrolled in the Craniofacial Anomalies Rehabilitation Hospital of the University of São Paulo, with operated cleft lip and palate. They were initially investigated in medical records data on the velopharyngeal dysfunction and use of compensatory articulations in order to compose the three study groups: the G1 with speech disorders resulting from the velopharyngeal dysfunction and compensatory articulations, G2 with speech disorders resulting from the velopharyngeal dysfunction But without compensatory articulations and G3 (control group) without speech disorders resulting from the velopharyngeal dysfunction and no compensatory articulations. Later the subjects underwent a peripheral audiological evaluation and auditory processing tests. The compensatory articulation was the most frequent glottal stop, followed by pharyngeal fricative and plosive average back palatal. The G1 was the group that had the highest number of subjects with altered auditory skills, followed by G2 and G3. Found statistically significant association between the group with speech disorders resulting from VPD and CA with the figure-ground skills and temporal skills. The temporal resolution skill was altered in all groups of this study.(AU)

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...

Auditory complaints and audiologic assessment in children with surgically repaired cleft lip and palate

INTRODUCTION: At the initial consultation, the speech-language pathologist and audiologist may consider possible diagnostic hypotheses based on the child's history and the parents' complaint. AIM:To investigate the association of hearing complaints with the findings obtained in the conventional audiologic assessment in children with cleft lip and palate. Retrospective study. METHODS: We analyzed medical charts of 1000 patients with cleft lip and palate who underwent surgical repair between 1988 and 1995 at a mean age of 6 years 8 months. We excluded charts with records of inconsistent audiological responses and charts with missing data for any of the audiologic evaluations considered. Thus, the sample consisted of 393 records. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-nine patients presented hearing loss in one or both ears, but only 3.8% reported hearing complaints. The most frequent were otorrhea followed by otalgia. There was no statistical significance between the complaint and gender (p = 0.26) nor between the complaint and hearing loss (p = 0.83). CONCLUSION: This study showed no association between the hearing complaint and the conventional audiologic assessment.