[The state of the middle ear and the audiological profile in the children operated after the first three years of life for correction of congenital labial and palatal clefts].

The methods of otoscopy, acoustic tympanometry, and tonal threshold audimetry was used to examine 22 children above the age of 3 years who had been operated for the correction of congenital labial and palatal clefts. Tympanograms of types B and C were obtained in 19 (86%) and 3 (13%) patients respectively, regardless of the cleft type. The impairment of hearing due to compromised sound conduction was documented in 14 (74%) children presenting with type B tympanograms; the mixed hearing loss with an air-bone interval up to 20-25 dB and the upper sound conduction threshold of 40 dB was recorded in 3 (14%) patients. Two (9%) children suffered grade 1 sensorineural loss of hearing with the bone conduction threshold elevated up to 30 dB at all frequencies. The conservative treatment resulted in the complete normalization of the otoscopic picture and audiological profile in 2 (9%) children while 7 (32%) ones experienced retraction of the tympanic membranes during otoscopy in conjunction with the incomplete light reflex, whity-pink colour, type B or C tympanograms, and conductive hearing impairment. The auditory threshold was as high as 10-20 dB in 13 (59%) children presenting with various types of hearing loss and impairment of sound conduction to 40 dB. The conservative treatment had no appreciable positive effect on these patients.