Canonical Babbling and Early Consonant Development Related to Hearing in Children With Otitis Media With Effusion With or Without Cleft Palate.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and compare babbling, early consonant production and proficiency from 10 to 36 months of age and its relationship with hearing in children with otitis media with effusion (OME) with or without cleft palate. DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal group comparison study. SETTING: University hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen children born with nonsyndromic cleft palate with or without cleft lip (CP±L) and 15 age-matched children with hearing loss (HL) associated with OME but without cleft palate (noncleft group). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Canonical babbling (CB) and early consonant variables (presence of oral stops, anterior stops, dental/alveolar stops, number of different true consonants) at 10 and 18 months, and percentage of consonants correct proficiency (PCC) at 36 months. RESULTS: A total of 54% of the CP±L group and 77% of the noncleft group had CB. The noncleft group had a significantly higher prevalence of all consonant variables. Percentage of consonants correct was 61.9% in the CP±L group and 81.6% in the noncleft group. All early consonant variables except CB were significantly related to PCC. Hearing sensitivity at 18 and 30 months correlated with PCC and explained 40% of the variation. CONCLUSIONS: Mild HL impacted presence of CB at 10 months and was related to consonant proficiency at 36 months in children with HL associated with OME and children with cleft palate. The noncleft group showed results at 36 months similar to children with normal hearing; however, the CP±L group did not. Although the cleft palate may have a bigger impact on the speech development, management of hearing sensitivity would also be beneficial.

Hearing Thresholds in Young Children With Otitis Media With Effusion With and Without Cleft Palate.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate hearing thresholds in children born with cleft palate and in children with otitis media with effusion but no cleft palate. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal group comparison study. SETTING: University hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen children born with nonsyndromic cleft palate with or without cleft lip (CP±L) and 15 age-matched children with otitis media with effusion (OME) but without cleft. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hearing was tested at repeated occasions beginning with neonatal auditory brainstem response (ABR) at 1-4 months of age, and age-appropriate hearing tests from 9 to 36 months of age. RESULTS: The median ABR thresholds in both groups were elevated but did not differ significantly. At 12 months of age, the median 4 frequency averages at 500-1000-2000-4000 Hz (4FA) were indicative of mild hearing loss but significantly better in the CP±L-group than in the group without cleft (P < .01). There were no significant group-wise differences regarding the median 4FA at 24 and 36 months of age, and at 36 months, the median 4FA were normal in both groups. Both groups exhibited a significant improvement over time from the neonatal ABR thresholds to the 4FA at 36 months (CP±L-group P < .05; without CP±L-group P < .01). CONCLUSION: The hearing loss in children with CP±L was not more severe than among children with OME but without cleft palate; rather, at 12 months of age, the thresholds were significantly better in the CP±L-group than those in the group without cleft. The air conduction thresholds improved with age in both groups.

Hearing thresholds and ventilation tube treatment in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVE: Children with cleft lip and palate have a high prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) which is often associated with a fluctuating, conductive hearing loss in the low and mid-frequencies and a risk for permanent hearing loss in the higher frequencies. Although common, there is no consensus on the treatment of OME with ventilation tubes. The aim of this study is to document if the risk for permanent hearing loss and acquired cholesteatoma increases due to treatment with ventilation tubes (VT treatments) during childhood in a group of children with cleft lip and palate. METHODS: A retrospective medical chart review of 33 children (25 boys and 8 girls) born with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) was completed. Audiological data (results of hearing sensitivity tests, the total number of hearing tests, and number of VT treatments) were extracted from medical records from when the children were 4-7 and >7-10 years of age. RESULTS: The hearing thresholds in the speech frequencies improved with age (p < 0,05) but a minority of the children continued to present with elevated hearing thresholds in the higher frequencies at >7-10 years of age. There were no significant correlations between number of VT treatments and hearing thresholds at >7-10 years. Four of the 33 children presented with complications: two children exhibited perforations of the ear drum (6.1%) and two children developed unilateral cholesteatoma (6.1%). CONCLUSION: In the current study, the hearing sensitivity of children with cleft lip and palate improved with age. However, this improvement was not seen in the higher frequencies. Twelve percent of the children experienced complications following VT treatments. Due to these complications, it is recommended that all children with cleft palate should have routine follow-ups by an ENT doctor and audiologist. As part of the routine follow-up care, hearing assessments should be performed before and after VT treatments.