What does Central Auditory Processing Disorder look like?
The easiest, most efficient way to communicate is to say something and then listen to the other person's reply. Howwver, this simple process becomes more difficult when your listener has Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Your sentence might come through with certain words drowned out by other noises, or with some words sounding like different words, or as meaningless strings of senseless verbiage. You might begin to suspect there is a problem when the person doesn't respond the way you expected. Some of the ways a person with Central Auditory Processing Disorder might respond to you are as follows:

1. The other person's expression doesn't register understanding.
2. He or she answers the wrong question - maybe one you posed earlier, or not at all.
3. He or she asks you for additional information which most people would have been able to infer from what you just said.

Since most of us aren't familiar with Central Auditory Processing Disorders, we probably would just think that the listener is not very intelligent, doesn't care about what we're saying, or is simply inattentive or "spaced out". Adults with Central Auditory Processing Disorders, which often accompany a learning disability (LD), have been embarrassed by situations and reactions like these all their lives.

These short circuits in the wiring of the brain sometimes run in families or as a result from a difficult birth, like other learning disabilities and disorders. In some cases the disorder is acquired from a head injury or severe illness, such as frequent ear infections. Often the exact cause is not known. Children and adults whose auditory problems have not been recognized nor treated are forced to invent their own solutions. Frequently, this involves some form of self-medication. The resulting behaviors can mask the real problem and complicate school, work, and close relationships, where good communication skills are vital. If the person chooses to self-medicate, the downward spiral begins. The longer the person uses, the more difficult it becomes to tell where the disability or disorder begins and where the addiction leaves off. This is partially due to the fact that the addiction masks the symptoms, but also because of the often elaborate compensatory skills used to cope, as well as the development of other disorders associated with being an addict.

It takes specialized testing to identify a Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Some of the tests used only give an indication that a Central Auditory Processing Disorder might be present. These include tests of auditory memory for sentences, nonsense syllables, or numbers backward, sequencing, tonal pattern recognition or sound blending, and store of general information which is most often acquired through listening. The most accurate way to sort out Central Auditory Processing Disorders from other problems that mimic them is through clinical audiologic tests of central nervous system function. These tests are better for locating the site of the problem and reducing the effects of language sophistication on the test results.

If you have a Central Auditory Processing Disorder, there are many ways professionals can help you streamline your coping abilities. Also, there may be conditions accompanying the Central Auditory Processing Disorder which are medically treatable such as allergies, Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or nutritional deficiencies.

The list below is common features of Central Auditory Processing Disorder:

1. Hears better when watching the speaker.
2. Problems with rapid speech.
3. Interprets words too literally.
4. Talks or likes the television louder than normal.
5. Often needs remarks repeated.
6. Unusually sensitive to sounds.
7. Asks many extra informational questions.
8. Confuses similar-sounding words.
9. Difficulty sounding out words.
10. Ignores people, especially if engrossed.
11. Difficulty following directions in a series.
12. Speech developed unclearly.
13. Late speech development.
14. Poor communicator.
15. Memorizes poorly.

You need to know how to identify the problem so that you can explain it to others and ask for what you need. If you grew up at a time or place where your Central Auditory Processing Disorder wasn't recognized you might need a knowledgeable professional to give you some insight into this. But if you listen to your feelings rather than trying to talk yourself out of them, you can generally get a good sense of the help you would like. Thus, if noisy people and places "bug" you, or if your most satisfying school memories were of projects you built or field trips you went on, you don't need anyone to tell you you'd work best in a quiet place, or that you're a hands-on or experiential learner.

Central Auditory Processing Disorder is a physical disorder under the protection of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). But put yourself in the other person's place: how can your supervisor or spouse possibly know whether you made a mistake because of impaired hearing, lack of interest, or sheer ignorance? What can you tell those those at work or home to help the situation? Here are some ideas.

1. Do you have trouble hearing clearly when it's noisy?
   This can be a failure of one or more of the automatic noise-suppression systems of the brain. It is reasonable to ask for a desk away from the computers or for a sound-absorbent partition. It is both polite and efficient to say, "I'm interested in what you're saying. Let's move away from this noise so I can hear you better." In addition, a mild-gain amplifier can help you hear accurately on the phone over the noise of a busy office.
2. Do you sometimes make silly mistakes or careless errors?
   Intrusions of random sounds which normal-hearing people can ignore may break your concentration so that you lose your place and skip a task (like carrying a number or writing a small word in the sentence). Take the work to a quieter place if necessary. Earplugs (sometimes in only one ear which suppresses noise less well) are a possible emergency solution. You can also have someone else proofread your work, which is actually a good idea even for people withour Central Auditory Processing Disorder.
3. Do you miss important sounds or signals that others hear easily?
   Poor noise suppression and sound localization skills can cause important voices or signals to disappear in the general background. It will save others time if they know to tap you on the shoulder before they launch into their conversation. Telephone bells and alarms can be adjusted for volume or pitch, or a visual or tactile signal can be added.
4. Do you get important messages wrong?
   Sound distortion, sequencing, auditory-visual transfer, and/or short term memory problems may be contributors. You can ask for the information in writing, double-check later with someone else who was present, or let the speaker know that she's going too fast. Even normal listeners often ask the person to repeat back infromation, "Let me read that back to you," or "That's '2932284'?"
5. Do you forget instructions?
   Inefficient short term auditory and rote memory (or habituation) may figure in this. Get in the habit of taking notes, set up a logbook for longer-term assignments, and ask that the information be put in a memo. You might even carry a small tape recorder or dictaphone in some situations. If you often forget to go back to it later, put the memo or recorder where you must see it, as by your purse or underneath something you use every day.
6. Do you only get parts of more complex directions or lengthy explanations?
   Here you may begin to suspect a problem with the subtleties of language, difficulty forming rapid word pictures to help with concept formation and memory, or failure to consider alternative word definitions so that meaning is mis-perceived. You can "freeze" it for later analysis by writing or taping. You can say "I learn better if I do it myself while you watch." Have someone else help you fill in details later.
7. Do you have difficulty knowing what to say when, and are puzzled by others' reactions to you?
   One possibility is an inefficiency in the part of the brain which registers tonality (expression in the voice) and gives us "quick fix" on the situation (sometimes referred to with rough accuracy as a "right hemisphere disorder"). A professional can help you learn other cues by which to access how people are feeling about what you said and how to change what you say accordingly, much as anyone would have to learn about a foreign culture. In the meantime you might explain the problem to people you trust so their feelings aren't hurt.

If you inherited parts of your Central Auditory Processing Disorder or other learning disability from from your parents, they may have raised you with some of the harmful "scripts" that were part of the parenting they received in a generation where professionals and parents knew nothing about Central Auditory Processing Disorders. Chances are your teachers or other professionals as you grew up were not well-informed about Central Auditory Processing Disorders. You may have been told "You'd do fine if you just apply yourself," or "You'll never amount to anything," or even worse. If so, you know that those comments were not true or helpful. Work to rid yourself of those inaccurate parts of your self-image, forgive your parents and others for their lack of knowledge, and begin to heal yourself. Remember that for you to have evolved to the point where you are educated and employable, you must have some positive attributes and special talents. These strengths are there to help you through the rough spots so work to identify them, either on your own or with the help of a good professional.