– Central Auditory Processing Disorder assessment:

– A central auditory processing disorder is an umbrella term for a group of disorders that can result in a breakdown in the heairng process. In short, our brain struggles to make sense of the sounds we hear because the auditory signal is being delayed in some way.

What’s involved in a CAPD assessment?

A CAPD assessment at Victorian Hearing comprises of three parts:

– Peripheral hearing assessment
– Listening in Spatialised Noise Sentences Test (LiSN-S)
– Central Auditory Processing test battery

Peripheral hearing assessment:

The peripheral hearing assessment assesses the physical structures of the child’s ear. This will include a basic hearing test, a visual examination of the child’s ear canals and eardrums, and immitance testing which measures the mobility and function of the child’s eardrums and middle ear function.

Listening in Spatialised Noise Sentences Test (LiSN-S):

The LiSN-S is an adaptive, virtual-reality, test that measures speech perception ability in noisy environments. Importantly, it also measures the ability to use the spatial cues that normally help differentiate a target talker from distracting speech sounds. An inability to use this information has been found to be a leading cause of difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, such as the classroom.

Central Auditory Processing test battery:

Various tests that measure different aspects of the central auditory system. These are selected on a case-by-case basis.

How do we treat a CAPD?

Victorian Hearing recommends the following treatment:

• Liaising with your child’s teacher and school on classroom strategies to maximise your child’s learning abilities
• Use of FM, wherein your child’s teacher wears a small microphone which sends a signal directly to your child’s ear via a receiver (very small earpieces), allowing your child to hear the teacher’s voice more clearly – especially in a noisy classroom situation. This device overcomes the challenges of hearing in background noise; over distance and in reverberant rooms.
• Referral to other relevant professionals such as a Speech Pathologist trained in APD therapy, or a similar healthcare provider
• Computer based programs developed in line with scientific research – such as the ‘Sound Storm’ auditory training program developed by NAL (National Acoustic Laboratories).