Evaluation of speech intelligibility for children with cleft lip and palate by means of automatic speech recognition

OBJECTIVE: Cleft lip and palate (CLP) may cause functional limitations even after adequate surgical and non-surgical treatment, speech disorders being one of them. Interindividually, they vary a lot, showing typical articulation specifics such as nasal emission and shift of articulation and therefore a diminished intelligibility. Until now, an objective means to determine and quantify the intelligibility does not exist. METHOD: An automatic speech recognition system, a new method, was applied on recordings of a standard test to evaluate articulation disorders (psycholinguistic analysis of speech disorders of children PLAKSS) of 31 children at the age of 10.1+/-3.8 years. Two had an isolated cleft lip, 20 a unilateral cleft lip and palate, 4 a bilateral cleft lip and palate, and 5 an isolated cleft palate. The speech recognition system was trained with adults and children without speech disorders and adapted to the speech of children with CLP. In this study, the automatic speech evaluation focussed on the word accuracy which represents the percentage of correctly recognized words. Results were confronted to a perceptive evaluation of intelligibility that was performed by a panel of three experts. RESULTS: The automatic speech recognition yielded word accuracies between 1.2 and 75.8% (mean 48.0+/-19.6%). The word accuracy was lowest for children with isolated cleft palate (36.9+/-23.3) and highest for children with isolated cleft lip (72.8+/-2.9). For children with unilateral cleft lip and palate it was 48.0+/-18.6 and for children with bilateral cleft lip and palate 49.3+/-9.4. The automatic evaluation complied with the experts' subjective evaluation of intelligibility (p<0.01). The multi-rater kappa of the experts alone differed only slightly from the multi-rater kappa of experts and recognizer. CONCLUSION: Automatic speech recognition may serve as a good means to objectify and quantify global speech outcome of children with cleft lip and palate.     

ABR thresholds in infants born with CLP and OME and infants with OME

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate and compare auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds related to otitis media with effusion (OME) in infants with and without cleft palate and/or lip (CP ± L).MethodsForty-seven infants with CP ± L and 67 infants with OME participated in the study. Hearing thresholds of ears of infants with OME were compared between groups and within the group with CP ± L.ResultsInfants with CP ± L and OME presented with similar hearing thresholds as infants with OME and not CP ± L. Within the cleft group, infants with isolated cleft palate and OME demonstrated significantly higher hearing thresholds than infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate and OME.ConclusionA high prevalence of infants with CP ± L present with OME early in life. Hearing thresholds of these infants are similar to infants without CP ± L, but with OME. The ear status and hearing thresholds of infants with CP ± L needs to be monitored to be able to provide the best access to hearing in order to fully allow speech and language development.     

Hearing levels and age in cleft palate patients

Tonal audiometry was used to compare hearing levels in patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) (57 patients), unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) (124 patients) and isolated cleft palate (ICP) (62 patients), and according to age groups. Patients with isolated cleft palate showed greater improvement in hearing level with age than patients with UCLP and BCLP; as adults they showed the lowest frequency of ears with hearing level of less than 40 dB, and the highest frequency of ears with hearing levels of 11–20 dB. Patients with BCLP had a higher frequency of ears with a hearing level of 21–40 dB during early childhood and adult age than patients with ICP. Patients with UCLP and BCLP showed a slower decrease with age in the frequency of ears with hearing loss than patients with ICP; the hearing level in patients with UCLP and BCLP improved only in groups with hearing levels of 21–40 dB, while those with hearing levels above 40 dB showed no significant improvement with age.Conservative therapeutic methods for normalization of the hearing level and middle ear state were found to be inefficient in the cleft palate population Thus, early surgical treatment (ventilation tube insertion) appears to be the therapy of choice.     

