Hypernasality is a resonance disorder where too much sound energy escapes through the nose during speech, giving the voice an overly nasal quality. It occurs when the velopharyngeal mechanism (the soft palate and throat wall) fails to close off the nasal cavity properly for oral sounds, as is often seen in conditions like cleft palate or velopharyngeal insufficiency. A person with marked hypernasality sounds as though they are “talking through the nose” on vowels and voiced consonants; consonants may become weak and nasalized, and audible nasal air escape can occur during speech. SLPs evaluate hypernasality through perceptual and instrumental assessments, and they play a key role in treatment—ranging from teaching speech techniques to reduce nasal airflow to coordinating with surgical or prosthetic interventions—aimed at normalizing oral-nasal balance and improving speech intelligibility.
Perry, Kelsey L. “Instrumental Assessment of Velopharyngeal Function and Resonance: A Review.” Journal of Communication Disorders 52 (2014). Link
Park, Yun-Ha, et al. “Analysis of Oral-Nasal Balance After Intensive Speech Therapy Combined with a Speech Aid in Patients with Velopharyngeal Dysfunction.” Journal of Communication Disorders 76 (2018). Link
