Daughter (7) sounds like she has a blocked nose when saying certain sounds

[MummySam2017]

We have an appointment in a couple of weeks. Just wondering if anyone has any experience of their child sounding like they have a blocked nose when saying certain sounds? For example ‘st’ or ‘sp’. She hasn’t got a cold and I’ve noticed it for a while now, I always thought she’d outgrow it but it’s become clear it’s probably something that needs to be checked.

It almost sounds like these particular sounds gets stuck in her nose before she gets them out. It’s quite hard to explain and even her teachers/family members said they hadn’t noticed (although they do now that I’ve mentioned it). She was recently teased at school which led to us speaking about an appointment with the GP.

Any experiences appreciated.

How old is she? Can you exaplain a bit more about the ‘stuck in her nose’ but? M and n are the only sounds where we send air though our nose so are the only sounds you can’t make with a blocked nose. Could it maybe be that she’s sending extra sounds through her nose instead? The two issues can sound quite similar to an untrained listener.

What sounds is she replacing ‘st’ and ‘sp’ with?

She’s 7. Yes, I did have a look online at hyponasality (apologies for the spelling) and it seems it’s the M & N sounds that are usually the issue for that condition. It’s hard to explain, it almost sounds snotty when she says ‘sp’ and ‘st’ sounds - absent any snot. She does say these sounds, so no replacement, but it sounds like it’s forced through her nose.

I’d say that if she can say those sounds and they are clear but just sound a little odd then it wouldn’t be something for nhs speech therapy. A private speech therapist might look at it though.

if it’s just those sounds and she is able to get air through her nose for m and n and isn’t hyonassl then it doesn’t sound like there’s anything structural or worrying. More that she’s ok the habit of saying it those sounds a bit differently.

The only thing I might query is hearing. It might be worth getting a hearing check just in case.

Thank you. I’ll update the thread after her appointment as I’m curious to know what’s going on and it may help someone in the future. Yeah hearings all good, they do the tests at school so no concerns there.

It sounds like something called an ‘active nasal fricative’. Does she have large tonsils/adenoids and snore? She will grow out of it eventually.

Meant to add, there’s lots of tips and info online if you google active nasal
fricative x

Years ago, a friend’s child sounded like they had a cold but it was a post nasal drip. Interestingly, they had none of the other usual symptoms which are listed online like a cough or sore throat. It was an ongoing issue for years. I think in the end it was allergy related. Could it be similar?

Adenoids would block the nose up and cause difficulties with M and n.

An active nasal Fricative is the opposite of this and is where sound is forced out of the nose. You’d notice the child foxing the air out of the nose rather than it seeming blocked. It’s very unusual for children who don’t have a structural difference such as a minor cleft palate. If she had this there would have been other issues such as feeding problems as a baby and difficulties with more sounds.

My DS was his Adenoids.

Thanks everyone x

Did it impact the way he said ‘sp’ and ‘st’ sounds. It’s so difficult to explain. I may actually try and upload an audio a bit later.

Was anything done to help?

Could be, she does sound very snotty on certain sounds. Very interested to hear what the GP says and I’ll update the thread to let you all know x

Active nasal fricatives are not unheard of without a structural abnormality. I work in this field and have seen quite a number of children with this difficulty. It’s not that they sound full of cold, it’s like the air is snorting down their nose, especially on the ‘s’ sound!

Yes! That’s what it sounds like, snorting out the ‘sp’/‘st’ sounds.

Can I ask, what’s usually advised?

There’s lots of advice on google. A speech therapist should be able to advise further.

https://www.coventrychildrensslt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Active-Nasal-Fricative-ANF-Handout-Oct-2024.pdf

It seems like there’s a possible answer but just to add to the mix, does anyone around her have nasal polyps?

My friends husband had them and his child started speaking weirdly because he did, much like picking up an accent she picked up speaking certain things as though her nose was blocked like his was, because she was unknowingly copying his way of speaking.