A Study of the change of nasalance using CPAP in normal adults

ABSTRACT

speech nasality provides important information for the treatment of velopharyngeal incompetence. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure(CPAP) therapy can be used to reduce hypernasality by elevating the air pressure in the nasal cavities during speech. The purpose of this study is to find the effective test words decreased hypernasality after CPAP therapy. The results were as follows 1. It was statistically significant reduction in mean nasality score after 5 weeks of CPAP therapy(p<0.05), no interaction with sex were detected. 2. It was statistically significant reduction in the whole test words except /n/+fricative group in the test words composed of stop, fricative, africative(p<0.05) No interaction among the groups were detected. The /m/+africative, /n/+africative groups are more decreased nasality score than others after CPAP therapy. 3. It was statistically significant reduction in the test groups(/m/+lenis, /m/+aspirated, /n/+lenis, /n/+glottalized stop) after 5 weeks CPAP therapy.(p<0.05) Interaction among the four groups were detected(p<0.05) /m/+aspirated and /n/+glottalized stop groups were more decreased nasality score than other groups.