Auditory hypersensitivity

Imagine a child who is overwhelmed by everyday sounds, where the sound of a police siren is too much to handle and causes the child to clasp his hands over his ears and be reduced to tears. This child suffers from auditory hypersensitivity (AH). Many children with autism spectrum disorder find the processing and integration of sounds very difficult. Although concern about AH has been especially focused on children on the autism spectrum, many non-autistic children also present with behaviors of AH.

Recent research has brought about a better understanding of what is going on with children who have AH. AH has to do with the perception of sound rather than the hearing of sound. AH is defined as an abnormal sensitivity to sound in which sounds are perceived as excessively loud, or as having an aversion to certain sounds. Alex Doman, the founder and CEO of Advanced Brain Technologies and best-selling author of Healing at the Speed of Sound defines hearing and perception as follows. Hearing is the ability to recognize sound that enters the ear and travels to our brains where the sound is registered. In contrast, perception of sound is the cognitive ability to give meaning to sound. Dorman explains that we make a cognitive decision about what sound means.

Researchers have demonstrated that auditory pathways are highly active in young children and become suppressed, as they grow older. It is not surprising when a baby reacts negatively to a loud noise. Overtime, toddlers learn to inhibit or suppress the auditory pathways so that they may learn to react to sound in a controlled way. However, children with AH do not learn to suppress their auditory pathways and this contributes to the behaviors and reactions seen in children who are sensitive to sounds.

To perceive sound well, we need to separate the sound we want to listen to from background noise, understand about the timing and pattern of sounds and process the subtle frequency changes in sound. How we process sound has an impact on our ability to learn and process language and make sense of the world around us. For instance, paying attention and focusing on a teacher's voice can be very challenging if a child cannot ignore other auditory information in the classroom.

One treatment to help children and adults with AH focuses on auditory stimulation to change the auditory system, using specially modified sound to reprogram auditory pathways and retrain the brain to perceive sound. Wired2Learn uses The Listening Program (TLP) Spectrum, a new auditory program for home use, to improve sound brain fitness and reduce auditory sensitivities. TLP Spectrum exercises the brain and trains the brain to filter out unwanted sounds while keeping the listener relaxed. This program is ideal for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders, sensory processing disorders, brain injury and developmental delays.

Negative sound exposure has been scientifically proven to negatively impact health, sleep and attention, learning, communication, listening, hearing and stress. In fact, a 2011 World Health Organization report states that "noise pollution is second only to air pollution as an environmental cause of ill health." Wired2Learn is pleased to be able to offer a safe and accessible solution for children and adults who experience auditory hypersensitivities, and help them create a positive relationship to sound.

For more information on AH, TLP Spectrum or other learning disabilities, please call Wired2Learn at 699-6232.