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Auditory processing disorder (APD)

Overview

Open all pages about Auditory processing disorder (APD)

Symptoms of auditory processing disorder include difficulty understanding fast speech, strong accents, similar sounding words and spoken instructions.

Tests to diagnose auditory processing disorder may include listening to speech with background noise or spotting small changes in sounds.

Treatment for auditory processing disorder usually involves activities to improve listening and concentration, called auditory training.

There are things that can help with auditory processing disorder. For example, talk face to face, use pictures and text and reduce background noise.

It's not always clear what causes auditory processing disorder. Possible causes include regular ear infections, genetics or a head injury.

Auditory processing disorder (APD) is where you have difficulty understanding sounds, including spoken words. It often starts in childhood.

Page last reviewed: 31/07/2023
Next review due: 31/07/2026