Understanding speech....

Post Reply New Topic

Am I a specifically "unattentive" specimen, or do others know the same s**t?
I often - especially in periods, find it hard to process, what is being said, even though the sounds and syllables are perfectly clear.
I have these moments, when it all sounds "chinese" to me and I ask for a repetition, - which makes people shout.
Lately it has grown worse - maybe because of mental fatigue, - it is sometimes completely an unitelligible "porridge".
Now it´s reading as well. It is like a state of panic, where the brain won´t work orderly.
One of my friends has discovered, that when it´s bad, I process abvout 10% of what is being said - and I actually did ok at university!
Worst at a meeting in the jobcentre: The job-consultant told me about possibilities and rules. I listened closely, trying to keep the information straight in my head - and suddenly, I zoned out and his voice became a distant blabber.
He noticed and carried on talking to my mentor instead.
People accuse me of not understanding a sound, if a comma is out of place. They´re right and it has become worse.
If something has been moved or have had a name change (functions in computer and such) - I´m in a spot.
If I have prepared a piece on one piano, I cannot play it on other instruments, as the keyboard looks or feels different. I simply can´t recognize the patterns.
Of course, It all gets worse in period with a lot of depression and namely anxiety as this one, - but.... it´s bad.
It´s on and off, though.

I´ve always had these problems, and they have caused me some major defeats, but I really feel handicapped these days.
Do anyone experience this worsening with age- and will it probably get milder again?

Is this just autism in an exaggerated state of mental fatigue?

I am considering going to a shrink in order to see, if my depressions and anxiety has caused me some cognitive damage.
The last many years have been both desperate and stressful.

Do anyone recognize something? I am anxious about it.

I've always had this problem, especially if the speaker has an accent, speaks quickly, or there is even moderate background noise, like an air conditioner. I'm not sure if it's gotten worse with age or not (maybe?) so some age-related hearing loss might have made it a tiny bit worse. Stress and fatigue do seem to be a contributing factor as well, and if we are in a meeting where I have to track several people and the back-and-forth of conversation. I frequently can't even get a word in edgewise, and never can find a moment to speak. It's also worse over the phone, since I can't move my head to improve the sound of one speaker over another.

At work, i've asked my boss to give me new or changed policies in writing, so I am clear on them and can save them to an email folder.

I think it might be a part of sensory processing disorder, because I've seen other people write about it too. The sounds get jumbled up in my head so they sound like nonsense syllables.

Thanks. Processing disorder.....
I can tune in on different dialogues at a party and follow them to a certain extent. I can separate sounds, but another thing, I have become aware of is my slow method of sorting information: sorting information in pretty little boxes to avoid blurring up the meaning. A bit slow, when it is time to form counter-arguments.

Strange. I went through the Wechsler too, but nothing about my processing speed - it wasn´t slow, I think - but I did talk with the psychologist about certain sensory things and my early experiences of "salad" and strange body-experiences.

I've found that, when I try and look people in the eye or face, I can't always understand or process their speech. I have found out that if I look away when someone is speaking, then I can understand it more clearly. I always tried to look people in the eye because that's what I was told to do when I was young. Since I found out that many autistics have problems looking people in the eyes, and since I was formally diagnosed, I will glance at the person's face and then look away when they are speaking. So far, no one has told me that I have a problem with this.

Yes, there's a specific condition called "auditory processing disorder." That sounds exactly like what you are describing.

Thanks. That would explain a lot. At school, I always missed a lot and had to ask a comrade, what the teacher said a minute ago. I thought, I was just being absentminded. Later, as a teen, I began to recognize these "porridge"-moments and feared, that I was suffering from some sneaky hearing impairment - at the same time as a sharp/rough voice would make me cringe.
It probably fits the picture all right.