Does anyone else suffer with auditory processing problems?

*staring at their mouth.

Not staring at their - insert random body part 🤣

Yes and ND.

However mine started after an awful ear infection in both ears years ago. I couldn't hear in the pubs for example, I don't go to pubs often anymore, but if I'm somewhere with background noise then no, I can't hear.

This was about 20 years ago. My GP told me I'm lip reading more than I know, and I still find now that I can't hear someone in a mask ie dentist last week if I can't see their mouth.

Kids always noticed over the years due to the Tele volume 🤣 Mums gone deaf again.

That said, I haven't had a hearing test, I probably can't hear! Anyone that knows me understands why I would be staring at their though whilst listening.

Yes I have this I just can’t distinguish speech in a noisy environment I was the fool going “ what did you say every 5 mins” I still enjoy gigs but my DH and friends know not to bother making conversation with me. Workwise I can’t cope in an open plan office as I can’t filter out other conversations, I would have to wear headphones all the time which I would hate. I had the full range of audiology testing and my hearing is just fine I just have this processing issue, apparently you can train yourself to get better at it though. The audiologist gave me a CD to practice with but I haven’t noticed much difference I just work around it. I’m neuro typical as far as I know.

(yes, to no one's surprise I am diagnosed ADHD 😂)

I have this, ticker tape synesthesia, and until a chance conversation about five years ago I assumed it was how everyone heard. I'm 37 and no idea most people didn't see every word form in front of them as they speak or hear others speak!

Interestingly I have since realised that the reason I struggle like the OP with background noise is because I see every single word I can hear, including song lyrics and baby babble. If there is too much at once the lines get confused so while I can in theory hear what people are saying to me, I can't process which set of visual words it is and so can't "hear".

Really hard to explain but does explain why tests say my hearing is fine but it's really not in certain situations!

I have both where I can hear several conversations at once or not hear anything at all but I'm autistic

I haven't always been like this. I used to 'see' speech as print in my mind's eye - apparently about 10% of people do this - and it disappeared as my fatigue increased. I miss it ... but at least Netflix replaces that for me!

Dh has auditory proceeding disorder. It's diagnosed by a battery of complex tests with special equipment and there are some aids that can help. He also struggled with things like foreign accents which is characteristic if the disorder too and his speed of understanding down word is very slow( and frustrating for me) as well as having the issues with background noise you describe. They're is a strong overlap between APD and ASD although they can exist separately.
Have a look at the work out professor Doris bamiou who is considered to be the expert in the condition, she had done interesting research, she prescribes sensory hearung aids if the conditions gets too severe and interferes with daily abilities.

Me also

Yes. I had glue ear/ perforated ear drums as a small child and I think I learned to lip read partially when picking up language. As a result I can clearly hear what people say but need to see their mouth in order to properly process what is being said.
It can be particularly difficult at work where we use masks.
I find it difficult when people are very monotone because I rely on intonation to work out if they are asking a question. Equally it’s difficult following someone who has had Botox or lip fillers because it makes lip reading difficult and I rely on facial cues such as eyebrow movement when questions are asked.

My friend has DLD - developmental language disorder and they are like this.

It's dyslexia for the ears apparently.

Yes - the problem is very specifically with the spoken word - my hearing at other ends is the spectrum, both low and high is far better than my wife BUT I also understand that now, later on life, that, according to both my offspring, (both doctors), that I would, definitely have been classed as having several autistic traits - I now accept that part of the problem is the irritation (perhaps more dissatisfaction) I experience when I don't hear every single word it creates an internal torture if I don't hear every single part of the dialogue - I'm the same when reading - I have to understand every single sentence - I simply can't skirt over anything - settling for a general sense of what is going on is just so unacceptable to me - it distresses me.. so I don't think the problem is the one that an audiologist mentioned - that a very small number of people have difficulty distinguishing and decoding voices in a noisy environment - this is exactly what I do have but I think it is now to do with the "autistic traits" - I find sounds that originate quite close to me, even relatively quiet ones compared to other sound sources, sound as loud to me because of the way my attention works - I pay more attention to the sound that is closer to me - I struggle to filter it out, it is highly distracting to me, I can not "overlook" it - a clock ticking will interfere with my ability to hear the TV or radio - it is definitely an inability to filter out audible distractions - it feels like all sounds - loud and quite, close and far away, are shocked so that they are all equal to each other in terms of the demand they make on my attention and that is what makes it difficult for me to decipher voices in an environment with a mix of different sound sources - it's not to do with the physical inability to hear certain frequencies or sounds.

Yes. Sometimes a programme has music that is louder than what the characters are saying. Particularly films. Google mumbling in films, it's a thing!

Don't forget that we weren't designed to eat in front of the telly, so yes I have the subtitles on too. I have tinnitus and so struggle to pick out if someone is calling through from another room, for example, a child, if the telly is on. Yet I was tested and supposedly have perfect hearing.

I was just out for a cuppa recently with a friend in a really tiny café, which was so loud i could barely hear her. Add in the sound of those awful barista coffee machines accompanied by the banging of the coffee grounds and I wanted to cry and go for a lie down.

Barista coffee machines need their own thread. Please. Someone do a thread about it.

https://amp.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/28/mumbling-actors-bad-speakers-or-lazy-listeners-why-everyone-is-watching-tv-with-subtitles-on

Yes, I was diagnosed with Obscure Auditory Dysfunction 7 years ago. Anti-depressants have helped but it still impacts my daily life.

YES!! This really resonates with me, particularly when people dont enunciate, I'm driven insane by "mumblers" or people eating noisily when sat next to me when I'm trying to listen to the tv etc. Have subtitles on the TV pretty much all the time. I'm 45.

That's just normal isn't it?

Yes. It’s normal. You’re fine! 😁

I do but I thought it was me getting older (60) and I do suffer with sinus/catarrh quite a bit...always end up putting the subtitles on!! 😅

I struggle if there is background noise, struggle to understand someone if they have a strong accent, can’t decipher spoken foreign languages (but could speak and translate written work in school lessons) and struggle to hear song lyrics.

Yes yes yes yes yes! I can't hear a sodding thing someone is saying in a restaurant. It's like all sounds merge into one.

I also can't "hear/understand" someone on phone if against left ear, but can against right ear.

I can't watch the news anymore due to all the background music.

Radio stations with presenters talking over music fills me with rage.

Don't get me started on shouty YouTube presenters and hyperactive kids TV.

Yes.

I struggle with this too, especially in restaurants and bars. It makes me feel anti social in those environments as I'd rather be home where it's quiet and not straining to hear people.

I am not and don't suspect ND.

However my partner has self diagnosed ADHD and awaiting a formal assessment. They don't have this issue as much but I do have to have the subtitles on everything because they yap all the way through everything we watch

I suspect I have mild hearing issues but never been tested. I did an online test which said there may be issues with my hearing but when I booked an appointment it got cancelled because I'm not over 40. Haven't bothered the GP with it.

Yes I have this and was also sent for hearing test when I was little but as a young adult was diagnosed with ADD (PI, primarily inattentive). I use subtitles and if background noise ask people to repeat themselves quite a bit, or just laugh and nod in the hope it fits whatever they said 🤪

May be worth you looking at the symptoms to see if it fits? Tbh they're quite generic though and anyone can seek a diagnosis of anything. Regardless of a label, that's the way you are, and hopefully you can find simple ways to manage it x

ADHD and this is spot on for me :)