As educators and parents, we often see children struggle to follow directions, daydream, or fidget during lessons. It is easy to jump to conclusions and assume a child is simply distracted or has ADHD. However, the root cause may be something entirely different: a hearing issue or an auditory processing challenge.

To help us untangle these overlapping behaviors, Taarana recently conducted a training session with audiologist Puan Nur’Izzati from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) to break down classroom red flags and learn how to identify the early signs.

The Big Three: Hearing Loss, APD, and ADHD

When a child isn’t responding in class, their struggles generally fall into one of three categories.

1. Hearing Loss: The “Hardware” Issue

Hearing loss is a physical barrier in the ear itself. Sound signals simply aren’t getting through clearly to the brain.

What to look for: A child with a hearing issue will frequently ask for repetition (“What?” or “Huh?”). You might notice them turning one ear toward you to catch the sound or leaning in closely when you speak.

2. Auditory Processing Disorder (APD): The “Software” Issue

With APD, the “hardware” works fine—the ears can physically detect sound. The breakdown happens in the “software,” meaning the brain struggles to process, filter, and interpret auditory information.

This may manifest as processing and phonemic errors. The child hears the words but struggles to distinguish between similar-sounding speech sounds (like mistaking “cap” for “cat” or “seventy” for “seventeen”). They often become overwhelmed in noisy environments because their brain cannot filter out background noise.

3. ADHD: The Executive Functioning Issue

Unlike Hearing Loss or APD, ADHD is not about how sound is received or processed. It is an executive functioning challenge that affects focus, self-regulation, and impulse control.

What to look for: The behavior is marked by impulsivity, excessive fidgeting, interrupting others, and significant difficulty sustaining attention, even when the environment is completely quiet and the speaker is nearby.

What to Do Next: Don’t Wait, Get a Hearing Test: If these signs sound familiar, the most important step is to avoid the guessing game. Behavioral interventions won’t fix a physical hearing loss, and a hearing aid won’t resolve an executive functioning challenge.