Visual, Auditory and Tactile Attention

Visual Attention
This refers to the ability to pay attention to stimuli within the visual field, the area which can be seen by the eyes. This is important for the ability to take in and notice what is going on in the environment. Visual attention can be cast widely in order to take in a lot of information at once or attention can be closely focussed onto a particular object or event within the visual field.

Impairment of visual attention can have significant consequences:

• Danger in traffic.
• Some types of work may be hazardous if visual attention is not maintained.
• Difficulties picking out and acting upon the important information in the visual scene.
• Using a cooker may present particular hazards if the person cannot visually monitor the cooking process or if the hobs are on or off.  This may present a fire risk and/or risk of injury.

Auditory Attention
This refers to the ability to pay attention to and understand the meaning of the sounds in our environment; to selectively pick out and concentrate on the sounds that are important, that we want or need to hear such as speech, music and warning sounds.  Impairment of auditory attention may affect the person’s ability to:

• Communicate with people.
• Understand and remember what is said.
• Follow T.V. or radio programmes.
• Screen out irrelevant background noise which, in turn, affects the ability to recognise and focus on important sounds.
• Note and respond to important sounds in the environment e.g. alarms, or calling their name to get their attention.

Tactile Attention
This refers to the ability to attend to information detected by our sense of touch. Much of what is tactilely sensed is not registered by us at the time; we do not pay attention to it unless we are prompted to or want to. So, for example, most people are unaware of the interface between the body and the chair they are sitting on, but that information is being carried to the brain via our sensory neurons. However, tactile attention would be rapidly activated if a pin was on the chair! We would then take action directed at reducing discomfort. Tactile attention therefore refers to our ability to detect, focus on and act upon pain, temperature, touch, pressure, movement, and the position of our body in space.  Impairment of tactile attention may affect the person’s ability to register and respond safely to:

• Dangerous stimuli e.g. excessive cold/heat, pain.
• Changes in environment e.g. walking surface.

Please note that impairments of visual, auditory and tactile attention should not be confused with physical impairments arising from direct damage to the relevant organs (eyes, ears). They should also be differentiated from problems of visual perception, neglect, language processing, and reduced sensation arising from brain injury.