What's the difference between a hearing test and an APD evaluation?
Baylee Engelhardt
Au.D.
A hearing test measures whether you can hear sounds at different volumes and frequencies, checking the physical function of your ears and ability to detect tones and speech. An APD evaluation conducted by an audiologist goes beyond basic hearing to assess how well your brain processes, interprets, and makes sense of those sounds once they're heard. People with APD typically have normal hearing sensitivity but struggle with tasks like understanding speech in background noise, following multi-step directions, or distinguishing between similar-sounding words. Audiologists require a recent hearing evaluation before APD testing to ensure that auditory processing difficulties aren't caused by hearing loss.