by Eva van Loon, Cognition Therapist

Auditory-processing deficit shows up far more commonly than attention deficit in cognition-therapy assessments—it’s the major problem among students today. Often, the deficit is huge: a teenager, hearing things as if the brain were only five years old; an adult hearing as if the brain were ten. Such big gaps block literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking to the point where school and work are next to impossible.

Nothing is wrong with the person’s hearing. Sound travels from the ear to the brain just fine. Then it’s as if the brain says, “Just where do you want me to put this jumbled mess of noises?” There’s no thought structure, no framework, to help the brain sort out sounds.

Do you have this deficit? If others have to tell you things several times, if you have trouble coping with several directions at once, if you promptly forget what you’ve heard, if your handwriting is an irregular mess, or if you procrastinate or distract yourself, your auditory processor likely is not working as it should.

This deficit is not a disease, but can be the result of early trauma, such as an accident, bullying, relocation, or even being yelled at in school. For some, there’s no clear trigger beyond the common conditions of life today. What is clear in every case is that auditory-processing deficit blocks the repair of any other deficit that may be present, such as attention.

Auditory-processing deficit is often called CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Deficiency). Testing for CAPD, however, can miss the deficit if timing is not part of the test. A student cleared of CAPD may still show signs of auditory-processing deficit.

People with this deficit can sometimes read English anyway, thanks to exceptionally strong visual processors and good working memory. These compensatory strategies cover over the fact that the brain is not connecting the way the language sounds with the way it appears on the page, at a subconscious level, which is the auditory processor’s job. If those skills are not subconscious, reading is likely no pleasure.

Typically, a teen with low reading scores has developed high visual and/or social skills—but these don’t fix the deficit. Schools are not equipped to fix it, either. An eight-year-old scoring Age Five in auditory processing will likely score the same when re-assessed at twelve.

The brain must build subconscious structures to organise incoming sound. This rebuilding must be done in rhythms that trigger chemical responses which enhance memory and learning. Such learning is permanent, like learning to ride a bike—you can’t forget.

The best part of this new therapy devised by merchant scientists is its brevity. A permanent cure for auditory-processing deficit is usually accomplished in about forty one-hour sessions. Re-testing one, two, or even three years later shows 98.7 per cent retention of the learning—and a much easier cognitive life for the student since the therapy.

Get assessed. It’s free from your neighbourhood cognition therapist. You’ve nothing to lose but that noise in your mind.