Velopharyngeal airway resistance disorders after traumatic brain injury.

Abstract

Disorders affecting velopharyngeal port closure may result in the perception of hypernasality. This study was designed to determine (1) the incidence of velopharyngeal airway resistance deficits after traumatic brain injury, (2) the relation between velopharyngeal airway resistance and dysarthria severity, and (3) the relation between velopharyngeal airway resistance and perceived hypernasality. Case series. Community re-entry residential rehabilitation program. Eighty-three consecutive referrals for speech production evaluations. Velopharyngeal airway resistance at the time of the evaluation. About half the patients evidenced reduced velopharyngeal airway resistance. Subjects who evidenced mild or absent dysarthria typically had no velopharyngeal deficits, while subjects who evidenced severe dysarthria had very low velopharyngeal airway resistance. With few exceptions, the severity of the velopharyngeal airway resistance deficit was associated with perceived hypernasality. Velopharyngeal airway resistance disorders after traumatic brain injury are common. Discrepancies between velopharyngeal airway resistance and perceived hypernasality may be caused by intelligibility, speaking style, or nonrepresentative sampling.