Looking into the adult population, it's estimated that around 15% of military veterans struggle with APD due to the impact of blast exposure on their auditory skills. According to the National Institute of Health, up to 43% of children with learning disabilities also have some type of auditory processing disorder. One reason that APD is often overlooked or misdiagnosed in adolescents is due to the correlation of auditory processing issues with other learning disabilities. What's more, it's predicted that the true number of those struggling with APD is even higher due to misdiagnosis or undiagnosed cases. In fact, it's estimated that 5% of school-aged children in the United States have APD, which adds up to around 2.5 million children across the US. While you may not hear about APD often, this auditory condition is more common than you may think. These include:Īuditory Processing Disorder Is More Common Than You May Think, in Both Children and Adults Many people assume that there's some hearing loss present with people with APD because they will often ask you to repeat yourself, but as previously mentioned, it's not that there is an issue with hearing it's an issue with understanding.ĭue to the confusion and hypersensitivity that comes with APD, there are some common signs and symptoms of this disorder that show up. It may also be a challenge to tell the difference between similar-sounding words like chair or hair. Symptoms of APDĪuditory Processing Disorder can present in a number of different ways, depending on the individual and which of the above auditory skills are impacted.įor instance, someone with APD may have a hard time understanding speech and deciphering words in a noisy environment. These auditory skills are crucial for development and can directly impact learning processes like spelling, reading, and writing. The ability to understand and recall the order of sounds and words. Short-term and long-term abilities to recall information presented orally. The ability to pick out important sounds from a noisy background. The ability to notice, compare, and distinguish the distinct and separate sounds in words-a skill that is vital for reading. suspicion or diagnosis of language disorder or delay.While we're not sure exactly what causes APD, the following auditory skills are often impacted by this condition:.history of frequent or persistent middle ear disease (otitis media, ‘glue ear’).neurological disorders affecting the brain.insensitivity to tone of voice or other nuances of speech.undue sensitivity to loud sounds or noise.being overwhelmed by complex or “busy” auditory environments e.g.difficulty understanding in the presence of other sounds.slowness in processing spoken information.difficulty attending to and remembering spoken information.difficulty following spoken directions unless they are brief and simple.Symptoms of hearing or listening problems not consistent with results of basic hearing assessment Consequently assistive hearing devices are not generally required long term for children with APD.Ĭhecklist of APD symptoms and commonly related conditionsįollowing is a checklist of key symptoms of APD, and commonly related conditions, that can be used to identify individuals who should be referred for APD assessment: Due to the neuroplasticity of the brain, auditory training and use of assistive hearing technology can engender permanent improvements in auditory skills. The main treatments are auditory training, assistive hearing technology, and (for children) language therapy including phonological processing therapy. Supplementary information on language development, cognitive abilities, and ability to cope in learning environments is also considered in diagnosing APD in children.ĪPD is very treatable. APD is diagnosed by audiologists using specialised auditory tests. APD can affect academic achievement, participation, career opportunities and social development.ĪPD should be suspected when there are otherwise unexplained reports or observations of poor hearing and auditory comprehension in some circumstances despite normal pure tone hearing test results. The overall prevalence in children in New Zealand is estimated at 6.2%, with higher rates in some populations, and also the elderly. The symptoms of APD bear many similarities to other types of hearing disorder, but APD differs in that it is not detected by standard audiometric assessments. Auditory processing disorder (APD) is an overall term for hearing disorders that result from impaired processing of auditory information in the brain.
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