What is Central Auditory Processing Disorder?

What is Central Auditory Processing?

Central Auditory Processing (CAP) refers to the efficiency and effectiveness by which our brains and auditory areas decode and use hearing information. This process is essentially how well the ears talks to the brain and how well the brain understands what the ear tells it.

When our brain and auditory system is working normally we can pick out the important parts of the sounds we hear, filter out any noise, and then fill in the gaps to make sense of what we have just heard. This complex process consists of a wide range of skills that help us to make sense of the sounds we hear. These include skills like locating the buzz of our alarm clock in the morning, focusing on a conversation in a busy restaurant, and clearly understanding a teacher in a noisy classroom.

However, when our brain and auditory system stops working correctly, the ability for us to make sense of the sounds can become impaired, even though we can still ‘hear’ the sounds.

A delayed development or degeneration of the brain’s auditory system most commonly results in difficulty understanding speech in the presence of noise, and could be the result of a Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD).

A Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) is when the brain and auditory system cannot correctly interpret the sounds that it is hearing.

Signs and Symptoms of CAPD in children

Signs of a potential CAPD in children include:

Difficulties hearing in noisy environments (e.g. in noisy classrooms, with noise playing in the background)
Having trouble staying focused on tasks and being easily distracted
Struggling with following multi-step instructions – the instructions must be brief and simple or you may do the first and forget the rest
Struggling to understand and remember verbal information
Frequently needing repeats or being confused (saying ‘huh?’ or ‘what?’ often)
Being overly sensitive to loud or sudden sounds
Poor academic performance
Issues with reading and writing skills (such as language, vocabulary, phonics, spelling)
Poor organisational skills
Difficulties participating in group activities
Struggling to hear in group environments or if there are multiple people speaking

Adults may present with similar symptoms at work and social settings.

Signs and Symptoms of CAPD in adults

Changes in the functioning of our brains auditory system occur as we get older. One of the major effects of this change is a degradation of our auditory processing abilities. Common signs of a CAPD in adults include:

Difficulty understanding speech in background noise
Being unable to identify the source of a sound
Inability to focus on a single voice
Struggling to understand speech in meetings
Difficulties understanding speech on phone calls or watching TV

What causes CAPD?

Identifying the causes of CAPD are often quite difficult. The individuality of brain auditory system organisation and the conditions that affect such organisation means that CAPD can affect individuals differently. Children that have chronic ear infections in their early years are at a greater risk of developing a CAPD.

The episodes of periodic hearing loss that accompanies chronic ear infections can result in the brains auditory system developing abnormally, increasing the likelihood of a CAPD. These can then carry on into adulthood where it is much less likely that an individual will be able to learn these skills.

Additionally, as we get older the number of cells and neurons in our brain decreases, making our brain’s auditory system work far less efficiently.

How is it diagnosed?

Clarity Hearing + Balance specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of CAPD. Our comprehensive CAP test battery follows the latest recommendations from Independent Audiologists Australia (IAA), ensuring a broad range of auditory processing skills are assessed and the potential for a CAPD is detected to appropriately implement remediation strategies.

What is Central Auditory Processing?