Analysis of the craniofacial skeleton in cleft children with otitis media with effusion

Various aspects have been proposed as the cause of otitis media with effusion (OME) in cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) populations (i.e. abnormal anatomic relation of Eustachian tube (ET) musculature and soft palate; the lack of intact palatal partition; reduction of nasal patency or chronic rhinitis; timing and type of surgery). However, the role of deviated craniofacial skeleton (CFS) in CL/P has been neglected, although the role of the craniofacial development on poor ET function has been advocated in non-cleft children. In this study, we evaluated clinical and cephalometric data of 37 Japanese children with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCLP, 25) or isolated cleft palate (ICP, 12) and compared them to 40 non-cleft children, who were proportionally matched for age and sex. Data showed that OME was more often in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate-UCLP (76%) and those with isolated cleft palate-ICP (67%) than non-clefts (10.00%). In addition to a number of skeletal abnormalities (i.e. short dimensions related to the posterior cranial base and backward and upward position of the maxilla) detected in CL/P cases, mastoid depth and height were also shorter in cleft cases than normal subjects. On the other hand, a small tendency to recurrent upper airway infection (RUAI) was observed in cleft cases with OME. Further, it was found that the following differences in the mastoid-middle ear-Eustachian tube (M-ME-ET) system were associated with a tendency to OME in UCLP cases: more horizontal ET in relation to the posterior cranial base; short bony ET; short height and antero-posterior depth of the mastoid air cell system.     

A retrospective study of hearing, speech and language function in children with clefts following palatoplasty and veloplasty procedures at 18-24 months of age

Many cleft palate teams currently schedule palatoplasty and veloplasty within the child’s first year of life. At Hannover Medical School, palatoplasty and veloplasty are performed at 18–24 months of age. It was questioned which speech and language outcome was achieved and whether it may be influenced by: (1) type and extent of the clefts; (2) velopharyngeal inadequacy; and (3) hearing disorders. A retrospective evaluation of data collected from 1985 to 1993 was performed summarizing receptive and expressive speech and language skills of 370 children aged 4.5 years. Cleft types were unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP, 30.0%), bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP, 28.7%), cleft hard and soft palate (CP, 21.6%), cleft soft palate (cleft velum, CV, 10.8%), cleft lip and alveolus (CLA, 5.8%) and submucous clefts (SUB, 3.2%). n=86 had constant normal hearing, and n=284 had conductive hearing loss >20 dB (500–4000 Hz). Severe developmental phonology errors were found in 30–50% of children with repaired cleft palate and in less than 8% of patients with CLA and SUB. Posterior compensatory misarticulation was below 15% in the groups UCLP, BCLP, CP, CV and SUB. Nasal resonance and air emission was nearly normal in CLA, but was increased in 27% to 38% of the other cleft types. Children with conductive hearing loss had significantly more and severely affected phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary, language comprehension, and auditory perception than normal hearing children. Findings indicated that speech and language function in CLP patients were predominantly related to the hearing status.     

Hearing and speech assessment of cleft palate patients after palatal closure. Long-term results

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was the development of a clinical methodology to assess speech and hearing impairment 5 years after the primary surgical repair of the cleft and, further, to determine the relative importance and long-term consequences of each cleft type and age to the velopharyngeal and eustachian tube function in patients who did not undergo pharyngeal flap surgery following primary palatoplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated with a certain assessment protocol hearing and speech abilities of 42 patients between 5 and 15 years of age: 9 with CP (cleft of the soft and hard palate), 19 with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), 14 with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), surgically treated by a team of surgeons using two different surgical techniques between 18 and 24 months of age. ACCORDING TO OUR RESULTS WE WERE ABLE TO EVALUATE: (a) the impact of hearing impairment to the development of speech in these patients. (b) The relation of hypernasality with compansatory articulation. (c) The influence of cleft type, by means of extent of the cleft palatal musculature, to speech integrity. RESULTS: Sixty-nine percent of our patients presented with mild and moderate hearing loss. Hypernasality was observed in 40.5%, compensatory articulation in 28.5% of our patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated: (a) a simultaneous appearance of speech and hearing impairment at the same age for each cleft type post-surgically in our patients; (b) that the muscular and vomer complex rather than the anatomic extent of the cleft is a significant factor for speech outcome after surgical repair; and (c) that hypernasality is exacerbated by compensatory articulation.     

