A patient with a cleft palate may develop chronic otitis media with hearing loss. Prompt diagnosis and aggressive management can preserve auditory function. The hearing loss can affect language, educational and social development in small children.
Patient selection: cleft palate
Mechanism: Eustachian tube dysfunction
Conductive hearing loss can occur due to due to stapes fixation secondary to repeated episodes of otitis.
In patients with syndromic cleft palate, malformations of the middle and inner ear are possible.
Other causes of hearing loss may include:
(1) ototoxic drugs such as aminoglycosides
(2) sequelae of congenital viral infections.
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