Why does a child working hard at school struggle to achieve results? Sarah Warley of The Key Clinic explains how it could be down to hearing and offers a life  changing solution

Smart child, but underperforming? It may sound obvious, but have you ever thought it may have something to do with their hearing? Regular hearing tests only check for hearing loss, but many difficulties with auditory processing have nothing to do with this.

 

‘Hypersensitive hearing’ can make a child very distractible, as it is impossible for them to filter out background noises.

‘Distortions’ in hearing mean that a child cannot hear all parts of language at the same volume – a bit like trying to listen to the teacher on a mobile phone with poor reception.

‘Laterality problems’ mean switching focus from one ear to the other in order to tune into different parts of language. This has the effect of jumbling up the order in which phonemes are actually heard and processed. Imagine a combination of all three difficulties… no wonder it’s hard to pay attention and understand what a teacher is saying!

Telltale signs of auditory difficulties are tiredness at the end of the school day, headaches, lack of focus, poor spelling/reading, speech/language difficulties, difficulties following instructions and underperformance. Children are unlikely to say they have a hearing problem, as they know no different, the only way to be sure is accurate testing.

The good news is that it does not have to be a life sentence. You can train the ears to hear in a more normal way, through a 10 day Auditory programme, listening to specially modulated/filtered music twice a day for 30 minutes. This gives the muscles and reflexes in the ears a physical work out, helping them hear much more accurately.

“My son is a completely different child having been through Auditory Therapy. It is a joy to see him thriving and full of confidence. We feel so lucky that The Key Clinic has crossed our path. Thank you so much.” West Berkshire Mother

For more information talk to The Key Clinic on 01635 761565  or email admin@thekeyclinic.co.uk