Possible Sensory issue or bad hearing?
Oodain
Veteran
Joined: 30 Jan 2011
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,022
Location: in my own little tamarillo jungle,
i have something similar,
if i am tired or stressed sounds can literally sound garbled, as if the sound is still there but the brain completely loses any recolecction of its context.
it becomes more pronounced in flooded noise enviroments and at low volume.
sometimes when talking to people when tired i have to continously ask people to repeat themselves.
_________________
//through chaos comes complexity//
the scent of the tamarillo is pungent and powerfull,
woe be to the nose who nears it.
I have this too. The words will just fade into the background, like I'm hearing them out of the corner of my eye. My mother says it's really annoying but she's used to it because I've always been that way. I've had my hearing tested and it's fine, so I guess it's just a processing issue. Does anyone else have the opposite problem, where you hear a door creak or a cat meow or music from another room and think it's someone talking to you?
Alfonso12345
Velociraptor
Joined: 22 Apr 2012
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Posts: 431
Location: Somewhere in the United States
I have this too and used to think I had bad hearing, even though I had many different hearing tests and my hearing was perfectly fine. I can sometimes understand perfectly what another person is saying, but other times, all I hear is sounds and have no idea what was said, or it sounds like the other person said something completely different than what they said in reality.
Oodain
Veteran
Joined: 30 Jan 2011
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,022
Location: in my own little tamarillo jungle,
yup,
especially with very faint music from another apartment
_________________
//through chaos comes complexity//
the scent of the tamarillo is pungent and powerfull,
woe be to the nose who nears it.
conundrum
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Joined: 25 May 2010
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,922
Location: third rock from one of many suns
I am experiencing a combination of several things that people mentioned here, plus some others:
-Background noise is a HUGE problem. What one of you said about your friend "monologuing" at you on the bus for 30 minutes--same thing happens to me, unless I'm looking right at the person and attempting to lipread. The roaring of the engine/air conditioning and the cacophony of other passengers talking drowns everything out.
-Hearing a noise and thinking someone's calling me: yes, on occasion. Also, hearing a noise others don't notice, like a cell phone ringing four rooms away.
-Don't do too well talking on the phone (both cell and landline, though cell is worse)--I text more than I talk whenever possible.
-Standard hearing tests always came up "normal." Several doctors basically told me I was imagining things.
-Finally, about a month ago, I received a flyer for a free hearing test at my local Miracle-Ear. I made an appointment and went, and guess what: my "normal" range of hearing is slightly above the standard "norm" (which explains hearing high-pitched tones others may miss, but losing low-to-normal voices speaking). I am also definitely worse with verbal comprehension, period.
The audiologist gave me a referral to an ear/nose/throat medical group. I also get dizzy on occasion for no discernible reason and she thinks that should be checked out (vestibular system issues). My dad has some hearing problems, too, so for all I know this is genetic, but was too subtle to be recognized when I was younger. My only "symptom" then was "tuning people out" so I could ignore those who were being mean to me, but I always assumed I was doing that purposefully. I didn't really notice this as a problem until college, and it's gotten steadily worse.
This could also explain why I'm a total klutz (never could learn to ride a bike, don't feel comfortable driving)--balance issues.
Someone else mentioned central auditory processing disorder. I was suspecting that myself. That may be part of it (the "time delay" between hearing and understanding happens to me, too), but definitely rule out physiological causes involving the ear/vestibular system first.
I was just relieved to have my concerns (finally) validated. I have yet to make that doctor's appointment due to my work schedule, but I will find a way. I want to get to the bottom of this.
_________________
The existence of the leader who is wise
is barely known to those he leads.
He acts without unnecessary speech,
so that the people say,
'It happened of its own accord.' -Tao Te Ching, Verse 17
I have this problem also, particularly when there are other noises/distractions present. I know I annoy a lot of people when I have to ask them to repeat themselves often... If they don't respect that, then all they end up getting from me is the whole "smile & nod" routine....
I also have trouble understanding lyrics in songs, unless I have actively learnt them...
I also need subtitles on in films...
I also struggle to understand someone with an accent...
My hearing is fine, it is something to do with the processing. I also at times understand what they said after I have asked them to repeat themselves.
And yet, despite all this, I hate it when people ask ME to repeat myself lol (I think this is because it has taken such mental effort to organise my thoughts into coherent speech).
Ditto me, sometimes I think it's just paying attention to something else though. I have to repeat myself for others often so I don't worry about it a lot.
This is often a problem for me as well.
