Dual-task speech-in-noise performance in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate and minimal conductive hearing loss
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1007/s00405-026-10395-6
- Journal Name: European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO), Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest)
- Keywords: Auditory–visual task performance, Cleft lip and palate, Conductive hearing loss, Saccadic latency, Speech-in-noise recognition
- Hacettepe University Affiliated: No
Abstract
Purpose: Children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) frequently experience middle-ear dysfunction and conductive hearing loss, which may affect functional listening in noise. This study examined speech-in-noise recognition and visual-task latency cost during concurrent auditory–visual task performance in children with unilateral CLP and minimal conductive hearing loss. Methods: Twenty-five children with unilateral CLP and minimal conductive hearing loss and 28 age-matched typically developing controls, aged 7–15 years, completed audiological assessment, a single-task speech-in-noise condition (SIN), a concurrent auditory–visual condition combining speech recognition in noise with a randomized visual saccade task (SIN-WS), and a saccade-only condition. Word recognition accuracy and mean saccadic latency were recorded. Articulation was assessed in the CLP group using a standardized cleft speech assessment. Results: Children with CLP showed poorer word recognition accuracy than controls in both SIN and SIN-WS conditions. Model-based analysis showed significant main effects of group and condition, whereas the Group × Condition interaction for word recognition was not significant. Mean saccadic latency increased during the concurrent-task condition in both groups, with a significantly greater increase in the CLP group. Within the CLP group, higher articulation error counts were associated with poorer word recognition accuracy and greater saccadic-latency cost. Conclusion: Children with unilateral CLP and minimal conductive hearing loss showed reduced speech-in-noise recognition and greater visual-task latency cost during concurrent auditory–visual task performance. These findings support the clinical value of assessing functional listening beyond isolated auditory thresholds in children with CLP.