2nd Seminar on Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), Hearing in Noise and Hyperacusis

On the 4th March the Royal Surrey County Hospital Audiology Department collaborated with the British Society of Audiology to host the 2nd Seminar on Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), Hearing in Noise and Hyperacusis.

The event had over 100 attendees including patients, parents of patients with the conditions and specialists from a range of disciplines including Audiologists, Audio-vestibular physicians, Speech and Language Therapists and Educational Psychologists.

The event included three presentations from expert speakers on their areas of research and clinical experience.

• Dr Hashir Aazh, Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Therapy Clinic Team lead at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, speaking about Psycho-audiological assessment and management of Hyperacusis
  

  
• Prof Stuart Rosen, Professor Speech and Hearing Sciences at University College London, speaking about Hearing in Noise and how this is tested.Â
  

  
• Prof Nicci Campbell, Professor and Principle Audiologist at the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service, speaking about Auditory Processing Disorder in children

The presentations covered a range of areas including:

• Audiological assessment for hyperacusis
• How to screen for co-morbid psychological conditions in patients with hyperacusis
• How Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be used to effectively manage hyperacusis including case studies from the Tinnitus and Hyperacusis therapy clinic at the Royal Surrey County Hospital
• The difficulties to hear in noise of different patient sub-groups (young children, older people, children with language impairment, adults with dyslexia, people with Autism and people with APD)
• The difficulties in hearing in noise for patients with hearing impairment and how these difficulties can be tested using speech intelligibility testing.
• Introduction to the new MESH guide on APD, a free resource of evidence base on APD, assessments and interventions for the condition.
• Factors to consider in assessing and diagnosing APD and the importance of multi-disciplinary approach.

The speakers covered a wide area outside of their talks including the links between Hyperacusis and APD and other co-morbid conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and dyslexia.

Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions to the three expert speakers between and after presentations. These included areas of future research into the use of personal devices for tracking hyperacusis and misophonia, impacts of research on hyperacusis on procedure for audiometry, advice on the use of technologies for children struggling with APD and the possible links between APD, Hyperacusis and other conditions.

The event received a very positive response from attendees in particular for the range of topics covered in the seminar program. One attendee explained that her child had recently been diagnosed with APD and therefore she had come to learn more about the “mysterious APD and get a clearer understanding of how to support her child on a day-to-day basis. She felt that a lot of her questions she had come with where answered by the experts and was very happy she attended.

Another attendee, a specialist in the field of Audiology, remarked “I personally felt that it was interesting hearing about how APD may have been misdiagnosed over the years due to attention, memory and language disorders that may have not been taken into consideration and this explains why a multi-disciplinary team should contribute to a diagnosis. We are all aware there is still no gold standard diagnostic test and there are still so many unknowns in APD. However, today’s seminar was encouraging that progress is moving in the right direction.

Also, more generally how interesting that most children will be more “distracted” by speech than noise until their teens is fascinating! This is something I will pass onto patients and their parents.”

This event was organised by the Royal Surrey County Hospital Audiology Department in collaboration with the British Society of Audiology and took place on the 4^th March 2020 at the Education Centre at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.