More and more people are consulting for hearing problems, even though their hearing is not actually the cause. In the United Kingdom, several hospital departments are reporting a significant increase in young adults being referred to audiology after describing difficulty following a conversation in a noisy environment or identifying the source of a sound. Tests do not reveal a classic hearing loss: it is the brain's ability to process sounds that seems to be impaired.
The brain needs sounds
This phenomenon is associated with a disorder that is still poorly understood by the general public: Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). This is a neurological condition in which the brain has difficulty correctly interpreting sounds, even though the ears are functioning normally. Normally, this disorder mainly affects neuroatypical people, victims of head trauma, or those who suffered from ear infections during childhood. But new patient profiles are emerging, often young, urban, and heavy users of noise-cancelling headphones.
“There’s a difference between hearing and listening,” says Renée Almeida, head of adult audiology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. She says the rise in APD cases is worrying because it reveals a decline in listening skills, which are essential for social, professional, and academic life. The brain, she explains, needs to be exposed to a variety of sounds to learn to filter out what’s important.
The frequent use of noise-cancelling headphones is said to create an artificially quiet environment, preventing natural exposure to everyday noises. Claire Benton, vice-president of the British Academy of Audiology, believes this could “unteach” the brain how to sort through them. “You’ve almost created a false environment, where you only listen to what you want to hear,” she observes. She is also concerned that the brain's complex sound-processing capabilities continue to develop into late adolescence.
While noise-cancelling headphones have clear benefits—protection from harsh sounds, greater comfort in noisy environments—their widespread use among young people deserves careful study. Several experts are calling for further research to determine whether there is a link with the rise of auditory processing disorders.
Currently, the means to diagnose and treat APD remain limited in the UK healthcare system. A 2024 survey revealed that only 4% of audiologists reported being knowledgeable about the disorder. The main specialist adult center reported a nine-month wait time, and few options are available outside the education system.
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