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Did you know that your child can have normal hearing but have difficulty decoding and interpreting what they hear? Of course, even the simplest sounds are dependent on awareness and detection. A recent study indicated auditory processing delays can affect up to 3 percent of the pediatric population. There are many learning delays that can directly affect a child’s ability to “process” what is said.
It should be noted that only children with “normal” cognitive abilities can be evaluated for auditory processing; additionally, reliable testing for this type of delay starts at age 7. In order to obtain the most accurate results, it is important to determine the child has suitable expressive and receptive skills, and dyslexia has been ruled out. Lastly, a comprehensive hearing evaluation is completed to assure that the child has hearing within normal limits.
Our goal with auditory processing tests is to “evaluate the neural processing of auditory input.”
The common indicators of an auditory processing delay include, but are not limited to, the following. The child:
- behaves as if he/she has hearing loss.
- scores lower on verbal IQ scores than performance.
- requires high degree of organization in the classroom.
- has difficulty following multi-step directions.
- exhibits poor reading and/or spelling skills.
- has poor localization.
- refuses to participate in class discussions or responds inappropriately.
- is withdrawn.
- has poor singing or music skills.
- may have gross or fine motor skill deficits.
Using both a comprehensive case history and normative-based testing, Wheeling Hospital’s Center for Audiology applies protocols that evaluate dichotic listening, which is most sensitive to cortical and interhemispheric transfer abilities. This test is completed by presenting two different sound stimuli at the same time. Temporal processing is evaluated, which allows the audiologist to understand timing abilities within the central auditory nervous system.
Other tests with the auditory processing test battery include auditory and binaural seperation attention and the child’s ability to pick a primary message from competing background noise; neuromaturation of the auditory nervous system; and auditory closure skills to assess the ability to fill in missing information to a degraded signal, which is used daily in the classroom to fill in auditory information lost to background noise.
Wheeling Hospital is the only location in the tri-state area that tests for auditory processing delays and utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to evaluation and management. In conjunction with the speech-language pathologists at Wheeling Hospital, and your child’s pediatrician, a reliable diagnosis will be made and goals toward remediation established. Not only are remediation strategies important for treatment, modifications in the classroom are important considerations for optimal learning outcomes. For example, the use of an FM system in the classroom allows for the child to hear speech better over competing background noise.
Brandon Lichtman, Au.D., is director of Wheeling Hospital’s Center for Audiology. He specializes in pediatric audiology, vestibular assessment, hearing aid technology, counseling and patient management.