Abstract Central auditory processing disorders (CAPDs) are a collection of conditions in which the ability to detect sounds, localize their sources, or determine their identity and meaningfulness is impaired due to a functional compromise of the central auditory nervous system by disease, damage, or maldevelopment. Symptoms of CAPDs range from subtle difficulties understanding speech in a noisy environment to a complete inability to extract meaning from speech, identify environmental sounds, or appreciate music. This article characterizes various acquired and developmental forms of CAPD, discusses methods used for their diagnosis and summarizes a number of treatment approaches.