Simon Jones: Audiology’s screen time moment?

No sooner had regulation around noise-cancelling in-ear headphones with self-testing functionality been relaxed in the UK than fresh doubt was raised by audiologists that their overuse might be contributing to impairment in hearing skills. 

There are clear benefits to noise-cancelling technology, not least that less volume is required, but specialists now think that constant filtering of background noise may have unintended consequences and be contributing to auditory processing disorder (APD), a neurological condition where the brain finds it difficult to understand sounds and words, and where they’re coming from. 

According to a report by the BBC, five NHS audiology departments said there had been an increase in the number of young people referred to them from GPs with hearing issues, but testing found hearing to be normal, with their ability to process sound being the problem. APD is more common in neurodiverse people, those with brain injuries or those who had severe middle ear infections as a child.