Hypernasality occurs when speech sounds are incorrectly transmitted through the nose, especially during the production of vowels and oral voiced consonants.This causes hypernasality, which is usually temporary. However, sometimes the soft palate cannot establish a seal against the back of the throat immediately after the operation. In some cases, removing the adenoids can relieve hyponasality (blocked-nose resonance).ENTs can conduct nasal endoscopies to investigate and diagnose the cause(s) of your child’s nasal congestion. rhinitis, nasal polyps, septel deviation and, on rare occasions, sino-nasal tumors. But it’s important that an ENT be consulted, as it can also be caused by other conditions, e.g. The main cause of nasal obstruction for children is adenoid hypertrophy.open mouth breathing and hyponasality – they may distort or prevent nasal speech sounds like /m/, /n/ and “ng”, and block nose breathing.snoring, nasal obstruction, mouth breathing, recurrent sinusitis, auditory tube dysfunction, middle ear infections, reduced ability to smell and taste, changes in facial growth and behavioural development, and/or sleep apnea and.pollen and other allergies, passive smoking and viruses (e.g. Several different conditions can lead to it, e.g. Enlarged adenoids – “adenoid hypertrophy” – can be caused by recurrent or chronic respiratory infections.How can enlarged adenoids and their removal affect speech? Tonsils – more precisely known as “palatine tonsils” – do not usually affect articulation or resonance.This means the soft palate can touch the back of the throat and maintain a good seal when producing vowels and oral voiced consonants. At the same time, however, the wall at the back of the throat becomes more vertical. After puberty, at around 15 years of age, the adenoids shrink. Adenoids become less important to speech with age.(The soft palate lowers to allow air to come up through the nose when a child produces a nasal speech sound like /m/, /n/ and “ng”.) The seal is essential for intelligible speech. This stops air from inappropriately coming up through the nose when speaking these sounds. d/, /l/, /g/ and /v/), the soft palate rises and touches the adenoids, creating a seal. Before puberty, when a child says an oral speech sound such as a vowel or voiced oral consonant (e.g. They are located behind the soft palate behind the nose.Adenoids – also confusingly called pharyngeal tonsils (see diagram below) – are also important for the development of normal speech in children:.allergens and pathogens) and the alimentary tract (Brandtzaeg, 2003). They are placed to protect us from antigens from both the outside air (e.g. The main purpose of adenoids and tonsils is to protect us from infection.So how can adenoids and tonsils problems – and surgery to remove them – affect a child’s speech? These are very common procedures, and can make a big difference to a child’s quality of life. If your child has a chronically blocked nose, sleep apnea, otitis media with effusion and/or recurrent otitis media (middle ear infections), your child’s Ear Nose & Throat Specialist ( ENT) may recommend removing her adenoids or tonsils (or both) (Brambilla et al, 2014). Some children with speech sound disorders also have problems with their adenoids and tonsils. Sometimes, speech, adenoid and tonsil problems are related.

Adenoid auditory tube