About hearing but not understanding.

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If I listen to people having a conversation (around the dinner table for example) I sometimes realise I don't understand what they're talking about. I understand the language and I hear what they're saying loud and clear, but I don't understand what they're actually saying. Do you know what I mean? I don't know if it's because I don't pay enough attention or if I just can't process it or something. It's not a huge problem for me and it doesn't happen all the time but it confuses me sometimes. Anyway, does that happen to anyone else? Also, is it typical for someone on the spectrum?

EDIT: My hearing's fine by the way (except for slight tinnitus in my left ear).

This often happens to me when people are describing mechanical or technical things, especially with, like, auto work and stuff. I understand the words, but they might as well be speaking another language.

Do you mean you hear what they are saying, and should be able to understand their words, but you can't focus on it enough to process what they say?

I had this problem in high school and kids thought I didn't listen nor paid attention. It still happens but not all the time. I will even rewind when I was documentaries or commentaries for movies if I am that interested and care so much what they are saying. I just figured this was me having a language processing disorder. But sitting down and having to listen for long periods of the time does make me tired and makes my head hurt and I can't listen anymore. I keep zoning out and I end up day dreaming. But if its something I am interested in, I get frustrated because I can't seem to process it all and there is no rewind button. I prefer reading.

I experience this sometimes. It's like I hear each word loud and clear, but am unable to remember any of them long enough to make sense of what they are saying. As soon as I hear one word I forget the preceding one, and so on. I get the feeling that I heard them but am unable to remember anything that was said.

You know what... now that you mention this, I think I get this sometimes while reading.
Even reading a novel that I'm interested in... sometimes I have to go back and read the same paragraph several times. I say the words in my head with feeling... but I still don't get it.

I think this happens when I'm tired, lacking concentration.

Used to happen to me all the time but as I get older, my brain automatically translates things more.

sounds a little bit like aphasia that. If you are actually fully concentrating on what people are saying, can hear it clearly and it is in a way that you should be able to understand and you're still having problems processing it I recommend that you go and see a doctor.

It happens to me a lot every day. In my case, it seems to be a combination of

(central) auditory processing disorder (hearing the words clearly or sometimes not-so-clearly due to background noises, dialects and such, knowing the words but not understanding their meaning at that very moment because there's some sort of miscommunication going on between ear and brain),

ADHD (hearing the words clearly, recognising the words but being too distracted by something else to focus on what's being said)

and some type of language impairment (hearing someone talking, not knowing the words or phrases well enough/not knowing them despite them being normal German or English words that I should know/should recognise, therefore not understanding what's being said).

That happens to me sometimes too but only with certain people. I don't know why, but it suddenly occurred to me that some these people had unusual qualities, like one guy had a mohawk and piercings and was quite good-looking in the face, too. Every time he talked to me, it was like background noise to my staring at him.

What happens to me is that I'm concentrating fully, I hear everything clearly but I can't decipher what the person is saying. It always happens in noisy places and almost never happens in more quiet environments. I do not have any hearing problems.
Also, it sometimes combines with an overload. I guess it's auditory processing disorder.

I get this in reading and listening. In reading, I sometimes have to re-read, sometimes multiple times. In listening, I sometimes have to replay things in my mind and interpret the replay. I sometimes fall further and further behind, having to keep replaying over and over, if it gets bad. It's worse if I'm tired, overloaded generally, there is chaos around me at the time, or there are competing things drawing my attention. If I need someone to actually say something again, I need it in exactly the same words, or else I have to start all over again.

Happens to me a lot. I think mine is a concentration thing.