auditory processing disorder medical devices

It is believed to commonly co-occur with sensorineural hearing loss in adults and the elderly. Typically, the next step following an audiogram with thresholds within normal limits (WNLs) is to complete speech in noise testing and if this is abnormal to refer on for a comprehensive auditory processing evaluation.Īuditory processing disorder (APD) is traditionally defined as difficulties in the processing of auditory information in the central nervous system and the underlying neurologic activity.ĪPD occurs in children, adults, and older individuals.

These patients could then be referred for further auditory processing testing to explore additional sources of difficulty originating in the auditory pathway. Most commonly the underlying auditory issue was previously undiagnosed or untreated hearing loss but occasionally, patients had normal audiometric thresholds while reporting significant difficulty hearing with mask usage and virtual settings. Just as these challenges began to present themselves, many clinics shutdown and moved to virtual operations as much as possible. These challenges have led many patients to pursue diagnosis, treatment, and management for underlying auditory issues that were previously untreated, as these new challenges proved to be the tipping point for many people to pursue audiologic care. Virtual learning has added additional signal issues, audibility concerns, and processing issues for many elementary, middle, high school, and college students. Masks have eliminated visual cues and reduced audibility. The COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown have challenged auditory systems in new and unique ways. Challenges and solutions for seeing this patient and other, similar patients virtually are discussed as well as a review of how this patient proceeded and how the knowledge gained from this patient could apply to others with similar concerns. During the shutdown, she virtually consulted with the auditory processing disorders clinic at the recommendation of her otologist to discuss her college-related difficulty and pursue educational accommodations. She was an established otology patient with an extensive middle ear history including multiple surgeries. This patient reported difficulty hearing during her college coursework for her music performance major. This article describes one such patient seen during the recent shutdown. This was recently exacerbated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shutdowns and the accompanying mask usage and virtual meetings. This can be accompanied by additional difficulty in classrooms and other difficult listening situations. The effect of APD can be worsened by the presence of other conditions, such as dyslexia, language processing difficulties, poor attention and poor short-term memory.Difficulty hearing in the presence of background noise is a common complaint heard by audiologists. Some children have a greater range of difficulties than others. Once the sound has arrived in the brain, there are problems with interpreting it, for instance, recognising the sound or understanding speech.Įach person is affected in a different way and to a different degree, so APD may be called a ‘spectrum disorder’. It then travels to the brain through the auditory nerve. When someone has APD, sound enters the ear canal and passes through the middle and inner ear as usual.

The brain then interprets these nerve impulses as sound. The movement of the fluid in the cochlea stimulates the hair cells inside it to trigger a nerve impulse, which is carried to the brain by the auditory nerve. The sound then passes through the middle ear via the three small bones of hearing (ossicles) on to the inner ear, which is filled with fluid. Sound waves enter the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. The ear consists of three parts, the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. Coronavirus (COVID-19) – information for children, young people and familiesĬoming to GOSH for a day or inpatient admissionĬoming to GOSH for an outpatient appointment

Auditory processing disorder medical devices