Why does AIT work?

The principal of AIT is simple and based on the same concept involved in any treatment by mechanical means, coming under the heading of mechanotherapy. In the auditory system, going from the eardrum to the brain cells, concise zones exist corresponding to low pitched and high pitched tones. If one or the other of these zones in the auditory system is stimulated by programmed alternating sounds, it is believed that the auditory cortex reorganizes. The treatment gives the ear an aerobic workout – it exercises and strengthens the muscles controlling the three ossicles – the small bones found in the middle ear – and retrains the ear’s response to sound, improving the reaction involved in the prevention of sensory overload. The treatment prevents the brain’s normal reaction – which is to block out annoying sounds.

What is it like to have an Auditory Processing Disorder?

We have all experienced the problems that beset someone with this type of hearing impairment. It just takes much more to push us into “auditory overload”, so that such problems are unlikely to occur on a daily basis. Try recalling some of these situations and how they made you feel, and then imagine how it would be if they went on and on and you couldn’t get away from them.

Some speech sounds are distorted.

Background noise is too loud.

Sound combinations (words) are not easily connected with their meanings or uses.  This category covers many types of auditory dysfunctions affecting the most “human” operations of communications, learning, and empathy.  In this population we find people who get complex directions wrong, who miss spoken cues in social situations, and who don’t “speak up” for themselves, who don’t infer or “read between the lines.”  Think back to a time when someone was telling you something elaborate, such as giving you directions to his house, or explaining the computer or some other function at work. You may have heard every word yet not been able to visualize the driving route, or you may realize that by tomorrow you won’t remember all the parts of the work operation. You could say, “Draw me a map,” or “Let me go through this myself while you watch,” using the visual and haptic/motor systems of the brain to help you learn. But what if the teacher in a class of 30 hasn’t time for that?  Or what if you have poor language pragmatics so that it never occurs to you that you could ask?  These are some of the ingredients to the social problems we see in children who mean well but have trouble making and keeping friends.

Finally, to fully realize the load for those with an Auditory Processing Disorder carry, you need to remember that these problems rarely occur in isolation.

Ear Protectors and Hyper-hearing, Hyperacusis or Sensitive Hearing

There is a tendency for some with painful hearing to wear ear protectors. This has been strongly advised against  by Dr. Berard, since it exacerbates the problem . The relief is short-term but the negative effects lasting.  We equate this to wearing sunglasses while inside frequently and for long periods of time.  The sunglasses lose their effect while in bright sunlight. 

 When a person  has to expose themselves to sounds that cause them great distress, it might be a cautious and very brief help to allow the wearing of protectors, noting that doing so must be for very brief periods only, and is likely worsening the situation.

What is hyperacusis?

Hyperacusis is a condition that arises from a problem in the way the brain’s central auditory processing center perceives noise. It can often lead to pain and discomfort. Individuals with hyperacusis have difficulty tolerating sounds which do not seem loud to others, such as the noise from running faucet water, riding in a car, walking on leaves, dishwasher, fan on the refrigerator, shuffling papers. Although all sounds may be perceived as too loud, high frequency sounds may be particularly troublesome. As one might suspect, the quality of life for individuals with hyperacusis can be greatly compromised. For those with a severe intolerance to sound, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to function in an every day environment with all its ambient noise. Hyperacusis can contribute to social isolation, phonophobia (fear of normal sounds), and depression.