We are first exposed to patterns of sound in the womb, such as our mother’s voice, heartbeat and breathing. At five months a foetus responds to phonemes (the smallest sound unit in a language, e.g. the ‘s’ in ‘sing’). Dr Alfred Tomatis discovered that a foetus will move a specific part or their body when they hear a specific phoneme – a sensory-motor response which indicates that foetuses begin to learn language while still in the womb. Incredible! Usually, our sense of hearing is perfect when we are born and it deteriorates from there.
I’ve noticed many instances of auditory processing difficulties in the children I’ve worked with. It is perhaps one of the most common difficulties that I’ve come across. These children could identify with some or most examples from the following list:
- Sensitivity to sounds
- History of hearing loss
- History of glue ear
- Dislike of loud noise
- Aware of sounds others don’t hear
- History of ear infections
- Difficulty following verbal directions
- Often say ‘huh’ or ‘what’
- Need directions repeated
- Hum constantly
- Very loud voice
- Articulation problems
- Have a stutter
- Inappropriately distracted by noise
- Can’t concentrate with background noise
It is possible to have normal hearing but to have problems processing what is heard. This can lead to difficulties in discriminating sounds, following directions, accuracy in spelling, concentrating in the presence of background noise and visualising (imagining or picturing in the head) from verbal information.
Our auditory system is not simply the ability to hear but also about processing what we hear. Much of our learning process relies on the auditory system. Many people test within the normal hearing range but may be unable to follow a set of instructions, due to auditory processing delays. This may be caused by one ear processing at a slower speed than the other. People with auditory processing delays may display delayed speech development or continually ask for directions to be repeated. Some people have sensitivity towards certain frequencies. They may pace their hands over their ears when they hear certain sounds – the sounds of a toilet being flushed, the sound of a truck or aeroplane, a vacuum cleaner or the wind.
