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There has been a tremendous rise in hearing issues among young boys and girls
Wearing noise-cancelling headphones to tune out distractions at work, on public transportation, or during exercise is very common these days, especially among youngsters. But they can be damaging to your brain, doctors warn. According to recent studies, there has been a tremendous rise in hearing issues among young boys and girls.
However, after detailed tests and investigations, it has been found that the problem is not within the ear but caused by a brain problem.
What is auditory processing disorder?
Experts say most people who have hearing issues nowadays are being diagnosed with auditory processing disorder or APD—a neurological issue that affects about 3-5 per cent of school-aged children who cannot understand what they hear in the same way other kids do. This happens because their ears and brain do not fully coordinate. Though someone with ADP will pass hearing tests, which means that their ears are functional like normal people, they may have trouble deciphering sounds, like where a noise is coming from.
Doctors say even though many APD symptoms are similar to hearing loss symptoms, there is no cure for this condition.
What causes auditory processing disorder?
APD means your brain has trouble interpreting what your ears hear. According to the Cleveland Clinic, to understand APD, it is important to understand the chain of events that lets you hear sounds, which include words like:
- Sound waves enter your outer ear and hit your eardrum, which begins to vibrate
- This sets up vibration in very small bones in your middle ear
- The vibration triggers ripples in your inner ear fluid, which hits the tiny hair cells in your inner ear
- It then sends electrical signals to your auditory nerve, which forwards the signal to your brain.
- Your brain processes the signals and makes sense of sounds, including speech.
Doctors say APD can happen for the following reasons:
- Central nervous system disorders like stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease
- Genetics
- Ear infections
- Head injuries
Signs and symptoms of Auditory processing disorder
A few signs and symptoms of this condition include:
- Asking people to repeat
- Having difficulty understanding what other people are saying, especially in places where there’s a lot of noise
- Having trouble telling the difference between words that are spoken
- Trouble understanding rapid speech.
- Difficulty reading, spelling, and writing below grade level
- Not responding when people talk since you may not be able to understand what the other person said
- Taking longer to respond in conversations
- Having trouble following verbal directions
- Having trouble following long conversations
- Not being able to remember what people said
How to manage or treat APD?
While doctors say this condition cannot be treated, you can always prevent APD by not wearing headphones all the time. For years, doctors have cautioned that listening to headphones at loud volumes can cause damage to ears, but this new warning indicates that even lower volumes can cause damage, just in a different way.
To manage the symptoms, you can:
- Change your environment, like the place where you sit in meetings, in a classroom, or in your workplace
- Ask people to speak slowly and loudly
- Getting specialized speech therapy
- Use coping strategies like a recording device to capture communication
- Use management strategies to help your brain focus on the auditory signal.
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