This will be possible through a preliminary broader assessment that gathers information about all the key listening aspects, including those non-auditory-related skills previously mentioned. The investigation of the nature of the problem must be part of the evaluation to conclude whether those listening difficulties are, in fact, categorized as APD or are secondary symptoms of other general conditions. It is then essential that, in addition to the basic hearing tests, individuals with the symptoms reported above have a comprehensive evaluation of their functional listening skills that outline their everyday listening difficulties. There is also no doubt about the importance of investigating and managing them, considering their negative impact on everyday life and, again, regardless of their nature (Barry et al. Thus, a multidisciplinary approach will be essential for a better understanding of the other diagnoses and their impact on the auditory processing (AP) assessment.ĭespite the controversies surrounding APD, there is no doubt about the existence of listening difficulties, a broad term used to designate any reported problem involving understanding speech or recognizing sounds, regardless of their nature (Dillon & Cameron, 2021). In those cases, the conclusion of the APD diagnosis is much more challenging as it is difficult to separate all those factors to distinguish one problem from another. Thus, the clinical presentation can also vary depending on the co-occurrence of those conditions. Taking more time to process auditory informationĪPD usually overlaps with other developmental disorders such as dyslexia, ADHD, and speech sound disorder (Murphy & Schochat, 2009 Tomlin et al., 2015 Sharma et al., 2019). Problems to pay attention or memorize auditory instructionsĭifficulty paying attention to an auditory message and ignoring others presented at the same time This is also observed through the vast heterogeneity of symptoms (Ahmmed et al., 2014 Tomlin et al., 2015), including predominantly listening but often subtle cognitive impairments (e.g., working memory).ĭifficulty hearing in background noise or any other situation that the auditory message is a bit unclear, such as on the phone or when many people talk at the same timeįrequently ask people to repeat what they told However, nowadays, research has shown it might also involve non-auditory-related brain areas critical for auditory processing, such as language, executive functioning, attention, and memory (Schmithorst et al., 2013 Farah et al., 2014). Initially, it was established that those difficulties derived from an impairment in the neural function of the central auditory nervous system. The prevalence reported is around 5% (Hindi et al., 2011) however, this number is also controversial given the lack of gold standard criteria for diagnosis. While the cause of both Secondary and Acquired APD is more precise and straightforward, there is no consensus regarding the nature of those listening difficulties presented in Developmental APD (Wilson, 2018 Moore, 2018 Keith et al., 2018, Iliadou et al., 2018, Dillon & Cameron, 2021). Children with a history of recurrent glue ear might have a specific type of APD, called Spatial Processing Disorder (SPD).ģ- Acquired APD – It is related to ageing or any known medical condition, such as neurological brain damage (e.g., stroke and traumatic brain injury). This type of APD is common in children, but the symptoms may persist into adulthood.Ģ- Secondary APD - It is related to a hearing loss, either permanent or temporary, such as in cases of glue ear. The individual has normal hearing sensitivity however, he struggles to understand speech. Those difficulties have no clear explanation, such as a hearing loss or a neurological condition, for instance. It can be categorized into three groups:ġ- Developmental APD - It is the most “popular” APD. Basically, it is characterized by problems in understanding what we hear, especially in acoustically challenging situations, such as in the presence of background noise or when many people talk simultaneously. Here, I will use the APD guidelines of the British Society of Audiology (BSA) for several reasons: firstly, because it considers the evolution of APD concept through an evidence-based approach, including the latest research secondly, it acknowledges the importance of differentiating types of APD based on their probable cause.Īccording to the British Society of Audiology (BSA), APD is defined as an inability involving the perception of speech and non-speech sounds. 2012 De Bonis, 2017, Wilson, 2018) but also on the nature of this condition (Vermiglio, 2014 Kraus & Anderson, 2016, Keith et al., 2018 Moore, 2018, Wilson, 2018, Dillon & Cameron, 2021). Those differences reflect the lack of consensus not only on APD diagnosis and treatment (Dillon et al. APD has been defined and classified in different ways by audiology societies worldwide (Wilson, 2018).
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