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Individuals with auditory processing disorder have normal hearing capacity, but the mechanisms in the brain that process audio input are impaired. Auditory processing disorder (APD), also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), refers to a condition that impacts the brain’s ability to filter and interpret sounds. People with APD have normal hearing abilities, but their brains have a hard time receiving, organizing, and making sense of sound. Auditory processing disorder is typically diagnosed in school-aged children.

 

APD’s symptoms also overlap with that of other conditions and disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities.

 

Auditory Processing Disorder Symptoms

Adult or kids with APD experiences difficulties in these four areas of auditory skill. Difficulty to understand what they hear in the same way other do. This is because the ear and brain don't fully coordinate. Something interferes with the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, especially speech.

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1. auditory discrimination: the ability to distinguish distinct, separate sounds in words (a necessary skill for reading)

2. auditory figure-ground discrimination: the ability to focus on specific sounds in noisy/competing backgrounds

3. auditory memory: the ability to recall, in the short-term and long-term, information that is presented orally

4. auditory sequencing: the ability to understand and remember the order of sounds and words.

5. Auditory closure: This is when an individual can't "fill in the gaps" of speech when it is more challenging. This can happen in a quieter situation but is more common when the speaker's voice is too fast or is muffled, making it hard to make sense of the sounds and words.

6. Dichotic listening: Has trouble understanding competing, meaningful speech that happens at the same time. For example, if a teacher is talking on one side of the child and another student is talking on the other side, the child with APD cannot understand the speech of one or both of the speakers.

• Temporal processing: This is the timing of a processing system, which helps them recognize differences in speech sounds (such as mat versus pat). It also helps them understand pitch and intonation (for example, asking a question instead of giving a command), understand riddles and humor, and make inferences.

• Binaural interaction: This is the ability to know which side speech or sounds are coming from, and to localize sound in a room. Although less common, this problem happens in children with a history of brain trauma or seizure disorders.

 

If the auditory deficits aren't identified and managed, many students with APD will face academic challenges and have a harder time in assimilating in workplaces as adults. Students with APD can benefit from working with a speech and language therapist, in addition to getting regular evaluations by audiologists.

 

Common signs of APD, according to the American Academy of Audiology4, include:

• difficulty hearing speech in noisy environments

• difficulty maintaining attention

• problems locating the source of a sound

• difficulty following directions

• commonly asking for information to be repeated

• inability to detect subtle changes in tone

• distracted and inattentive behavior

• difficulty learning to read

• academic difficulties, including poor reading and spelling