Auditory Processing: What It Is and What It Looks Like
Auditory processing is making sense of what the ears take in. A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). It says checklists and single tests are not a full assessment. No sign we hold separates the disorder from hearing loss or inattention. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
TL;DR
- Auditory processing is making sense of what the ears take in. This is our own description, not a diagnosis. A child's hearing can test fine, and listening can still be hard. In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- A British audiology body describes auditory processing disorder as listening trouble with normal hearing (British Society of Audiology, 2018). Auditory processing disorder is sometimes called central auditory processing disorder. We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- From the outside, auditory processing disorder looks like listening trouble. Hearing loss and trouble paying attention can look the same. No sign we hold has been shown to tell these apart. In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). It says checklists and single tests are not a full assessment. In our view, take a hearing concern to your child's doctor or an audiologist. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
Auditory processing is making sense of what the ears take in. This is our own description, not a diagnosis.
”Auditory processingWhat auditory processing means
Auditory processing is making sense of what the ears take in. That includes telling similar sounds apart, and following one voice in a busy room. It also includes holding what was just said long enough to use it. And it includes filling in a word you only half heard.
We group these skills ourselves. The grouping is not a way to diagnose a child.
A child's hearing can test fine, and listening can still be hard. In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
Auditory processing disorder is a diagnosis
Auditory processing is a skill. Auditory processing disorder is a diagnosis. In the way we use the words, they are not the same thing.
A British audiology body describes auditory processing disorder as listening trouble with normal hearing (British Society of Audiology, 2018). Auditory processing disorder is sometimes called central auditory processing disorder. We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
One large UK study tested children with normal hearing (Moore and colleagues, 2010). Its authors argued that auditory processing disorder is mainly an attention problem. The audiology bodies we read do not call it attention. We could read only the study's summary. In our reading, this is not settled. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
What it looks like, and what that cannot tell you
From the outside, auditory processing disorder looks like listening trouble. Hearing loss and trouble paying attention can look the same. No sign we hold has been shown to tell these apart. In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
Some children are sent to an audiologist to test for auditory processing disorder. In 2018, a British audiology body wrote about people sent for this. It said they often report the kind of trouble hearing loss causes. It said their hearing test was normal all the same. In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is a US body for speech and hearing professionals. As of 2026, ASHA's central auditory processing page lists some signs. It says some may point to other conditions. This page gives no checklist. Thinking of an online checklist? Our page on auditory processing checklists covers them.
Who checks for it
A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). It says checklists and single tests are not a full assessment. In our view, take a hearing concern to your child's doctor or an audiologist. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
A speech-language pathologist can screen and refer you to an audiologist. An audiologist tests hearing. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
In our view, you can talk with the teacher at the same time. A teacher can spot listening trouble in class.
What we hold, and what we do not
We hold no figure for how common auditory processing disorder is. Is it often mistaken for ADHD or autism? We hold no study that shows this.
Auditory processing disorder and ADHD can come together in one child. Our page on auditory processing and ADHD has questions you can ask.
More on listening trouble
Our page on hearing loss, auditory processing and inattention covers how they look alike. Our page on what a standard hearing test checks covers a normal result.
Our page on sound sensitivity covers a child who covers their ears. Our page on a child who needs everything repeated covers that pattern. Our page on a child who only listens face to face covers that too.
Our page on processing difficulties has more.
In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
If your child has lost a skill
Some children could do something and now cannot. That is different from a child who has not built the skill yet. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
When to ask for help
Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.
- Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
- Schoolwork well below what school expects.
- A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
- Extreme upset about schoolwork.
- Complete avoidance of school or learning.
- Hopelessness about learning.
- Sadness or worry that lasts.
- Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
- A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.
Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.
In the classroom
Does a student often seem not to catch spoken words? Tell the family what you see.
Two sentences for an email home: "Your child often misses spoken directions in class. What do you notice at home?"
ASHA's classroom advice includes giving visual cues along with speech.
Tonight, note two times your child did not seem to catch what you said. Note what was said, and what else was going on. Bring the notes when you ask your child's doctor about hearing. This is a record, not a test.
”What to do tonightWhat to use next
An overview of processing skills. Our work on each runs alongside reading, spelling or math instruction, not in place of it.
Common questions from parents
What is auditory processing?
Auditory processing is making sense of what the ears take in. That includes telling similar sounds apart, and following one voice in a busy room. It also includes holding what was just said long enough to use it. This is our own description, not a diagnosis. A child's hearing can test fine, and listening can still be hard. In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
What does auditory processing disorder look like?
From the outside, auditory processing disorder looks like listening trouble. Hearing loss and trouble paying attention can look the same. No sign we hold has been shown to tell these apart. This page gives no checklist. A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). It says checklists and single tests are not a full assessment. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
Is auditory processing the same as auditory processing disorder?
Not in the way we use the words. Auditory processing is making sense of what the ears take in. Auditory processing disorder is a diagnosis. A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). It says checklists and single tests are not a full assessment. We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.