Getting To The Root Of Auditory Processing Disorders and Hypersensitivities
We often take for granted the use of our five senses -- sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. Without the ability to use our senses efficiently, our interaction with the world around us and the people in our lives becomes muddled and confusing.
For people with sensory disorders, it can feel like a struggle to simply understand what's being communicated to them. For both adults and children, uncertainty and confusion can take the place of playfulness, curiosity and calm, leaving them with a sense of feeling unsafe and misunderstood.
Auditory Processing Disorder is one such condition, which impacts a startling amount of people in the United States.
What Is Auditory Processing Disorder?
Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of disorders that impact one's ability to process input that's received through their senses. When you have a SPD, you can become hypersensitive to sounds, touch, lights, and so on. For instance, if there's trouble with vision, lights may seem too bright. Similarly, if the issue is with touch, even the softest textures may feel harsh or rough on your skin.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a type of Sensory Processing Disorder that specifically impacts hearing. This term is used to describe a deficiency or weakness in the ability to understand or use auditory information.
When someone has APD, it's not that they actually have an issue with hearing sounds. Rather, the information from the sounds they hear gets jumbled, and they can't correctly process the sounds and words being communicated to them. This often results in confusion and misunderstanding.
While we're not sure exactly what causes APD, the following auditory skills are often impacted by this condition[*]:
#1 Auditory Discrimination
The ability to notice, compare, and distinguish the distinct and separate sounds in words—a skill that is vital for reading.
#2 Auditory Figure-Ground Discrimination
The ability to pick out important sounds from a noisy background.
#3 Auditory Memory
Short-term and long-term abilities to recall information presented orally.
#4 Auditory Sequencing
The ability to understand and recall the order of sounds and words.
These auditory skills are crucial for development and can directly impact learning processes like spelling, reading, and writing.
Symptoms of APD
Auditory Processing Disorder can present in a number of different ways, depending on the individual and which of the above auditory skills are impacted.
For instance, someone with APD may have a hard time understanding speech and deciphering words in a noisy environment. It may also be a challenge to tell the difference between similar-sounding words like chair or hair. 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.
Due to the confusion and hypersensitivity that comes with APD, there are some common signs and symptoms of this disorder that show up. These include[*]:
Difficulty deciphering words in noisy environments
Trouble with attention
Difficulty following directions
Problems locating the source of sounds
Distracted behavior
Difficulty learning to read
Trouble with spelling and writing
Frequently asking for information to be repeated
Distracted behavior
Auditory Processing Disorder Is More Common Than You May Think, in Both Children and Adults
While you may not hear about APD often, this auditory condition is more common than you may think. 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. What's more, it's predicted that the true number of those struggling with APD is even higher due to misdiagnosis or undiagnosed cases.
One reason that APD is often overlooked or misdiagnosed in adolescents is due to the correlation of auditory processing issues with other learning disabilities. According to the National Institute of Health, up to 43% of children with learning disabilities also have some type of auditory processing disorder[*].
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. It's even suggested that issues such as memory, learning, communication, and emotional regulation that present in this population can be tied back to auditory processing disorders.
Older adults and those with neurological disorders or brain injury may also experience APD due to damage to the central nervous system. Again, there seems to be a connection here between auditory processes and cognitive abilities like speech and learning[*].
How Brain Harmony Can Help Treat APD
To fully treat APD, you have to start with the basics by organizing the brain and central nervous system. While there are many therapies that can assist people with APD, very few result in significant shifts in auditory processing because they aim to treat the APD itself instead of addressing the foundational imbalance in the nervous system.
The Brain Harmony protocol takes you through a five-phase program that assists your brain and nervous system in re-organizing itself. Without addressing your sensory and perceptual systems, you can't get to the root of the problem. With Brain Harmony, we begin by setting the stage with safety. This is fundamental to any healing; if you don't feel safe and relaxed, your mind and body won't have the energy required to heal.
Next, we move into neurological organization. In this phase, we use one, or a combination, of tools to improve brain function. This allows for more emotional control, increased cognitive function, an improved ability to connect and communicate with others, and a greater sense of self-confidence.
