The assessment of middle ear function and hearing by tympanometry in children before and after early cleft palate repair.

Tympanometry has been carried out to assess middle ear function in cleft lip and cleft palate children from birth. All these children had normal aeration of the middle ear at birth, and remained normal until complications began to appear at 17 weeks. Closure of the palatal defect is known to reduce middle ear complications and its seems that closure at, or before, 4 months of age significantly reduces these complications.