Sequelae of otitis media with effusion among children with cleft lip and/or cleft palate

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is common among children with cleft palate, and may lead to such long-term consequences as hearing loss, tympanic membrane retraction, and chronic otitis media (COM). In total, 104 children with cleft lip and/or palate treated for OME at our institution were reviewed. Mean duration of follow-up was 6.9 years, and mean age at latest follow-up was 9.6 years. The incidence of COM was 19%, and the incidence of cholesteatoma was 1.9%. Ears showing such long-term sequelae of OME as hearing loss, tympanic membrane retraction, and chronic otitis media, were noted to have undergone a significantly greater number of ventilation tube insertions than ears not showing these sequalae. Our findings would suggest that a conservative approach to the management of OME in children with cleft palate is more likely to be beneficial in the long term.     

Oral strength in subjects with a unilateral cleft lip and palate

Purpose

Facial appearance and speech outcome may affect psychosocial functioning in girls and boys. Several studies reported dissatisfaction with facial appearance and more specifically the lip and mouth profile in children with cleft lip and palate (CLP). The purpose of this controlled study was to measure the tongue and lip strength and endurance in boys and girls with CLP.

Methods

Twenty-five subjects (mean age: 10.6 years) with a unilateral CLP and a gender- and age- matched control group were selected. All subjects with an unilateral CLP consulted the same craniofacial team and had undergone an identical surgical procedure. Surgical procedure of the lip was performed using a modified Millard technique without primary nose correction at an average age of 5.5 months. The Iowa Oral Performance instrument was used to measure lip and tongue strength and tongue endurance.

Results

The results of the Iowa Oral Performance measurement showed no significant differences between the subjects with an unilateral cleft lip and palate and the age and gender matched control group without a cleft lip and palate.

Conclusion

There is no significant differences regarding oral strength more specifically the lip and tongue strength and endurance between subjects with and without an unilateral cleft lip and palate. ENT specialists and speech pathologists must be aware of this aspect of the normal lip and tongue functions.     

A conservative approach to the management of otitis media with effusion in cleft palate children.

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is almost universal in children born with a cleft palate. Early placement of a ventilation tube to alleviate hearing problems is common. A retrospective study has been carried out to assess whether the practice of tube placement only for definite clinical indications is successful in terms of subsequent hearing levels and speech and language development. This was assessed by a case note review, analysis of speech therapy data and by means of a special follow-up clinic. There was no difference in speech development between those treated with tube insertion for OME and those untreated. Audiological thresholds were worse in the treated group. A similar number in each group required regular speech therapy. More abnormal otological findings were present at follow up in those who had tubes inserted, some of these were directly attributable to the presence of tubes. A conservative management of OME in cleft palate children, with tube insertion for only definite clinical indications, is an appropriate management, and will lead to fewer otological complications of tube insertion.     

Sequelae of otitis media with effusion among children with cleft lip and/or cleft palate1

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is common among children with cleft palate, and may lead to such long‐term consequences as hearing loss, tympanic membrane retraction, and chronic otitis media (COM). In total, 104 children with cleft lip and/or palate treated for OME at our institution were reviewed. Mean duration of follow‐up was 6.9 years, and mean age at latest follow‐up was 9.6 years. The incidence of COM was 19%, and the incidence of cholesteatoma was 1.9%. Ears showing such long‐term sequelae of OME as hearing loss, tympanic membrane retraction, and chronic otitis media, were noted to have undergone a significantly greater number of ventilation tube insertions than ears not showing these sequalae. Our findings would suggest that a conservative approach to the management of OME in children with cleft palate is more likely to be beneficial in the long term.     

