Auditory Processing Disorder Testing and Treatment

Someone can be speaking right in front of you, and you hear their voice but still miss what they said. It might happen in a restaurant, during a meeting or anywhere several sounds are happening around you.

You may ask for a repeat even though the words were loud enough to hear. If this happens often, there may be more going on than the volume of the conversation.

A closer look at how you process what you hear can begin to explain why certain listening situations feel harder than others.

What Is Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Auditory processing disorder involves how the brain makes sense of sound after the ears detect it. You may hear a sentence at a normal volume but miss parts of what was said or confuse words that sound similar.

Following spoken directions can take more effort, particularly when someone talks quickly or gives several instructions at once.

Background sound may make conversations harder to follow because your brain has to separate the voice you want to hear from everything around it. These difficulties can happen even when a standard hearing test shows that you hear sounds at expected levels.

Common Signs of Auditory Processing Problems in Children and Adults

The signs don’t always look the same, and they may show up during conversations, schoolwork or tasks that rely on spoken information. You might notice things like:

• • Asking for repeats even when the speaker was loud enough to hear.
  • Mixing up words that sound alike.
  • Forgetting part of a spoken direction before completing it.
  • Taking longer to answer a question asked aloud.
  • Losing track of a conversation when several people are talking.
  • Remembering written information more easily than something heard aloud.
  • Having trouble figuring out where a sound came from.
  • Missing differences in tone or emphasis that change the meaning of a sentence.

How Auditory Processing Disorder Differs from Hearing Loss and Attention Issues

With APD, the ears may pick up the sounds, while the brain has difficulty sorting or interpreting what was heard. Attention issues involve staying focused on the information long enough to follow it.

Asking for repeats, missing directions or losing track of a conversation can happen with all three, so those behaviors alone don’t tell you what’s behind the difficulty.

How an Audiologist Helps with Auditory Processing Disorder Testing

An audiologist uses several types of listening tests to check how your brain handles sound. During testing, you may hear different words in each ear, listen for small changes in sound or repeat speech that has been altered.

Some tests check how you handle the order and timing of sounds. An audiologist reviews the results from each test along with your hearing levels, age and the problems you’ve been having with spoken information.

This separates the different listening skills being tested instead of treating every difficulty as the same problem.

How to Prepare for an Auditory Processing Disorder Appointment

Before your appointment, write down a few times when you had trouble following what someone said.

Bring copies of previous hearing tests, school evaluations or related records if you have them. Your audiologist may ask about past ear infections, language development, medications and when these difficulties began.

Try to get your usual amount of sleep the night before, since being tired can change how well you perform on listening tasks. Bring any hearing devices you normally wear so your audiologist knows what you use during the day.

What You Can Expect During an Auditory Processing Disorder Evaluation

An APD evaluation usually takes more time than a routine hearing test because it includes several separate listening tasks. You’ll wear headphones and respond to words, tones or other sounds presented in different ways.

You may repeat words, identify changes between sounds or listen to information coming through both sides of the headphones.

An audiologist will explain each task before you begin, so you’ll know what response is expected. Breaks may be included during longer appointments, especially for children or anyone who gets tired from concentrating on listening for extended periods.

Treatment Options That Build Stronger Listening and Processing Abilities

APD treatment is usually based on the listening skills that were difficult during testing. The exercises used will depend on which parts of spoken information are harder for you to process.

Practice may happen during appointments, at home or through a computer program. Different activities work on different listening tasks, including:

• • Auditory training that practices telling speech sounds apart and recognizing them more accurately.
  • Exercises that involve hearing information and repeating it back in the correct order.
  • Activities that work with changes in pitch, timing and patterns between sounds.
  • Speech-in-noise practice that involves listening to a speaker while other sounds are playing.
  • Computer-based programs that change the difficulty as you work through different listening exercises.
  • Language activities that involve following longer spoken directions and keeping track of information given aloud.

Finding the Right Support for Your Needs

Treatment can then focus on those skills through activities chosen for the person being tested. The approach will depend on the results and the listening situations that are part of your life.

An audiologist can also talk with you about what you’ve noticed during conversations, school, work or time at home. If you have noticed difficulty with your hearing, schedule an appointment with an audiologist.