Not too long, it took me about a week, maybe two tops. Good luck! You'll get through it! I had my expander in for 13 months!
At first, talking takes some getting used to, but it won't affect your speech after about a week or so.
The soft palate clicking noise during speech or swallowing is caused by the soft palate not closing properly, allowing air to escape through the nose.
Hard Palate
Hard Palate
The organs of speech are the larynx, uvula, tongue, soft palate, hard palate, teeth and lips. Passive organs, the teeth, upper lip, hard palate, and uvula move little or not at all during speech. The other organs are known as active and must move to provide coherent speech.
The palate appendage in your mouth is called the uvula. It is a fleshy extension at the back of the soft palate and plays a role in speech and swallowing.
Hard Palate
"Palate" can be both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it refers to the roof of the mouth or a person's sense of taste. As a verb, it means to appreciate or enjoy something.
Cleft palate limits the ability of an infant to suck, which may lead to malnutrition, and causes speech problems in childhood.
Speech organs, also known as articulators, are necessary for all language. The organs required for this function are the lips, teeth, tongue, glottis, uvula, soft palate, hard palate, and alveolar ridge.
The hard palate is essential for speech. The hard palate is the area at the top of the mouth between the top teeth. If the hard palate is bad is causes nasality. This is due to the fact that the hard palate plays a big role in eating and in speaking properly with the interaction of the tongue.
Jilda Colville has written: 'Pharyngeal morphology in speakers with defects of the primary palate' -- subject(s): Cleft palate, Speech disorders