Behavioral Signs of (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder in Children With Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and/or Palate: A Parental Questionnaire Approach.

Objective Children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate often have a high prevalence of middle ear dysfunction. However, there are also indications that they may have a higher prevalence of (central) auditory processing disorder. This study used Fisher's Auditory Problems Checklist for caregivers to determine whether children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate have potentially more auditory processing difficulties compared with craniofacially normal children. Methods Caregivers of 147 school-aged children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate were recruited for the study. This group was divided into three subgroups: cleft lip, cleft palate, and cleft lip and palate. Caregivers of 60 craniofacially normal children were recruited as a control group. Hearing health tests were conducted to evaluate peripheral hearing. Caregivers of children who passed this assessment battery completed Fisher's Auditory Problems Checklist, which contains 25 questions related to behaviors linked to (central) auditory processing disorder. Results Children with cleft palate showed the lowest scores on the Fisher's Auditory Problems Checklist questionnaire, consistent with a higher index of suspicion for (central) auditory processing disorder. There was a significant difference in the manifestation of (central) auditory processing disorder-linked behaviors between the cleft palate and the control groups. The most common behaviors reported in the nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate group were short attention span and reduced learning motivation, along with hearing difficulties in noise. Conclusion A higher occurrence of (central) auditory processing disorder-linked behaviors were found in children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate, particularly cleft palate. Auditory processing abilities should not be ignored in children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate, and it is necessary to consider assessment tests for (central) auditory processing disorder when an auditory diagnosis is made for this population.