Our environment is a complex network of stimuli that engage all of the human senses. Sight, touch, hearing – our senses connect to the environment and pick up many stimuli. But 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.
Some people hear what is happening around them, but their brain is not able to process the numerous stimuli and information correctly. This phenomenon is called central auditory dysfunction or auditory processing and perception disorder (AVD) (synonyms: APD; AVWS; auditory processing disorder; auditory processing disorder (APD); processing disorder; perceptual disorder; ICD-10-GM F80.20: Auditory processing and perceptual disorder [AVD]). This term encompasses a variety of different impairments of hearing and perception.AVWS is an auditory processing disorder at the brainstem level and a disorder of perception of these neural impulses. The latter is based on a disturbance of higher auditory functions involving cognitive functions.Unlike hearing loss, it is not hearing per se that is impaired, but the further processing of information in the brain.
The consensus paper of the German Society of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology (DGPP) stated that auditory processing means the neuronal transmission, preprocessing and filtering of auditory stimuli at different levels of the auditory system.
Gender ratio: boys/men to girls/women is 2: 1.
The prevalence (disease frequency) is 2-3% in children from the age of 6 (in Germany). In adults, the prevalence is about 10% (in Germany). Worldwide, the prevalence of all childhood hearing disorders is between 0.9 and 13 %.
Course and prognosis: Auditory processing and perception disorder (AVSD) affects the child’s language development and written language performance. Therapy consists of exercise procedures and measures to improve signal quality. In many cases, the AVWS improves. However, affected individuals are likely to experience limitations in challenging listening situations.
