Auditory Processing Testing by qualified Audiologist

Auditory Processing Testing by Bundaberg's Best Audiologist, at Bundaberg Hearing Aids and Tinnitus Treatment Clinic is recommended for children under 7 years and older.  Testing before this age tends to be unreliable.  We do this across two appointments, which lets us Bulk Bill the diagnostic testing with GP referral.  A $300 out of pocket fee is due at the second appointment.

Part 1 of the test is important to rule out any hearing loss, middle ear issues, wax occlusion, auditory neuropathy, or other pathologies which need to be ruled out before we consider an auditory processing deficit.

The Auditory Processing Test examines how the brain is interpreting sounds from the auditory system which can affect a person's ability to understand, process and follow spoken language.  It shares some difficulties with  other issues like Hearing Loss and Auditory Neuropathy so its important for your test to have this testing to rule out other causes of the presented issues.   Children with Auditory Processing Disorder,  sometimes called, Central Auditory Processing Disorder (APD/CAPD), may have trouble with localisation (direction of sounds), learning and language difficulties,  difficulty hearing in noise or with multiple speakers, behavioural issues, difficulty following multiple instructions, staying on task, memory and recall issues, and have trouble with localisation of speech.  This list is not exhaustive.  These are just some of the things to look out for. 

Auditory Processing presents significantly more frequently if there has been middle ear infections IE GLUE EAR. This fluctuating hearing is believed to lead to Auditory Deprivation with the brain not receiving adequate stimulation during childhood development.

 These are similar to real life situations, such as, hearing in background noise or with competing  speech coming from different directions, and competing ears for example.  They will need to repeat what they hear and will be scored against normative date for their age.  A comprehensive report  will be emailed within a week, as it takes time for the scores to be compared to the and for the recommendations considered for suggested treatment, and management to  be considered.

Bundaberg Hearing Aids and Tinnitus Treatment Clinic uses the online Sound Scout Auditory Processing Battery which includes   The Listening in Spatialized Noise Test (LiSN- S), AudiCloze Test, DigiSpan Test, and the Dichotic Digits difference Test (DDdT).  Each of these four tests have multiple subtests to complete for a thorough diagnosis.   This testing is performed by a university trained Audiologist, and the recordings are presented under headphones, so there is no variability.  The scores and patterns of the subtests are compared to other Children of a similar age to get standardised scoring for their age.  The Auditory Processing Test will generally look at the abilities below.  

Auditory Integration, which is understanding  when sounds and speech are presented to both ears at the same time.

Auditory Separation, which is focusing on speech in one ear while trying to ignore competing speech or other sounds in the other ear.

Spatial Processing in Noise, which is understanding speech when there are competing sounds from different directions.

Auditory Closure,  which is the ability to fill in missing or degraded speech, such as in background noise, or trying to communicate from another room.

Temporal Processing, which is the brain understanding sound time and duration

I believe Bundaberg Hearing Aids  and Tinnitus Treatment Clinic, to be the only business in the Wide Bay and further, that has both Auditory Brain Stem Response and Otoacoustic Emissions to rule out additional pathologies like Auditory Neuropathy and Brain Lesions, which may mirror the symptoms of Auditory Processing and Hearing Loss.   These tests are not routinely used despite giving extra information, as they are expensive and add significant time to testing.  The ABR uses painless electrodes to your child's ears and head to examine the integrity of the hearing nerve.  While OAE's are a small painless measurement with another machine in the ears to measure sounds generated by the outer hair cells.    There is evidence that some forms of APD can be treated so it needn't impact their future with some early interventions and management strategies.

Different Treatments are beneficial depending on the weakness found.  Some examples are:

Computer Based Programs to remediate weaknesses such as Fast ForWord and LISN and Learn as some examples.  These are computer based exercises disguised as games - they can be bought and administered at home, or you can pay an Audiologist to administer if you feel that your child respond better.

Classroom support and environmental modifications:  Such as  FM (frequency modulation) system, can help your child hear the teacher more clearly and bypass some of the processing issues.   Teachers can suggest ways to help them focus their attention, like sitting toward the front of the class and limiting background noise, or putting acoustic panelling or soft surfaces on walls to reduce reverberation.

Working with a Psychologist/Counsellor similar to computer-based training, can work on specific areas of weakness.  This is particularly useful if memory or attention issues are found.   

Occupational Therapists with often work with Auditory Processing Issues, particularly integration or interhemispheric issues.

Speech Pathology  can help your child recognize sounds and improve expressive and receptive language and conversational skills.   They are often able to work on remediating specific areas of weakness or work through computer based remediation programs.

We bulk bill *With GP referral)  all of the diagnostic testing to help reduce costs, with the out of pocket being $300 at the second appointment just for the CAP testing.