Long-term clinical, audiologic, and radiologic outcomes in palate cleft children treated with early tympanostomy for otitis media with effusion: a controlled prospective study

OBJECTIVES: The role of tympanostomy in the treatment of otitis media with effusion (OME) in children with palate cleft with regard to the otologic and audiologic outcome is controversial. Little is known about the development of the mastoid air cell system (MACS) in these children. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled, prospective. METHODS: All children born in the hospital district area of the Central Hospital of Central Finland during the years 1983 to 1993 with palate cleft were reviewed at the age of 6 months. A total of 39 patients were followed up for 6 years after primary tympanostomy. Otologic and audiologic data were collected, and the MACS size was planimetrically measured. The control group consisted of age-matched children without palate cleft suffering from OME and were identically reviewed. RESULTS: The otologic outcome was similar in the study group, 64.1%, and among the controls, 60.6% were healed. There were no serious otologic complications in the study group. The audiologic outcome was also similar, with a mean pure-tone average (0.5-2 kHz) of 10.5 dB and 10.9 dB for the corresponding groups. The initial size and growth of the MACS did not significantly differ between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of children with palate cleft treated with early tympanostomy is favorable and does not differ from children without palate cleft. Active treatment ensures normal hearing during the critical years of language, speech, and cognitive development and maintains the development of an aerated mastoid. We believe that early tympanostomy is the treatment of choice of OME in palate cleft children.     

腭裂患儿分泌性中耳炎鼓室置管术疗效分析

目的　观察鼓室置管术在治疗腭裂患儿分泌性中耳炎听力损失的疗效 ,探讨中耳通气管的选择、手术适应证及注意事项。方法　双耳伴发分泌性中耳炎伴听力损失的住院腭裂患儿 19例 ,平均年龄 5 8岁 ,平均气导语频听阈较大的一侧耳在腭裂修复术同期行鼓室置管术 ,对侧未置管耳作为对照组 ,术后 2周至 18个月复查 ,比较置管组及对照组腭裂术前、术后听阈的变化情况。结果置管组耳术后平均气导语频听阈 (2 7 0± 6 5 )dB较术前 (42 7± 8 2 )dB显著降低 ,而对照组耳术前(2 9 0± 6 1)dB、术后 (2 7 0± 4 1)dB听阈差异无显著性。置管组未见严重耳科并发症。结论　腭裂修复术同期鼓室置管术安全、有效 ,可恢复患者听力 ,有利于腭裂术后语音学习。     

Parental satisfaction in Ugandan children with cleft lip and palate following synchronous lip and palatal repair

The purpose of the present case control study was to assess parental satisfaction with speech and facial appearance in Ugandan children with complete unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate (CLP), who underwent a synchronous lip and palatal closure. The results are compared with an age- and gender-matched control group. The experimental group consisted of the parents or guardians of 44 Ugandan patients (21 males, 23 females) with complete unilateral or bilateral CLP (mean age: 3;1 years). The control group included the foster mothers of 44 orphan children matched by age and gender (mean age: 3;7 years). A survey based on the Cleft Evaluation Profile was used to assess the perceived satisfaction for individual features related to cleft care. Overall high levels of satisfaction were observed in the experimental group for all features (range: 56–100%). No significant differences could be established regarding age, gender, age of lip and palatal closure, cleft type or maternal vs. paternal judgments. In participants who were dissatisfied with the appearance of the lip, the time period between the cleft closure and the survey was significantly larger compared with satisfied participants. Furthermore, significantly lower levels of satisfaction were observed in the cleft group for speech and the appearance of the teeth and the nose compared with the control group. Satisfaction with speech and facial appearance in Ugandan children with cleft lip and/or palate is important since normal esthetics and speech predominantly determine the children's social acceptance in the Ugandan society.     

Speech and language development in toddlers with and without cleft palate

OBJECTIVE: The effect of early palate closure on speech and language development in children with cleft palate. DESIGN: Comparative study. SETTING: University Medical Center Groningen, Cleft Palate Team (The Netherlands). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-three toddlers with cleft palate and thirty-two toddlers without cleft palate were analyzed with standardized tests for language comprehension and language production. Moreover articulation and hyper nasality were examined by trained speech therapists. RESULTS: For language comprehension, language production and articulation there were no significant differences between the children with and without cleft lip and/or palate. This is despite the high percentage of conductive hearing loss (55%) in children with clefts. Significant difference was found for hyper nasality (mean: 35% vs. 0%, p=0.001). In both groups articulation problems raise to a higher percentage than language production problems (63-20%; 24-4%). CONCLUSIONS: Early surgical treatment is effective for a part of the communicative development, i.e. language development and articulation. Besides conductive hearing loss hyper nasality remains a serious problem in 30-50% of the children with cleft palate. Therefore, speech therapy and pharyngoplasty also are part of the treatment procedure. Because of the high amount articulation problems in all children, standards for articulation development are perhaps too strict. Future research should be carried out after normal variations in articulation development.     

