Centre for Occupational Therapy, Marc Pfeiffenberger, Elmshorn

Auditory Processing Training

Central auditory perception deficits (APD / CAPD) affect the central hearing process, i.e. how the brain perceives and processes what the ear hears. According to the German Society of Phoniatrics & Pedaudiology, auditory perception deficits occur when the central hearing process is impaired. Central hearing processes enable the analysis of time, frequency and intensity relationships of acoustic and auditory speech signals, processes of binaural interaction, e.g. sound localisation, lateralisation and noise reduction, and dichotic processing, i.e. simultaneous hearing and processing. Auditory perception deficits are information processing deficits that are specific to sensory modalities, with the result that the pure tone audiogram is within normal limits.

Learning difficulties, e.g. dyslexia, are often linked to auditory perception deficits. So when a child has listening difficulties , it's possible that this is due to either an auditory perception deficit or an attention deficit.

Similarly, it is noticeable that patients with tone regulation disorders also frequently suffer from listening disabilities. In such cases, sensory integration therapy and other treatments to improve tone regulation are often included in therapeutic treatment.

A precise diagnostic assessment helps us to determine expedient measures in a structured way.

A training programme to improve auditory skills includes special computer programmes, for example Audiolog, as well as other training programmes based on Nikisch and Cramer.