Auditory Agnosia is also know as pure word deafness. It’s the inability to recognize or process spoken words or environmental sounds despite intact hearing. It develops when the A1 sound-processing region of the brain is disconnected from its language centers. The individual can still read, write, and speak with pure word deafness. He/she can still have the ability to detect and make simple judgments about sounds but they are unable to identify the sources of the sounds. For instance, upon hearing an explosion, an individual with auditory agnosia may describe it as a loud sound but wouldn’t be able to recognize it as an explosion.
Individuals with auditory agnosia have adequate elementary sensory processing — including hearing .
Types of Auditory Agnosia
There are many types of auditory agnosia: Apperceptive Auditory Agnosia, Associative Auditory Agnosia,
Phonagnosia, Auditory Sound Agnosia, Verbal Information Agnosia,
Cortical Deafness and Amusia.
I) Apperceptive Auditory Agnosia is the individual is unable to repeat a word or imitate a sound (auditory).
II) Associative Auditory Agnosia is the individual is able to repeat a word or imitate a sound normally but will not be able to match different examples of sounds. For example, an individual wouldn’t be able to match 2 different doorbell sounds, 2 different baby cries, or a man and woman saying the same words.
III) Phonagnosia
Phonagnosia is the inability to recognize and identify familiar voices. It develops when the brain suffers damage to certain part of the sound association region. This region is located in the right half of the brain. The individual still can understand words spoken by others if he/ she has phonagnosia. He/she can also recognize environmental sounds or sounds made by objects.
IV) Auditory Sound Agnosia- Inability to identify non-verbal sounds.
V) Non-verbal Auditory Agnosia- Inability to recognize environmental sounds
VI) Pure Word Deafness/Verbal Information Agnosia- Inability to comprehend spoken language.
VII) Cortical Deafness- Loss of awareness of sound. In severe condition, an individual may appear to be deaf.
VIII) Amusia/ReceptiveAgnosia/Sensory Agnosia- Inability to express and perceive music. An individual also loss the ability to sing, hum or whistle and provide recognition or emotional response to music.
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