畸变产物耳声发射在唇腭裂婴幼儿听力检查中的应用

目的探讨唇腭裂婴幼儿畸变产物耳声发射（distortion product otoacoustic emission,DPOAE）的特点,并将其与听性脑干反应（auditory brainstem response,ABR）阂值检查的结果加以对照,以探讨DPOAE在这类患儿听力检查中的应用价值。方法DPOAE检查63例（126耳）,年龄2个月-42个月,平均11.83个月。其中单纯腭裂组（以下简称腭裂组）23例（46耳）,腭裂并发唇裂及牙槽裂组（以下简称唇腭裂组）30例（60耳）,单纯唇裂组（以下简称唇裂组）10例（20耳）,每耳均检查8个频率,若2-5kHz4个频点有≥3个频点通过即为该耳通过。在上述患儿中,ABR阈值检查腭裂组17例（34耳）,唇腭裂组10例（20耳）,唇裂组6例（12耳）,以能重复引出V波的最小刺激强度为ABR阈值。结果DPOAE检查：腭裂组通过7耳,未通过39耳,通过率为15.22％;唇腭裂组通过6耳,未通过54耳,通过率为10.00％;唇裂组通过18耳,未通过2耳,通过率为90％。统计分析腭裂组与唇腭裂组无显著差异,而腭裂组与唇裂组,唇腭裂组与唇裂组均有显著差异。ABR阈值检查统计分析结果与DPOAE一致。将各组DPOAE通过率与ABR正常率进行比较,腭裂组及唇腭裂组中二者无差异（P〉0.05）,虽然唇裂组中二者有差异（P〈0.05）,但唇裂组ABR阈值反应的听力下降较轻（均≤50dB nHL）。从总体趋势上说,DPOAE与ABR阈值检查在检测的结果上是一致的。结论唇腭裂患儿DPOAE和ABR检测结果一致,与ABR相比,DPOAE具有快速、简便、易实施等特点,因此DPOAE可以作为唇腭裂婴幼儿听力检查的手段,但仍需进一步结合ABR及其他相关的听力检查,以明确听力损害的程度和类型。     

A longitudinal study of the bilateral benefit in children with bilateral cochlear implants

Objective: To study the development of the bilateral benefit in children using bilateral cochlear implants by measurements of speech recognition and sound localization. Design: Bilateral and unilateral speech recognition in quiet, in multi-source noise, and horizontal sound localization was measured at three occasions during a two-year period, without controlling for age or implant experience. Longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses were performed. Results were compared to cross-sectional data from children with normal hearing. Study sample: Seventy-eight children aged 5.1–11.9 years, with a mean bilateral cochlear implant experience of 3.3 years and a mean age of 7.8 years, at inclusion in the study. Thirty children with normal hearing aged 4.8–9.0 years provided normative data. Results: For children with cochlear implants, bilateral and unilateral speech recognition in quiet was comparable whereas a bilateral benefit for speech recognition in noise and sound localization was found at all three test occasions. Absolute performance was lower than in children with normal hearing. Early bilateral implantation facilitated sound localization. Conclusions: A bilateral benefit for speech recognition in noise and sound localization continues to exist over time for children with bilateral cochlear implants, but no relative improvement is found after three years of bilateral cochlear implant experience.     

Orofacial clefts

Orofacial clefts are one of the most common birth defects in humans with a prevalence of 1:700. Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate or isolated cleft palate show an incomplete separation of the oral cavity and the nasal space without any additional malformations. Beside complete cleft palate also submucous celft palates exist that are hidden below the intact mucosa. The aetiology of celfts is a complex interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Orofacial clefts cause many complications like feeding, speech and hearing problems needing a team of head and neck surgeons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, phoniatricians and speech therapist for treatment. Often a genetic counselling is made for estimating the risk for the relatives.     

