ABSTRACT
Approximately 5% of children and 1–10% of adults who present to audiology departments with complaints of significant listening difficulties in noise or in group conversations have normal pure-tone thresholds. In a proportion of these patients, their listening symptoms are attributed to functional deficits in sound processing within the extended central auditory nervous system. 'Spatial processing disorder' (SPD) is attributed to the presence of a prolonged history of chronic otitis media in childhood which gives rise to deficits in binaural auditory processing due to the prolonged or fluctuating auditory deprivation. Children and adults with APD have difficulties with speech in noise, auditory attention, localization of sound and other auditory difficulties. The initial information collected during the medical interview will guide the choice of appropriate audiological tests, which should include a thorough assessment of peripheral auditory function as well as tests of auditory processing, both speech and non-speech.
