The association of cleft severity and cleft palate repair technique on hearing outcomes in children in northern Finland

BackgroundThe consequences of cleft lip and palate include scaring, dental malformations, tooth misalignment, speech problems, and hearing loss. Otitis media with effusion causing hearing loss is a problem for many cleft palate patients.MethodsThis study examines the association among cleft severity, palate repair technique, and hearing outcomes in children from northern Finland with clefts, aged 3–9 years. The study included 90 cleft patients who were treated at the Oulu University Hospital Cleft Lip and Palate Center between 1998 and 2011. The severity of the cleft, the surgical technique used to repair the palate, audiogram configuration data, and the need for ventilation tube placement were determined retrospectively from patient records.ResultsOnly 3.3% of cleft patients had an abnormal pure tone average hearing threshold representing abnormal hearing. Neither the surgical technique used to repair the cleft palate nor the severity of the cleft was a significant factor related to hearing loss or to the number of ventilation tubes required. Hearing improved significantly with increasing age over a span of 6 years.ConclusionsContinuous follow-up with proactive placement of ventilation tubes before or at the time of palatoplasty results in hearing outcomes in cleft children that are similar to those reported in non-cleft children.