OCCURENCE OF UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS IN PATIENTS WITH CLEFT LIP AND PALATE Ocorrência de perda auditiva unilateral em pacientes com fissura labiopalatina

Purpose: to investigate the occurrence of unilateral hearing loss in individuals with cleft palate. Methods: a retrospective study of 500 medical records of patients with cleft palate. Results: 55 subjects have been raised with unilateral hearing loss, 27 (49.1%) were male and 28 (50.9%) were female, mean age of 14.6 years. Eighteen (32.73%) had hearing loss in right ear and 37 (67.27%) in the left ear. Being 72.73% (40 subjects) with conductive hearing loss, 18.18% (10 subjects) sensorineural and 9.09% (5 subjects) of mixed type. Regarding the degree of hearing loss was found higher incidence of mild hearing loss. Conclusion: a unilateral hearing loss was more frequent in subjects aged 0-11 years, with equal gender ratio. A unilateral hearing loss may affect social and emotional aspects of the subject, leading him to need an intervention.