In the third phase, we work on reflex integration. This is particularly important for those struggling with APD because improved reflex integration results in an improved ability to decode words and understand what is being communicated.
Step four involves therapeutic activities to reinforce and activate the new neural architecture laid down through the previous therapies.
And step five is all about self-care. At this stage, we help you ( or your loved one) feel more empowered and independent. The result is a better quality of life and fortitude to take on challenges.
Using Listening Programs Like The Safe And Sound Protocol To Treat Auditory Hypersensitivities And APD Disorders
One of the most powerful tools that we use to improve auditory processing is iLs (integrated listening systems). iLs programs affect our sensory systems and retrain parts of the brain involved in learning, communication, and movement. These listening programs can reduce auditory hypersensitivity, which is common in those with APD, while also training the ear to pick up on human speech. In this way, iLs acts as a crucial tool for enhancing phonetic decoding, allowing individuals to understand the words that they're hearing[*].
A common iLs used for auditory hypersensitivities or APD is the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP). Like the name suggests, the SSP helps to bring the nervous system into a state of balance helping you to feel safe and calm.
By strengthening neural pathways, iLs improves your ability to learn and process information. In fact, this system is based on the understanding that your brain has neuroplasticity -- meaning that given the appropriate input, your brain can be re-wired for improved function. Of course, the impact of iLs is magnified when the fundamental downstream processes of your central nervous system and brain have already been organized.
We've seen profound changes in our clients that work through the Brain Harmony protocol with APD, and the research supporting iLs and APD is equally as compelling. In a clinical trial with 29 children with APD, 22 of the 29 children tested in the normal range in all areas of auditory processing after the iLs training intervention. What's more, 7 of the children that had been on ADHD medication pre-trial were able to come off of their medication entirely[*].
Keri's Brain Harmony Success Story - Her son, 20 years old
Keri's 20-year-old son struggled with dyslexia and had profound auditory processing issues for his entire life. At one point, he even quit talking altogether as it was too frustrating to attempt to verbalize the words that he had in his head. Due to his inability to communicate with his family, his mood was low, he was grumpy, and he pretty much just kept to himself. Keri and her husband could never understand what he was trying to say, so they had to constantly ask him to repeat himself, which only further drove his feelings of frustration.
That all changed, however, after a couple of weeks of Brain Harmony. Once he began his program, he started talking loud enough that his parents could hear him, and they no longer had to ask him to repeat anything. His mood also shifted significantly; he was happier and sharing personal thoughts that he never did before. He even began initiating conversations and engaging with them.
"After the first few months in the program, he has so much to say, and I feel like I now know my son. He has said more since our program started than he has in his whole 19 years of life."
Skye-Nohea’s Brain Harmony Success Story
Skye-Nohea's mother first noticed that something was wrong when she was three and a half years old and started having trouble following instructions during her swim lessons. Instead of doing what the instructor had asked, she just sat there looking blank. Her mother's first thought was that Skye-Nohea was experiencing hearing difficulties, but when she brought her to the doctor, they said her hearing was fine.
When she asked Skye-Nohea's teachers, they confirmed the odd behavior, explaining that she would sometimes give the wrong answers to questions, like she didn't understand what was being asked. She then went to an auditory processing center, where she learned that Skye-Nohea had auditory processing disorder.
At this point, Brain Harmony was recommended to Skye-Nohea's mother by another mother of a child with APD. Since working with Brain harmony, Skye-Nohea's memory is getting better, her attention span is improving, and she accepts things a lot faster. For instance, her ability to be resilient after a fight with her brother or after she is told that she can't have something she wants has significantly improved.
Skye-Nohea's mother has also noticed that she not only pays attention better in school, but she's participating more and raising her hand to answer questions.
The great news is, Keri and Skye Nohea's stories are not unique. In fact, we've reached hundreds of people with APD and helped them find their way back into balance. By working through the Brain Harmony program, you or your loved one will be able to restructure the pathways necessary for optimal auditory skills, and the results are often nothing short of magnificent.
If you or a family member is dealing with APD, book a free consultation today.