Howauditory processing disorder is managed

There's currently no cure for auditory processing disorder, but there are a number of strategies that can helpyou cope with the condition. Some of these are outlined below.

Auditory training

You may be advised to try special activities to helptrain your brain to analyse sound better,known as auditory training.This can be done either on your own, with a professional, or with the help of a computer programme orCD.

Itcan involve a range of tasks, such as identifyingsounds and guessing where they're coming fromor trying to focus on specific sounds when there's some slight background noise. The tasks can be adapted for people of different ages, with children often learning through games or from reading with their parents.

Changes at home or school

Be aware of room acoustics and how they affect you. Rooms with hard surfaces will cause echoes, so rooms with carpets and soft furnishings are best. Switch off any radios or televisions and move away from any noisy devices such as fans.

If your child has problems hearing,talk to their school about changes that may help them, such assitting near the teacher, using visual aids and reducing background noise.

Your child may also benefit from wearing a radio receiver or having a speaker on their desk at school, which is connected wirelessly to a small microphone worn by their teacher. Alternatively, a speaker system in the class that's connected to the teacher's microphone may help your child hear their teacherover any background noise.

Help from others

It may beuseful to tell other peopleabout your hearing problems and let them know what they can do tohelp you hear more clearly.

Ask them to:

• make sure they get your attention and face you before they talk
• speak clearly and a little more slowly than normal
• emphasise their speech to highlight the key points of the message
• repeat or rephrase the message if necessary

Further information

For more information on what you can do to help yourself and how others can help you, you might find the following leaflets helpful:

• University College London Hospitals NHS Trust: a guide to help your auditory perception (PDF, 305kb)
• Action on Hearing Loss: children and auditory processing disorder (PDF, 194kb)