What to Expect at an APD Telehealth Evaluation

Your hearing test came back normal, but conversations in a noisy room still feel like work. You catch maybe every third word, ask people to repeat themselves, and leave social settings drained. That gap between "your hearing is fine" and "something is clearly off" is where auditory processing disorder lives, and for adults it can be evaluated without you ever leaving home.

If you've wondered whether a real APD evaluation can happen over video, the short answer is yes. Here's how it works at Auditory Pathway.

What an online auditory processing test measures

A standard hearing test checks whether you can detect sounds at different volumes. An auditory processing evaluation looks at something else entirely: how your brain makes sense of what it hears. Those are two different questions. One can come back perfectly normal, and the other can still reveal exactly why listening has felt so hard.

We use the Central Test Battery, developed by Jack Katz and widely considered the gold standard for evaluating APD in adults. It's a comprehensive set of tests that measures how you process speech, especially in the situations that trip people up, like background noise and competing voices.

One thing worth clearing up: you can have APD even if you have hearing loss, wear hearing aids, or use a cochlear implant. For some adults, undiagnosed processing difficulties are part of why their hearing aids feel like they aren't doing enough. The evaluation still works, and naming it is often what finally makes everything click.

The technology you'll need

The setup is simpler than most people expect, but a few details matter for accurate results.

• A laptop or desktop computer. Phones and tablets aren't reliable enough for this kind of testing.
• Wired headphones. Not Bluetooth. A wired connection keeps the sound precise, which is exactly what these tests depend on.
• A stable internet connection for a clear, uninterrupted video call.
• A quiet room where you won't be interrupted.

Before any testing begins, we check your setup together and sort out any snags, so nothing catches you off guard mid-evaluation.

Who should be in the room

For the testing itself, it should just be you. Auditory processing tests ask you to listen closely and respond, so the room needs to be quiet, with no one else talking, no TV in the background, and no side conversations pulling your focus.

Plenty of patients like having a partner or family member nearby for the first conversation or when we go over results, and you're welcome to include them for those parts. During the actual testing, though, a calm space with just you gives us the cleanest, most accurate picture.

Walking through the appointments, step by step

The APD evaluation is a three-part process, spread across three separate appointments so nothing gets rushed.

First appointment. We dig into what you've been experiencing and how it's shaping your daily life, your work, and your relationships. We check that your technology is ready here too, and remind you that wired headphones and a computer will serve you best. There's one requirement to know upfront. You'll need a hearing test dated within the last 12 months, since we build on your current hearing status.

Second appointment. This is the Central Test Battery itself, the processing evaluation, and it typically runs about an hour. You'll work through a series of listening tasks with me guiding you in real time, not a passive app running on its own.

Third appointment. We sit down together and go through your results.

What your results look like

You won't get a dense report handed over with no explanation. We walk you through the findings in plain language: what the tests showed, what it means for the way you process sound, and where the breakdown is actually happening.

From there, we map out what comes next. For a lot of patients, that points toward Buffalo Model auditory training, which starts at the phoneme level and works with a clinician in real time rather than an app you're left to figure out alone. Whatever the results show, you leave with real answers and a clear plan.

Many clinics will tell you your hearing is normal and there's nothing more to do. We started this practice because we know that's often not the full picture.

Book Your APD Telehealth Evaluation

Auditory Pathway was built for adults overlooked by standard hearing care, especially those whose hearing tests read as normal but whose listening feels hard. Everything happens over telehealth, no referral, no commute.

We're currently licensed for telehealth audiology in the US and Ireland. In the US, that includes New York, California, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Maryland, and Florida. Telehealth is coming soon to the UK, so if you're there, get in touch and we'll let you know more.

Ready to start? You can book your evaluation online or read about how our telehealth appointments work. You can also reach out for a complimentary 15-minute discovery call at (914) 228 2231 for US patients and +353 21 603 6160 for Ireland patients, and we'll figure out the right fit.