Assessment of auditory processing skills in adolescents with cleft lip and palate

ObjectiveAuditory deprivation due to middle ear defects caused by congenital malformations in the cleft lip and palate population may be a long-term risk factor for auditory processing disorder. The aim of the study is to assess the auditory processing skills in adolescents with cleft lip and palate by considering also maturation effect.MethodsThirty (10-17 years old) adolescents with operated, non-syndromic cleft lip and palate and thirty (10-17 years old) adolescents with normal development were included in the study. While both groups had bilateral normal peripheral hearing levels, study group had a history of chronic otitis media due to congenital malformations. In addition, participants were also evaluated in subgroups, under and over the age of 12, based on 12 years of age at which adult-like responses were obtained for auditory processing. Frequency pattern, duration pattern and Turkish matrix tests were used to assess auditory processing skills.ResultThe mean scores of the study group in frequency pattern, duration pattern and Turkish matrix tests were lower than the control group (p = 0.000). When the participants were evaluated as under and over the age of 12, while under the age of 12 showed lower performance than over the age of 12 for the study group (p < 0.05), this difference was not observed in the control group (p > 0.05).ConclusionAdolescents with cleft lip and palate may be disadvantaged in their auditory processing skills compared to their peers and they still may not catch up with their peers, even if improvement is observed with the maturation effect.