Audiological findings in cleft lip and palate children attending speech camp.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the audiological status in children with clef lip and palate attending at speech camp. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The present study was performed in children with cleft lip and palate attending speech camp. 14 children with cleft lip and/or palate registered in the speech camp for 4 days. All subjects had undergone otoscopic examination, hearing evaluation and speech and language assessment. RESULTS: Only 12 children performed the complete hearing evaluation. 16 of 23 ears had very slight hearing loss and most of them were found in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate. The air conduction thresholds ranged from 16.36 to 25.91 dB across the frequencies on the right ear and 10 to 23.18 dB on the left ear. The average pure tone thresholds showed a rising slope configuration of audiogram. CONCLUSION: The minimal hearing loss probably impacted on speech and language problems. Children with cleft lip and palate need early detection and intervention of hearing impairment.