Auditory Processing Delays when Primitive Reflexes are Retained

This article provides information on how retained Primitive Reflexes play a role in Auditory Processing delays. Integrated Learning Strategies (ILS) is a learning and academic center. As a reminder, ILS is not a health care provider and none of our materials or services provide a diagnosis or treatment of a specific condition or learning challenge you may see in your child or student. If you seek a diagnosis or treatment for your child or student, please contact a trained professional who can provide an evaluation of the child.

When a child struggles to follow directions, frequently asks for repetition, or seems overwhelmed by noise, it’s easy to assume the issue is simply attention or hearing. However, for many children, the root cause lies deeper. At some point in the child’s life, early neurological patterns known as primitive reflexes may become retained, which can impact the child’s auditory system. When these reflexes are retained beyond infancy, they may significantly influence how the brain processes sound.

Understanding Auditory Processing Challenges

Auditory processing is not just about hearing, it’s about how the brain interprets sound. Children with auditory processing difficulties may experience the following challenges:

• Difficulty distinguishing between similar sounds (e.g., “b” vs. “d”)
• Slower processing speed when identifying sounds within words, especially vowels
• Trouble locating where sounds are coming from (auditory orientation)
• Inability to filter out background noise
• Hypersensitivity to everyday sounds

These challenges can occur individually or in combination, often leading to difficulty decoding spoken language or translating sounds into meaning.

Auditory delays can also affect short-term auditory memory, making it harder for children to do the following:

• Remember sequences of sounds (important for spelling and reading)
• Follow multi-step verbal instructions

Children who already struggle with attention may find these issues even more pronounced, creating a compounding effect in learning environments.

Auditory Processing Development

Auditory processing challenges often show up in two key areas: receptive and expressive listening.

When either area, or both, are disrupted by retained reflexes, you may find the following fundamental delays that could display in a child’s social, emotional, and developmental foundation:

Receptive Listening Difficulties

• Short attention span
• High distractibility
• Misinterpreting questions
• Confusing similar-sounding words
• Frequently needing repetition
• Difficulty following sequences of instructions

Expressive Listening Difficulties

• Flat or monotone voice
• Hesitant or slowed speech
• Limited vocabulary
• Poor sentence structure
• Letter reversals or confusion
• Difficulty reading and spelling

These signs are often misunderstood as behavioral or academic issues, rather than neurological ones.

Auditory System Support

Certain therapeutic approaches may help reduce auditory hypersensitivity and improve processing. Children who have retained Primitive Reflexes and auditory processing delays may benefit from the following interventions:

• Auditory Integration Training (AIT): AIT is designed to help the brain better process sound frequencies.
• Music therapy and sound-based interventions: Sound-based programs like Soundsory can improve tolerance to sound and support better auditory discrimination.
• Classical Music or Acoustically Modified Music: Using certain types of music to provide gradual exposure to sound can help the nervous system learn when to attend and when to ignore auditory input.

These interventions often serve as a starting point for improving attention and auditory regulation.

Retained Primitive Reflexes and Auditory Processing

Auditory processing difficulties are rarely isolated. They often reflect a broader pattern of neurological immaturity, where retained Primitive Reflexes play a key role. By addressing these underlying reflexes, it may be possible to improve not just auditory processing, but also attention, learning, and emotional regulation.

There are two reflexes that may impact a child’s auditory processing if retained. These two reflexes may be some of the most difficult to integrate. However, children who participate in integration programs show improvements in auditory processing as well as a multitude of other developmental areas.

Moro Reflex

One of the most influential reflexes related to auditory processing is the Moro reflex, also known as the startle reflex. This reflex, if retained, may impact the child’s sensitivity to sound as well as their stress response.

In infancy, the Moro reflex helps a baby respond to sudden stimuli such as loud noises. However, when retained beyond early development, it can create ongoing many of the following challenges:

• Hypersensitivity to sound: Children may overreact to everyday noises.
• Difficulty filtering auditory input: The brain struggles to distinguish important sounds from background noise.
• Auditory confusion: Inability to separate foreground (e.g., a teacher’s voice) from background sounds.
• Stress-based responses: Sounds may trigger a fight-or-flight reaction, increasing anxiety and reducing focus.

Normally, the nervous system learns to regulate and filter sensory input. But a retained Moro reflex keeps the system on high alert, making sound processing not just difficult, but stressful for the child.

Spinal Galant Reflex

Another reflex that may impact auditory processing is the Spinal Galant reflex. This reflex is often associated with movement and sensory processing along the spine. Research and clinical observations suggest a connection between a retained Spinal Galant reflex and middle ear issues, which can further complicate auditory processing.

While the relationship is still being researched, it highlights the interconnected nature of the sensory and nervous systems.

Recognize when Auditory Issues are tied to Retained Reflexes

If a child seems overwhelmed by sound, struggles with listening, or has difficulty processing language, you may want to learn more to determine how the body and the brain are responding through the auditory system. Retained primitive reflexes, particularly the Moro reflex, can profoundly shape auditory experiences, especially if retained. Parents often see a number of challenges their child faces, not just auditory processing, when the Moro reflex is retained.

Soundsory

Soundsory is a program that provides acoustically-modified music with bone conduction headphones to support a child’s auditory and sensory systems. Improvements in both auditory and sensory processing can help children with many diagnoses to strengthen areas of learning and rewire the brain for processing sound and sensory information.

To learn more about Soundsory, click here. If you decide to try the program, enter our member code 3A6503610 to get a discount.

Retained Primitive Reflexes Roadmap

For more information on the signs and symptoms of six retained Primitive reflexes, complete the form below to download a free copy of our Retained Primitive Reflexes Roadmap. When you’ve completed the form, check your email inbox for the download link, including your junk and spam folder. If you do not see the download link come to your email inbox, please email us at info@ilslearning.com.

Reference Materials

Orabi, G. T., Elpatrik, G., Abd El Hady, H. T. S., & El-nahry, A. (2025). Retained primitive reflexes and their relation to speech intelligibility in a sample of Egyptian children. The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology, 41(199). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43163-025-00949-6

Martello, J. M. (2023). Persistent primitive reflex and developmental delay in the school-aged child. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 19(10), 104767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2023.104767

Waldon, E. F. (1973). Audio-reflexometry in testing hearing of very young children. Audiology, 12(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.3109/00206097309070054

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