Auditory Integration Training or AIT was developed by Dr. Guy Berard, a practicing otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose and Throat or ENT physician) in Annecy, France. Dr. Berard originally invented AIT to rehabilitate disorders of the auditory system, such as mild hearing loss or hearing distortion (hyper-acute or asymmetrical hearing). After 30+ years of clinical practice and study, Dr. Berard determined that uneven hearing, hyper-acoustic hearing,  ten decibel sensitivity peaks on a Hertz frequency, and weak auditory processing skills often contribute to many behavioral or learning disorders. He successfully helped individuals with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), sensory dysfunctions, autism, dyslexia, hyperactivity, learning disabilities (LD), language impairments, pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), and depression. Auditory Integration Training is not a cure; its goal is to decrease sound sensitivities, improve speech fluency, and improve auditory processing abilities.  The principles of AIT and a summary of various case histories, complete with copies of individual hearing tests before and after AIT, are presented in Dr. Berard’s book, Hearing Equals Behavior which was published in French in 1982.  I have attempted through my work to meet Dr. Berard’s challenge to keep learning and improving upon his work.

Why is auditory integration training sometimes appropriate treatment for individuals diagnosed with chronic ENT health concerns, untreated hearing loss, or a diagnosis?

Auditory Integration Training is designed to strengthen auditory neural pathways and middle ear muscles to decrease hearing sensitivities, improve the strength of neural pathways to push brain integration, and to improve right ear advantage for speech fluency and word retrieval.  Individuals with a history of chronic ear infections, enlarged adenoids, or other types of ENT problems have a higher risk of experiencing a temporary deficit in their hearing, which increasing the risk of hearing sensitivities.  Poor ear health and hearing loss is often different between the two ears.  When the right and left ears perceive sounds in an extremely different way, the person experiences problems with sound discrimination, and subsequently comprehension.

Watch video to learn about negative effects of temporary hearing loss caused by chronic Ear, Nose, and Throat health concerns on auditory and brain development.

 PLEASE NOTE: Some people might think only about the workings of the inner ears when they consider “poor”, “normal” or “good” hearing.  For this reason, it’s worth emphasizing that the brain is a crucial part of the auditory system.  Auditory Integration Training was designed to normalize the entire auditory system, so it facilitates improvements in how the brain processes and organizes the input received from the ears.

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