Influence of adenotonsillar hypertrophy on /s/-articulation in children-effects of surgery

• Tonsillar hypertrophy is common in young children and affects several aspects of the speech such as distortions of the dento-alveolar consonants. The study objective was to assess s-articulation, perceptually and acoustically in children with tonsillar hypertrophy and compare effects of two types of surgery, total tonsillectomy and tonsillotomy. Sixty-seven children, 50-65 months, on waiting list for surgery, were randomized to tonsillectomy or tonsillotomy. The speech material was collected pre-operatively and six months post-operatively.  Two groups of age-matched children were controls. /S/-articulation was affected acoustically with lower spectral peak locations and perceptually with less distinct /s/-production before surgery, in comparison to controls.  After surgery /s/-articulation was normalized perceptually, but acoustic differences remained. No significant differences between surgical methods were found.

Keyword

child

s-articulation

adeno-tonsillar hypertrophy

perceptual and acoustic evaluations

MEDICINE

MEDICIN

Otorhinolaryngology

Otorhinolaryngologi

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)