What causes auditory processing disorder and who can get it?
There are a number of reasons why you might have difficulties in processing the information you hear. At the moment, these reasons are not fully understood. But it is thought they could be linked to: • Listening environment: We all find it easy to hear if we are in a quiet environment with minimal echoing. Background noise makes it difficult for us to hear – and some people are more affected than others. Some people who have had ‘glue ear’ , with periods of poor hearing, struggle to hear in background noise even when the glue ear is no longer there. If the room is echoing, this too can make it difficult for some people to hear. Old buildings with high ceilings makes speech echo more. • Speaker related factors: We are programmed to hear people close to us well, like our parents. Because we listen to them most of the time our ears and brain are used to their speech. If you are listening to someone speaking differently, for instance someone with a foreign accent or who is a fast speaker,