Recognition of synthetic speech by hearing-impaired elderly listeners.

The Modified Rhyme Test (MRT), recorded using natural speech and two forms of synthetic speech, DECtalk and Votrax, was used to measure both open-set and closed-set speech-recognition performance. Performance of hearing-impaired elderly listeners was compared to two groups of young normal-hearing adults, one listening in quiet, and the other listening in a background of spectrally shaped noise designed to simulate the peripheral hearing loss of the elderly. Votrax synthetic speech yielded significant decrements in speech recognition compared to either natural or DECtalk synthetic speech for all three subject groups. There were no differences in performance between natural speech and DECtalk speech for the elderly hearing-impaired listeners or the young listeners with simulated hearing loss. The normal-hearing young adults listening in quiet out-performed both of the other groups, but there were no differences in performance between the young listeners with simulated hearing loss and the elderly hearing-impaired listeners. When the closed-set identification of synthetic speech was compared to its open-set recognition, the hearing-impaired elderly gained as much from the reduction in stimulus/response uncertainty as the two younger groups. Finally, among the elderly hearing-impaired listeners, speech-recognition performance was correlated negatively with hearing sensitivity, but scores were correlated positively among the different talker conditions. Those listeners with the greatest hearing loss had the most difficulty understanding speech and those having the most trouble understanding natural speech also had the greatest difficulty with synthetic speech.     

Noise-induced hearing loss in young adults: The role of personal listening devices and other sources of leisure noise

Concept: No consensus exists regarding the magnitude of the risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) associated with leisure noise, in particular, personal listening devices in young adults. Objective: Examine the magnitude of hearing loss associated with personal listening devices and other sources of leisure noise in causing NIHL in young adults. Study Design: Prospective auditory testing of college student volunteers with retrospective history exposure to home stereos, personal listening devices, firearms, and other sources of recreational noise. Methods: Subjects underwent audiologic examination consisting of estimation of pure-tone thresholds, speech reception thresholds, and word recognition at 45 dB HL. Results: Fifty subjects aged 18 to 30 years were tested. All hearing thresholds of all subjects (save one—a unilateral 30 dB HL threshold at 6 kHz) were normal, (i.e., 25 dB HL or better). A 10 dB threshold elevation (notch) in either ear at 3 to 6 kHz as compared with neighboring frequencies was noted in 11 (22%) subjects and an unequivocal notch (15 dB or greater) in either ear was noted in 14 (28%) of subjects. The presence or absence of any notch (small or large) did not correlate with any single or cumulative source of noise exposure. No difference in pure-tone threshold, speech reception threshold, or speech discrimination was found among subjects when segregated by noise exposure level. Conclusion: The majority of young users of personal listening devices are at low risk for substantive NIHL. Interpretation of the significance of these findings in relation to noise exposure must be made with caution. NIHL is an additive process and even subtle deficits may contribute to unequivocal hearing loss with continued exposure. The low prevalence of measurable deficits in this study group may not exclude more substantive deficits in other popu lations with greater exposures. Continued education of young people about the risk to hearing from recreational noise exposure is warranted.     

Effects of cleft lip and palate on the nasal airway in children

Clefts of the lip and palate often produce significant nasal deformities and reduced nasal airway size. The purpose of this study was to assess how type of cleft affects nasal cross-sectional area and mode of breathing. The pressure-flow technique was used to estimate nasal airway size and modified inductive plethysmography was used to determine percent of nasal breathing in 60 children with cleft lip and palate aged 6 to 15 years. Ninety-five normal children served as controls. The data demonstrate that nasal size decreased among cleft types as follows: children with bilateral cleft lip and palate had largest airway, followed by unilateral cleft lip, cleft of the hard and soft palate, cleft of the soft palate, and unilateral cleft lip and palate. The data also indicated that most subjects with cleft were mouth breathers. Results of otolaryngologic examinations suggest that septal deformities affecting nasal valve function are responsible for much of the impairment, especially in the group with unilateral cleft lip and palate. The differences among groups appear to relate to developmental differences associated with the original defect and the surgical procedures used in primary repair.