Auditory Perceptual Disorders

Our environment is a complex network of stimuli that appeal to all human senses.

Seeing, feeling, hearing – our senses connect to the environment and take in many stimuli.However, in order for pure “hearing” to become “understanding,” “seeing” to become “recognizing,” and “feeling” to become “comprehending,” we need our brain to process these stimuli.

But this system does not always function smoothly.

Definition

Some people hear what is going on around them, but their brain is unable to process the numerous stimuli and information correctly.This phenomenon is called central auditory dysfunction or auditory processing and perception disorder (AVD).

Symptoms and complaints

Signs an AVWS in children may include:

  • Problems distinguishing sounds
  • Frequent questioning in conversation
  • Difficulty remembering nursery rhymes, poems or multiple assignments
  • Reading and writing problems
  • Easily distracted by ambient noise
  • Disturbed sound localization – directional hearing

Affected children often have difficulty in school because our school classes are often far too loud and noisy. A shortened auditory memory span sometimes leads to the fact that learned things are quickly forgotten. The onset of a reading and spelling disability is not uncommon among affected children.

Diagnostics

To diagnose an auditory perception disorder, extensive, special hearing tests are required: various parameters are checked, such as:

  • Sound discrimination
  • The by ear hearing
  • The ability to hear in noise
  • Ability to remember what you hear

These tests are performed by special doctors called phoniatrists / pediatric audiologists, as well as some otolaryngologists.It is also useful to have other developmental difficulties of children, such as attention deficit, reading and spelling impairment and intelligence reduction clarified by the pediatrician or child and adolescent psychiatrist.If the tests show that a child is affected, it is important to give him the best possible treatment.

Therapy

Skills such as general auditory attention – listening – pitch discrimination and rhythm hearing can be trained using music, for example. Training with a specially trained therapist – speech therapist or occupational therapist – contributes to the training and education of auditory skills and thus has a positive effect on the child’s development. Often, attendance at a music school has also proven effective, either in the form of early musical education through learning an instrument or also through singing lessons.The numerous finger games that were common in the past also promote the interaction of hearing and movement very well, which is later very important for writing by ear – as in dictation.Television and computer games, on the other hand, are not suitable for promoting auditory perception and should be restricted as much as possible.

Benefit

Children with auditory perception disorders need a lot of attention.Timely diagnosis helps to provide the child with the best possible support. Playful learning can also be done at home. This is fun for children and contributes greatly to your child’s positive development.