Description
Auditory learners are those who can process and remember best through hearing. Common traits of this style of learning can include remembering people’s names as they meet them, but not their faces, and the need to talk while writing. Written information for these learners may have little meaning until it has been read out loud.
Hearing is a complicated process which begins in the inner ear, then detects vibration and converts the sound into nerve impulses that are then sent to the brain for processing.
Some children are overly sensitive to sounds. This is called auditory sensitivity and children with this sensitivity may not easily tune out background noises, such as papers shuffling, fluorescent lights buzzing or air conditioning units running. They may overreact to a dropped book hitting the floor or other random stimuli with a “fight or flight” response. That’s because the brain perceives it is in imminent danger and so it activates increased sweating and heart rate, pupil dilations and the need to run and hide and/or confront the perceived “attacker” even though there may not be an actual threat. Children with auditory sensitivity may respond to, and be calmed with noise-protection ear muffs (“headphones” whose sole function is to block outside sound, not connect to an audio source).
