Hearing

For people with a cleft at all ages, hearing difficulties are common and may come and go. Babies with a cleft are especially prone to risks of developing middle ear fluid or losing their hearing. For a child with a cleft palate, the part of the ear that may be adversely affected is the middle ear. For someone without a cleft palate, the middle ear contains air and is connected directly to the back of the nose through the Eustachian tube. Unfortunately, if the Eustachian tubes fail to function and air is unable to enter the middle ear as it would regularly, harmful fluid can flow into this area, and thus leading to the inability of sound to travel efficiently across the middle ear, producing a subsequent reduction in hearing.

Although having a cleft raises many difficulties in relation to hearing, with proper treatment and early intervention, additional hearing support for young kids may be reaped. Specifically, early intervention with tube insertion prior to the age of one year, will provide a hearing benefit in children less than 4 years of age (Otological Outcome in Cleft Lip and Palate Children with Middle Ear Effusion).