Auditory Processing Disorder

Auditory Processing is the way our brain processes the sound that our ears hear. In some people, this processing ability is impaired- this is called Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). We offer APD Evaluations and Therapy for children (5+ years) through adulthood. Our APD evaluations start with several questionnaires to identify perceived problem areas and a complete audiological assessment (to include: otoscopy, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions, acoustic reflex thresholds, speech reception threshold, word recognition score, and a hearing test). An interactive, computer-based APD assessment produced by Acoustic Pioneer is completed. Finally, auditory processing abilities are assessed using the Buffalo Model. These tests are done in the sound booth via audiometer and include: speech in noise testing, staggered spondaic words, and phonemic synthesis test. If a patient is diagnosed with APD, then auditory training with our speech language pathologist (SLP) is recommended. We use the Buffalo Model for therapy and this typically involves 10 - weekly sessions.