A two-hour diagnostic assessment for children aged 7 and above and for adults, at our private ear and hearing clinic in Dartford, Kent.
£349 - 2 Hour Session
Auditory processing disorder is a difficulty with how the brain makes sense of sound, not with the ears themselves. People with APD hear sounds perfectly well on a standard hearing test, yet struggle to understand what is being said, particularly in a noisy classroom, a busy office or a restaurant.
It is frequently mistaken for inattention, and children with APD are often described as not listening when the real problem is that speech is arriving at the brain intact but is not being decoded reliably. Our assessment measures how auditory information is actually being processed and produces specific, practical recommendations for home, school or work.
We see patients from Dartford, Bexley, Gravesend, Swanley, Sidcup, Orpington, Greenhithe and across South East London.
Academic struggles, speech or language delays, or behavioural concerns related to listening
Difficulty in meetings, on the phone, or understanding speech in background noise
A normal hearing test result first - or hearing aids or implants already fitted if hearing loss is present
Before committing to a full diagnostic assessment, many families start with Sound Scouts, a validated app-based hearing check that disguises a proper audiological test as a game. It takes six to eight minutes, works for children from age 4 and for adults, and needs nothing more than a quiet room and a decent pair of over-ear headphones. Its methodology was published in the International Journal of Audiology.
The game is built from three separate listening tasks, and it is the combination of results across all three that is informative:
Two-syllable words presented in silence. This establishes a baseline for how well speech is heard under ideal conditions, and is the task most affected by a straightforward hearing loss.
Detection of pure tones, largely independent of language. Because it does not rely on understanding words, it gives a fair result for bilingual children and for anyone whose first language is not English.
The same words presented against background noise. This is the task that matters most for APD, because reduced speech understanding in difficult listening conditions is the symptom people with APD report more than any other.
A weak score across all three tasks points towards hearing loss and a full hearing test. A normal score in quiet with a poor score in noise is the pattern that points towards auditory processing, and is the reason to book a diagnostic assessment.
An important limit: Sound Scouts is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Auditory processing disorder is not one single condition, and no six-minute app can separate the different processing difficulties that sit behind the same symptom. A screening result tells you whether it is worth investigating further. The assessment below is what establishes whether APD is present, which type, and what will actually help.
Detailed discussion of listening difficulties, developmental history, and educational or workplace challenges
Complete audiological assessment, including tympanometry, to rule out hearing loss and middle ear problems first
Measures the ability to understand speech against background noise - the core difficulty in APD
Assesses how the brain handles different information presented to each ear at the same time
Evaluates the timing, order and sequencing of auditory information - how the brain tracks sound across time
Tests the ability to tell apart sounds that are acoustically similar, such as the consonants that carry most of the meaning in speech
Detailed written report with findings, diagnosis and recommendations for home, school or work, provided within two weeks
A diagnosis on its own changes nothing. What changes things is the set of adjustments that follow it. After your assessment we provide personalised recommendations, which may include:
Duration: The APD assessment is a comprehensive two-hour session. We can split it across more than one appointment where that works better, particularly for younger children.
Preparation: Please bring any previous hearing test results, school reports or educational psychology assessments. Your child should be well rested and have eaten before the appointment – listening tests are tiring, and a tired child gives an unreliable result.
Results: Initial findings are discussed immediately after testing. The full written report follows within two weeks.
Hearing loss is a problem with sound reaching the brain. APD is a problem with what the brain does with sound once it arrives. Someone with APD usually has a completely normal hearing test, which is exactly why the difficulty goes unrecognised for so long.
APD can only be diagnosed once hearing itself is known to be normal. Undetected hearing loss or glue ear produces very similar symptoms, and treating those is far simpler. The full hearing test is included in the assessment.
The tests used in an APD assessment compare a person’s results against age-matched normal data, and reliable data does not exist below about age 7. Younger children also have auditory systems still maturing, so a result would not be stable. Below 7 we would assess hearing thoroughly and review later.
No, though the symptoms overlap and the conditions can occur together. Difficulty following instructions looks the same from the outside whether the cause is attention, language or auditory processing. That is precisely why a formal assessment is worth doing rather than guessing.
There is no cure, but it is very manageable. The right listening environment, assistive technology where appropriate, targeted auditory training and clear communication strategies make a substantial difference, especially when they are put in place early.
The full two-hour session, the complete hearing test, all APD test batteries, discussion of initial findings on the day, and the comprehensive written report for home, school or work.
Yes. The report is written so that a SENCO or teacher can act on it, with specific classroom recommendations rather than general advice.
Regus Admirals Park, Victory Way, Dartford DA2 6QD, with free on-site parking. We are easily reached from Bexley, Gravesend, Swanley, Sidcup, Orpington and Greenhithe.
