[Pheonix28]

I went to the doc today to find out why I can't hear well and she diagnosed me with central auditory processing disorder.What ever that means. I tried the internet sites and they where to wordy for me. Anybody have a clue what it is and how they help you with it?

[bebop]

I think if I were you I would see a specialist to find out about this.

[ECHOES]

What did your doctor tell you about your particular symptoms and what treatment will be offered?

From Wikipedia: Diagnosis, Characteristics, Treatment.
Diagnosis
APD is recognized as a major cause of dyslexia[5]. As APD is one of the more difficult information processing disorders to detect and diagnose, it may sometimes be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, Asperger and other forms of autism, but it may also be a comorbid aspect of those conditions if it is considered a significant part of the overall diagnostic picture. APD shares common symptoms in areas of overlap such that professionals who were not aware of APD would diagnose the disabilities as those which they were aware of. APD can also be confused with Language Processing Disorder. Unlike APD, LPD is more specifically a problem associated with the linking of words, both written and spoken, to semantics (meaning) and someone can have both APD and LPD. Unlike those with LPD, those with APD can usually get the meaning of language from written words where those with LPD show problems with both heard and read words, demonstrating that the basic issue is not an auditory one.
People with APD intermittently experience an inability to process verbal information. When people with APD have a processing failure, they do not process what is being said to them. They may be able to repeat the words back word for word, but the meaning of the message is lost. Simply repeating the instruction is of no use if a person with APD is not processing. Neither will increasing the volume help.
People with APD have a disorder processing auditory information within the brain. The written word is a visual notation of verbal language, thus Auditory Processing Disorder can extend into reading and writing. As a consequence, APD has been recognised as one of the major causes of dyslexia.
There are also many other hidden implications, which are not always apparent even to the person with the disability. For example, because people with APD are used to guessing to fill in the processing gaps, they may not even be aware that they have misunderstood something.

[edit] Causes

There are many possible causes of APD. For many APD can be inherited as part of their genetic makeup. APD can be acquired especially via severe ear infections such as Otitis Media with effusion (glue ear). APD can also be acquired due to an accident that causes head trauma or by lead poisoning. Adults of advancing years can also acquire APD as their information processing faculties reduce as part of the aging process. Because there are many different possibilities, each person must be assessed individually.

[edit] Characteristics

Persons with APD often:

• have trouble paying attention to and remembering information presented orally; cope better with visually acquired information
• may have trouble paying attention and remembering information when information is simultaneously presented in multiple modalities
• have problems carrying out multi-step directions given orally; need to hear only one direction at a time
• appear to have poor listening skills, and need people to speak slowly
• need more time to process information.
• develop a dislike for locations with background noise such as bar, clubs or other social locations
• prefer written communication (e.g. text chat)

It appears to others as a problem with listening. Somebody with APD may be accused of "not listening".

• have behavioral problems.

APD can manifest as problems determining the direction of sounds, difficulty perceiving differences between speech sounds and the sequencing of these sounds into meaningful words, confusing similar sounds such as "hat" with "bat", "there" with "where", etc. Fewer words may be perceived than were actually said, as there can be problems detecting the gaps between words, creating the sense that someone is speaking unfamiliar or nonsense words. Those suffering from APD may have problems relating what has been said with its meaning, despite obvious recognition that a word has been said, as well as repetition of the word. Background noise, such as the sound of a radio, television or a noisy bar can make it difficult to impossible to understand speech, depending on the severity of the auditory processing disorder. Using a telephone can be problematic for someone with auditory processing disorder, in comparison with someone with normal auditory processing, due to low quality audio, poor signal, intermittent sounds and the chopping of words.[6] Many who have auditory processing disorder subconsciously develop visual coping strategies, such as lip reading, reading body language, and eye contact, to compensate for their auditory deficit, and these coping strategies are not available when using a telephone.

[edit] Secondary characteristics

Those who have APD tend to be quiet or shy, even withdrawn from mainstream society due to their communication problems, and the lack of understanding of these problems by their peers.
One who fails to process any part of the communication of others may be unable to comprehend what is being communicated. This has some obvious social and educational implication, which can cause a lack of understanding from others. In adults this can lead to persistent interpersonal relationship problems.
Some of these symptoms can be shared with other related disorders which can also have areas of overlap, such as acquired brain injury, attention deficits, dyslexia or learning difficulties, hearing loss, and psychologically-based behavioral problems.
APD may be related to cluttering[7], a fluency disorder marked by word and phrase repetitions.

[edit] Treatment

[edit] Remediations and training

See also: Alternative therapies for developmental and learning disabilities There are no research supported treatments for APD available, however a variety of treatments have been offered commercially in the absence of solid empirical research support for their efficacy.

• Management of Auditory Processing Disorders is taken from the notes provided at a presentation by Dr. Dilys Treharne as part of her UK NHS fund APD Research program.
• AIT Institute for Auditory Integration Training. Free resources, information and referrals to AIT Practitioners worldwide.
• Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes (particularly, the Visualizing and Verbalizing program)
• Physical activities which require frequent crossing of the midline (e.g. occupational therapy)
• Sound Field Amplification

[krzyk101]

Hello and welcome,

I agree from experience that if you have a problem as I am going through with the ears, an ear nose and throat specialist may be the next step in finding out more medically what is going on with your ears and hearing.

Good reading from the poster above and good luck with your ear problems hope a specialist could give you a more detailed exact idea of what you need to do from here.

take care, kkris101

[Pheonix28]

Thanks everyone for the the information it was helpful.
I got little info from the audiologist yesterday. What I did get was that there is a specialist for this at a major hospital about 2 hours from me. I had to pull that and the diagnoses from her. I got the feeling she wanted to go to the next patient. Oh well. On my on own again to find out more.
Thanks again everyone.

[(JD)]

From what I know of this (I'm not a medical doctor) it really just means that your hearing "ears" and brain don't coordinate well. A speech therapist can help you with this. There are things you can do to help make sure you are hearing and "interpreting" what is being said in actuality.

[kim_johnson]

It probably means that she didn't find anything wrong with your peripheral processing (the part of your ear before it becomes part of your brain). So... The problem isn't to do with your hearing ability, but more to do with the way that you do (or don't) process the information that you hear. Clinical cognitive neuropsychologist might be useful for dx assessment...