How to Improve Auditory Processing Skills
Did you know that people with perfect hearing can still struggle to understand verbal instructions and follow directions? Having the ability to hear and process those sounds are two different things that can profoundly affect people of all ages. Most people don’t realize these can all be symptoms of auditory processing disorder.
Understanding Auditory Processing
Auditory processing might be a new term for some people. To explain it, one needs simply to break down the term into each separate word. In that case, it’s easy to see that auditory processing involves one’s ability to process sounds taken in via the ears. Auditory processing is traditionally viewed as what the brain does with what it hears, involving specific attention and perceptual skills. While not well understood, auditory processing is an integral part of nearly every aspect of life, social situations, and learning. Audiologist Jay R. Lucker, EdD, CCC-A/SLP, FAAA identified many facets of daily life that are impacted by processing auditory information successfully.
As mentioned previously, Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is different from hearing loss. A person with APD can listen to sounds-in fact, many have typical audiogram results. For example, during a typical conversation, a person with auditory processing disorder will miss certain portions of the message, resulting in misunderstanding or a need to constantly fill in the blanks, which is mentally and emotionally exhausting. Individuals with APD often cannot hear sounds as words and have difficulty in daily life.
The Impact and Hope for APD
While APD can profoundly impact people in all facets of life, there is hope. Science has shown that APD results from poor ear and brain connections.
Using the specific music inside TLP to improve auditory processing is something Occupational Therapist and TLP Certified Provider Sheila Allen, MA, OT has done with her clients for years. Music supports auditory processing abilities. Strangely enough, you don’t need to have excellent auditory processing skills to enjoy and reap the benefits of music listening. Regardless of our auditory processing skills, most of us love listening to our favorite music and can likely benefit from listening to the enriched music of The Listening Program.
Imagine boosting the potency of the most well-known source of all-around brain stimulation. Over the years, I’ve recognized that those with auditory attention limitations often notice their attention to music, especially their favorite music, is significantly better than their attention to spoken language or other crucial acoustic information. Many individuals with sensitivities to specific sound frequencies or volume dynamics in daily life can handle music’s frequency and volume characteristics with far less if any difficulty. Those challenged by processing auditory/language information sequences can retain music’s rhythm, melodic, and lyrical sequences.
These exciting observations make me think that it’s easier to process auditory stimulation when organized as music. Further, they lead me to view TLP as a progression of musical experiences that facilitates auditory processing. As Sheila stated, music is all around us and constantly impacts our brains in ways we don’t realize. Its impact is astonishingly far-reaching!
The Listening Program (TLP)
While any music can affect people, only highly specialized music can improve auditory processing abilities. TLP music is enhanced by organizing sound, frequency, volume, space, and time elements through aesthetically pleasing and acoustically modified themes. Essentially, TLP targets the tiny muscles in the middle ear and portions of the brain responsible for auditory processing to gently strengthen those connections and improve auditory processing abilities.
TLP Certified Provider Tracey Butler uses TLP regularly to improve auditory processing disorder in her clients. Tracey is the Australia/New Zealand representative for Advanced Brain Technologies, an international speaker, trainer, and practitioner. Recently she conducted one of the most extensive studies ever published in the auditory and listening therapy field, studying over 456 subjects ranging in age from 5 to 50, showing considerable improvements on the SCAN test of auditory processing. Each subject was tested before a 10-month regime of listening to TLP 2 times daily for 15-minute sessions. Read about this exciting open-access journal article from Tracey Butler, Jane Schueler, and Dr. Jay R. Riley and Jordan, two of her clients, started working with Tracey as they struggled in school and at home due to APD.
After 11 weeks of listening to two 15 minute music sessions, Riley and Jordan’s mom noted, “The difference is incredible. The boys are so much more relaxed and so much more in control. When the boys are asked to do things, they just do it. Before, if you gave them more than one instruction, they couldn’t do it. Teachers started noticing a difference right away as well. Riley and Jordan quickly saw that their success was possible because of the improvements in their ability to process the sound and information they were receiving throughout the day.
With improved processing, anyone will become increasingly attuned to themselves and the world around them. The benefits of enhanced auditory processing extend beyond just paying attention and expanding one’s perception and deeper meaning of situations.
Summary of Tracey Butler's Study
Here is a summary of the key findings from Tracey Butler's extensive study:
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Subjects | 456 individuals aged 5-50 |
| Intervention | 10-month regime of listening to TLP 2 times daily for 15-minute sessions |
| Measurement | SCAN test of auditory processing |
| Results | Considerable improvements on the SCAN test were observed |