Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Understanding how the brain processes sound and speech

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is when the brain has difficulty interpreting sounds, (especially speech) even though hearing ability is normal. This can make conversations in noisy places, classrooms, or group settings especially challenging.

How Common is APD?

APD is estimated to affect around 5% of children, 0.5–1% of adults aged 18–64, and up to 14% of older adults.

Symptoms of APD

A person does not need to present with all symptoms but typically shows two or more for assessment consideration:

Listening in noise

• Difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments
• Trouble following conversations in groups or busy spaces
• Struggling to separate one voice from background sound

Understanding and memory

• Difficulty following long or multi-step instructions
• Trouble remembering spoken information
• Often needing people to repeat themselves

How APD is Assessed

Hearing test- A standard hearing test is performed first to confirm that your ears are detecting sound normally.

Background information- You will complete questionnaires and a detailed history will be taken. This helps us understand your listening difficulties in everyday situations.

Screening for related factors- Additional screening may be recommended to rule out conditions that can affect listening, such as language, attention, or cognitive processing difficulties. If needed, we may refer you to another specialist (such as a speech pathologist) for further assessment.

APD testing- You will listen to different sounds, words, and sentences and respond based on what you hear. This helps assess how your brain processes auditory information. Testing usually takes 2–4.5 hours and may be split into shorter sessions (around 1 hour each), especially for children, to ensure attention levels remain high.

Who Can be Assessed?

APD assessments are available for both children and adults, with some age guidelines to ensure results are accurate and meaningful.

Adults

Adults up to around 65 years of age can be assessed for APD. This age range is recommended because natural age-related changes in hearing and brain processing can affect the accuracy of certain APD tests in older adults.

Children

Children can usually be assessed from 5 years of age. Younger children are not suitable for testing, as the tasks require sustained attention and understanding of instructions that can be difficult for under 5s.

Supporting assessments

• In some cases, it is helpful for children to also have assessments with:
• An Educational Psychologist
• A Speech Pathologist

These assessments can provide additional information about learning, language, and attention skills that may overlap with APD symptoms. Our audiologists are also able to screen for a range of related listening and processing difficulties as part of the APD assessment process.

Treatment for APD