Auditory Processing - The Importance of Hearing

Most learning and development takes place by taking in information through the sense of vision using the eyes and through the sense of hearing using the ears. These two senses, more than any of the other ways to take in information from the outside world, determine how well we develop from a new born baby to a well adjusted adult that can successfully function in life.

Hearing involves more than just our two ears, as these are only the receptors that gather the auditory information from the outside world. How this information is processed and interpreted in the brain will to a great extend determine how we perceive reality and how we react, behave and express ourselves.

The information we receive through our ears is critical in acquiring language and our ability to learn to speak. Extensive periods of reduced hearing during the first years of life, though ear infections or medical conditions, will impact on language and speech development. Imperfections in how we hear will often show themselves in how we speak. Information received through the right ear is processed in the left brain hemisphere and the left ear is processed in the right hemisphere. The brain uses these two separate and slightly different signals to calculate location and movement in addition to frequency and intonation.

The two brain hemispheres must work well together in order to be able to filter out distracting sounds that come from other sources than, for instance, the sound of the mother's or teacher's voice. People with Attention Deficit are often distracted by unrelated sounds in their environment.

Just like most people are either right or left handed, one ear is normally also dominant. This matters as there is a speech specialisation in the brain, with almost all people processing speech in the left hemisphere. With the right ear directly connected to the left hemisphere, this is the most effective ear dominance to understand language and express ourselves through speech. Many stutterers, for instance, are left-ear dominant.

Reading and writing are complex processes involving not only visual abilities, but also relying on effective auditory processing. In order to read or write, we need to form sounds in our head, then speak and listen to ourselves, before being able to express ourselves. Poor auditory processing can lead to slow or incorrect reading and writing. Many Dyslexic people have difficulties in accurately processing fast or short sounds.

Severe loss of hearing can often be corrected through the use of hearing aids, but most filtering and processing difficulties can only be addressed by changing the way the brain processes auditory information.

The five senses – hearing, vision, touch, smell and taste – plus our sense of balance and where our body is in the space around us (proprioception) all contribute to how we learn and develop. How the brain receives, filters, processes and interprets the signals from these senses determines how we perceive reality and how we react, behave and express ourselves. The SAS methods are specifically designed to strengthen sensory processing and improve inter-hemispheric synchronisation and communication. The structured training and coaching programmes improve speech & pronunciation, reading & writing, attention & understanding and lead to better behavioural, social and emotional expression.

If you are interested in overcoming limitations, boosting achievement and creating a happier life, then find out how SAS is helping children and adults of all abilities become more successful:

► The SAS Methodology – what it does and how it works;
► SAS Research – client profile and feedback;
► The SAS Programmes – the services we offer;
► The SAS Centres – where you can find us;
► The People behind SAS – get to know us better.