Hearing and Listening Are an Underlying Foundation for Learning

Introduction

Hearing and listening are the underlying foundation for learning. Anything that interferes with these abilities can negatively impact learning and academic success. Obviously, peripheral hearing lossa problem that effects the outer, middle, and/or inner ear, and results in decreased ability to hearcan hinder learning in a classroom environment. Fortunately, these hearing losses are generally identified and managed effectively to maximize a child's ability to benefit from auditory instruction in the classroom.

However, auditory processing disorders (APD)often more subtle in their presentationalso interfere with listening and learning. Children with APD have normal hearing acuity but demonstrate listening problems in the classroom. These children often struggle to learn to read and spell and can exhibit speech and language difficulties, including the inability to discriminate between similar sounds. These disorders are often overlooked or mislabeled in school. In addition, attention-deficit disorder (with or without hyperactivity), pervasive developmental disorder, and language learning disabilities, may also result in listening difficulties, and in some cases co-exist with APD.

HearingThe Vehicle for Learning

Hearing is the most efficient and effective vehicle for learning. Educators capitalize on this and use auditory-oral instruction as the primary approach in the majority of classrooms. This emphasis on listening can pose difficulties for children who cannot use this information successfully, such as those with APD. Children with APD are more affected by the impact of reverberation, background noise, and distance from the teacher in the classroom than their peers. These children often ask for information to be repeated, describe speech as "mumbly," and misinterpret what is said to them. APD may also make it more difficult for a child to focus on the primary speaker, such as the teacher, when background noise is present. Children with APD can "hear" sounds; however they perceive them in a different way than a "typical" listener. These children typically have normal intelligence but have difficulty making use of auditory information. Since children spend 45-60% of the school day with a primary focus on learning, the potential impact of an APD on learning is clear.

Information carried from the ear to the brain must be of "high fidelity" or the information available to the listener will be faulty. A high-quality representation of auditory information is necessary to develop an effective language system, as language development is highly dependent on effective input from the auditory system. Auditory processing disorders can impact language development by impairing the ability to discriminate between speech sounds and to recognize phonemes, which are building blocks for speech production and for reading. In addition, children with APD may be unable to store a speech message effectively or to process speech at "normal" rates. There is a synergy among listening, speaking, and reading, thus, children with auditory processing disorders often have difficulty using language effectively and/or in becoming successful readers.

APD Identification

Although auditory processing disorders can be present from birth, behaviors consistent with APD are frequently first observed in school around ages 6 or 7. APD is thought to result from a problem with the "wiring" that carries the message between the ear and the brain, resulting in a decreased efficiency of auditory information transfer. There may be a genetic component, as it tends to run in families. APD can also be acquired, such as in the case of traumatic brain injury or tumor.