The following symptoms and complaints may indicate adenoid hyperplasia/pharyngeal tonsillar hyperplasia (adenoid enlargement):
Leading symptoms
- Obstructed nasal breathing (nasal obstruction).
- Nasal voice (“nasal voice”)
- Rhinolalia aperta: nasal vocal sound resulting from a lack of or insufficient closure of the posterior outlet of the nasopharynx (nasopharynx) in the region of the palatal arches
- Rhinophonia clausa: closed nasal.
- Mouth breathing → xerostomia (dry mouth) → pharyngitis (pharyngitis), rhinitis (rhinitis).
- Rhonchopathy (snoring)
- Nasal voice (“nasal voice”)
- Facies adenoideae (typical facial expression in children: open mouth/mouth breathing, tongue between teeth).
Associated symptoms
- Persistent rhinitis (rhinitis)
- Otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear) → tympanic effusion (synonym: seromucotympanum); accumulation of fluid in the middle ear (tympanum) → middle ear hearing loss; risk of delay in speech development!
- Sinusitis (sinusitis).
- Bronchitis (inflammation in the bronchi).
- Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) – pauses in breathing during sleep caused by obstruction of the airways, often occurring several hundred times per night
