Is there a difference between hearing and listening?

Hearing Simply just happens Act of perceiving the sound by the ear Listening Consciously choose to do Requires concentration , desire to communicate Brain processes meaning from words and sentences Leads to learning The ability to focus the ear on certain sounds selected for discrimination and interpretation

Listening Function of whole body Not just our ear

Listening skill difficulties Inability to accurately perceive, process and respond to sounds Often found to be an integral part of other perceptual, motor, attention and learning difficulties.

Therapeutic listening Developed by Occupational Therapists Sheila Frick and Collen Hacker Therapeutic Listening is an evidence-base auditory intervention intended to support individuals who experience challenges with sensory processing dysfunction, listening, attention, and communication Sound training in combination with sensory intefrative techniques Emphasize vestibular stimulation and postural movement strategies Allow therapists to approach the auditory and vestibular system directly

Therapeutic listening uses: Electronically altered music that has been designed to produce specific effects on listening skills When the child follows a prescribed program

How does it work?? Music causes the muscles in the middle ear to contact (discriminate and modulate sound input)

Tiny bones in the middle ear that vibrate when sound is provided, stimulating the movement (vestibular) and hearing (auditory) sensory receptors in the inner ear

This sensory information is sent throughtiut the central nervous system causin multitude of reactions.

Who will benefit Has difficulty understanding speech in noisy situations Has trouble hearing in groups Has trouble listening Becomes anxious or stressed when required to listen Is easily distracted Has difficulty following directions Seems to hear, but not understand whar people say Has touble remembering what people say Has poor speech or language skills Has poor reading or phonics skills Has poor spelling skills Has impulsive behavior and is disorganized Has poor peer relations or has as poor self-esteem

Prescription 2 times a day, each for 30 minutes with a minimum of 3 hours between listening times The volume must ve low enough Children usually listen to one CD 2 weeks Funtional Outcomes Decreased tactile hypersensitivity or defensiveness Decreased oral hypersensitivity with increased exploration and acceotance of differenr foods Improved seld-regulatory behavior such as a more regulated sleep cycle, more regulated hunger thirst cycle, more regulated such-swallow-breathe pattern, more regulated respiratory control emergenceof motor planning Improved spatial-temporal organization Improved handwriting Improved visual-motor skills Improved timing of motor execution Increased and more elaborate social interactions, with better timing Discrimination of the dimensionality and directionality of spatial concepts Improved components of communication such as greater range of non-verbal communication Imporved/clearer articulation, greater emotional and verbal expression