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Auditory Processing Disorder
adhdforme · 23/06/2022 10:41
Does anyone have any experience with this? I really struggle (oddly this seems to have presented itself - or it's become more of an issue) in the last 5ish years. Apparently Auditory Processing Disorder is very common in ND people.
I have incredible hearing. I can hear a baby cry across the road with the windows shut. I can hear all of the sounds buzzing around me at once. Fish tank pumps, bathroom fans, kettles boiling etc. But that's what my ears turn into. So when my husband starts talking to me out of the blue my ears will be tuned into all of the other noises going on. He doesn't capture my attention - he just starts talking and I miss the beginning (or half or more) of what he's saying. So then I have to say "huh were you talking to me?" he gets angry saying I'm deaf and he was talking to me and why didn't I pay attention to him etc. He doesn't understand that he needs to stop and get my attention first so I can kind of tune into him. Even still if I'm there in the kitchen and I do know he's started talking to me it takes my brain a bit of time to catch up to what he was saying because I'm tuned into all the other noises like the faucet etc.
I have to ask him to repeat so much stuff and when he does he won't repeat it exactly as he said it. He'll usually only repeat the last half which is what I'd heard. Which leaves me 2 choices - ask him to repeat himself again and specifically to repeat the beginning part but sometimes that doesn't even work. Or I just try and decipher what he's saying and hope I got it right when I answer. A lot of it has to do with context of what he's saying as well. We could have been talking about going on holiday a few minutes before. And then he could pipe up with a comment to me saying "we should probably leave early" I would think that's relating to the topic we had discussed last (the holiday), whereas he will specifically mean we need to leave early this afternoon to get to the birthday party. But he didn't specify that. Which leaves me very confused.
If you're not familiar with Auditory Processing Disorder this girl does an excellent job summing it up and the issues I struggle with. I don't have a formal diagnosis for this, but I think I'd like to pursue one. I'm just put off by the king NHS wait times 😒
AffIt · 23/06/2022 15:33
Yes - to the extent that I actually went to get my hearing checked, as I was worried it was damaged (it's not and actually slightly better than it should be for my age).
I can hear ridiculous things (it's only been in the past few years that I've lost my ability to hear bats, and I'm in my 40s), but conversation is a nightmare.
I watch TV / films with the subtitles on now and refuse to go to venues with ridiculous 'industrial' décor and / or high ceilings. It's much more pleasurable.
PinkBuffalo · 25/06/2022 12:43
adhdforme · 25/06/2022 12:01
Is there any treatment for it?
I have been in and out of hearing aids my whole life until they decided it was auditory processing disorder
my last audiology appointment they were going to Refer me to a Hearing therapist but then covid happened and I not heard from anyone
I desperately need counselling too but normal counselling does not help me cos short only 6 sessions and leaves me worse off cos i struggle to communicate
there is very little help once I turned 18 ☹️
TigerRag · 25/06/2022 18:40
I have it. I had to fight to get a diagnosis (of some sort; wasn't aware of APD) because no one believed that I could have hearing problems. Partly because my hearing tests came back normal and because I'm visually impaired, which apparently makes it not possible to have a hearing impairment too, according to the person who did my hearing test.
Was referred to a hearing therapist which I didn't find overly helpful. Was given white noise generators which were meant to help with tinnitus and my issues with background noise. The tinnitus just sounded worse after taking them out.
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