Hearing matters: What stops children hearing well in the classroom? Harvey Dillon National Acoustic Laboratories

What can go wrong? Permanent hearing loss Middle ear infections Auditory processing disorder Specific language impairment English as a second language Attention deficit disorder Poor classroom acoustics

Permanent hearing loss 1 in a 1000 births 3 more in a 1000 by 6 th class

Middle ear disorders

Auditory processing disorders

6 Spatial Processing Disorder

7 LiSN & Learn Auditory processing disorders Spatial Processing Disorder

Specific language impairment

Attention deficit disorder Auditory processing deficit Understanding is difficult Don’t pay attention Attention deficit disorder Don’t pay attention

Poor classroom acoustics Noise from outside school Noise from other classes Noise from inside class Reverberation Open plan! Kiri Mealings

Problems in combination Aboriginal children all too often have – Middle ear infection  “temporary” hearing loss Spatial processing disorder Learning in a second language Noisy classroom