Case Study: Improving low concentration and distractibility with BrightBeatz Auditory Therapy
Robert was 12 years old when his parents came to see us at the end of 2021; he had problems with concentration at both home and at school.
We know that concentration issues in children can be due to distortions in a child’s hearing profile. For example, hypersensitive hearing can make children really distractible, unable to phase out background noises and subsequently overwhelmed and/or anxious. Issues with auditory processing can also make it difficult to keep up with the pace of conversation of learning, causing children to struggle with comprehension, spelling and ultimately fall behind in their learning.
We know that the root cause of concentration issues in children can be due to distortions in a child’s hearing profile
There is good news - thanks to our BrightBeatz Auditory Therapy we are able to retrain the ears to be able to hear and process sounds better. This can, in turn help to improve any associated learning and behavioural issues - in Robert's case, difficulty concentrating, pronunciation, social and conversational difficulties and coordination.
Now, back to Robert…
At The Key Clinic we are able to assess not just whether a child hears, but crucially how they hear. After assessing Robert’s hearing and auditory processing, we found that he presented as having hypersensitivity hearing. This could help to explain his:
General distractibility
Needing things to be repeated to him
Hyper-focusing on particular sounds
We also discovered that he experienced distortions in his hearing profile, meaning he was hearing some sounds more clearly than others (not all frequencies were heard at the same volume). This could also help to explain his:
General slow processing and speech and language problems.
Pronunciation difficulties
Social and conversational difficulties.
Difficulty speaking, since the discord makes it harder for him to modulate his own speech.
Difficulty in balance and coordination.
Robert began a programme of our proprietary BrightBeatz Auditory Therapy, which is based on, and furthers, the work of accomplished ENT doctor Guy Berard. We also work with Professor Joshua Reiss, a world renowned expert in Audio Engineering at Queen Mary University, London who has helped us to further advance this therapy.
At The Key Clinic we are able to assess not just whether a child hears, but crucially how they hear.
BrightBeatz is a customised, intensive listening therapy which can help to retrain the ears to hear in a more balanced way. Once we have carried out a hearing test, we create customised, modulated music files according to each patient’s specific hearing profile.
BrightBeatz is intensive, requiring 2 x 30-minute listening sessions per day over a 10 day period. We have found that symptomatic improvements typically continue for several months following therapy. This means improvements in auditory processing skills can occur over a relatively quick timescale.
The programme is delivered under the guidance of a GMC licensed Medical Doctor and Senior Occupational Therapist, but can be listened to at home.
Following Robert’s BrightBeatz therapy:
There has been a significant reduction in hypersensitivity, notably in his left ear, as he was previously hearing up to -10dB at 4000 Hz. This greatly improved his ability to be in an environment that is not overwhelming due to his previous hypersensitivity.
This reduction has smoothed out his hearing distortions. Robert is now hearing all parts of language at approximately the same volume, and his parents report that this has greatly improved his conversational abilities and therefore his social skills. His own speech fluency has also improved because he is now better able to modulate his speech due to better being able to hear his own voice at an even volume.
His general auditory processing has improved greatly and he is able to create a far more congruent and harmonised soundscape of his surroundings with much more integrated and regular pitch and volume.
Robert’s auditory progress has greatly improved his processing of sound, production and understanding of language, and his social skills.
His balance and coordination have also improved due to his upgraded auditory processing. This has also led to improvements in the functioning of his vestibular system (our internal compass). Movement has been one of Robert’s greatest challenges, and so this is very encouraging to see.
Robert’s parents have noticed marked improvement in his performance in previously difficult areas. Both they and his teachers note that his concentration has improved, at home and at school. As well as improved concentration, his teachers report that he is much more engaged with his lessons and much more confident in his approach to his classwork, teachers, and classmates.
This is a remarkable level of progress over a single course of BrightBeats, and we were thrilled to hear that both Robert’s functioning and wellbeing have greatly improved.
To see more about how BrightBeatz may be able to help your child, contact us today.
Telephone: 01635 761565
Email: admin@thekeyclinic.co.uk