anyone else has problem understanding what people are saying

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sometimes, in a song, i miss a few words. i hear it again and again, but still look up the words on the internet. same with programs on tv, and talking on the phone.
oh, i understand what people say if they speak clearly, but with the slightest static on the phone, if someone talks too fast, or "swallow" the words, a heavy accent, anything, and i can't understand half of what they say. but when i ask nts, they say, "oh, yeah, he WAS talking a bit unclearly, but i could understand every word. it wasnt that bad." while i strain as hard as i can to understand what is being said, and can't understand half of it! but my hearing's great.

Alot of the time I need people to repeat what they said I heard it but it did not register. People with accents I have to ask more than once. Music I can pick out some of the words but I need to look it up to get all of them. Movies I put on the subtitles. I hate it when they are incomplete.

I'm terrible with that sort of listening, or anything to do with Auditory Processing. For me the problems are twofold
a) irritating background noise seems 'louder' than foreground spoken voice that I am trying to focus on ; e.g. if there's a tap dripping, my brain is overloaded with that annoying dripping sound and I get frustrated knowing that I can only follow half of what that person is saying. The harder I try to concentrate on what the person is saying, the more my brain switches off ; could be some Inattentive ADHD in my case.
b) I always seem to hear the wrong word when a word has a similar-sounding other word with a completely different meaning.

I've met many NTs who have similar problems though. Also seen many people mis-hear what people have said in a social group, they respond the wrong interpretation, and nobody cares because the conversation was 'just about nothing' anyway.

Hello.

My situation might be in a little different context because I am a foreigner (from a non-English-speaking country) living in an English-speaking country. I often experience what the OP described, but I often put it down to my English listening skill.

However, I noticed that people often say they understand something when they actually don't. They often don't even realize that they have misunderstood or haven't understood. They don't even have that awareness. So, when people say they have understood everything, you might still have understood it better than they have. I have come to realize this after numerous instances of confident people who don't actually understand as much as they claim to. They could be troublesome. I am a perfectionist and always feel I haven't understood well enough.

So could this be the case with the OP's situation? Maybe you are a perfectionist.

What do you mean by slightly unclear? If someone mumbles, then I would have thought anyone, including NTs would have trouble understanding them.

Or do you mean unclear as in, what they said was ambiguous or didn't make sense? If so, then of course that would be one of the things people with ASDs have trouble with, due to taking things literally etc.

Sometimes, when there is no reason for me to mishear something, I do. I have to pause and work out what they actually said from context.

Maybe part of my problem is actually being interested in hearing what is said. Yes, I have problems with audio processing and my anxiety and sensory issues get in the way - but lots of times, I am happy not to hear everything. I'd rather not if it's blah-blah-blah. Just the truth. I've been told I'm sweet, I think because I smile and am often quiet and "pleasant" - but I think ... oh, if you knew what I was thinking ... but I think it is of no matter. If I say what I think, it is not understood - they take it personally. I am just not interested. Then that puts me right into grouchy mode because people have no problem telling me they are not interested in what I am saying - okay for them, not for me. I'll be quiet now as I feel a rant building up.

Yeah. Sometimes syllables jumble together when I hear them. It actually has nothing to do with accented speech, that doesn't seem to make much of a difference. I also know that I am not hearing impaired. So i dunno. As long as I can look at the lips of the person who is speaking, I can usually lip read to confirm consistent interpretation between what I heard and the lip movements that were made.

This is only an occasional issue. Most often I have no problem understanding speech.

I have trouble, sometimes, keeping up with conversations in big groups. Also, sometimes I get too focused on one word a person says and miss the entire context of a conversation. I ask people to repeat themselves A LOT because I'll miss some detail that turned out not to be important. I also have trouble with words because I'm a visual and logic minded person rather than a verbal person. I have trouble getting out what I want to say basically.

Its hard for me to catch words others are saying sometimes. Maybe it has to do with my brain being slow processing, context of convo, the receiving of all this intel at once, all the while hearing more intel i tend to have to have someone repeat some.

I'm terrible with audio processing tasks and often have to ask people to repeat even if I heard them loud and clear, I am the only person at work who has trouble with accents or understanding people when there is background noise. It just doesn't register sometimes and I know it's due to autism. On top of all this I often daydream when people are talking to me, it is embarrassing.

I am constantly having to move closer, angle my ear toward the person/object producing the voice, and I still don't understand the majority of the time. I'll end up having them repeat themselves, even WHILE looking at their lips. I can't really read lips all that well, which isn't helpful in the least... Some people mentioned tasks that involve oral directions. I'm horrible with that as well. Half the time I can't remember a thing they said, or I can't understand what exactly they want me to be doing.

Auditory processing was something they talked about when I was diagnosed. I'm not sure what was ultimately determined since nobody tells me anything but basically how it manifested itself with me was I'd hear somebody talking but wouldn't register what they were saying and I'd respond with a "huh" or a "what" and have them repeat what they say which people apparently find annoying. Sometimes I'll cup my ear towards them like I'm hard of hearing too. Verbal instructions especially when they are not given directly are hard to follow, too much going on in the background to be distracted by.

I've never been tested for any auditory processing issues, but if someone speaks to me unexpectedly, I very often ask them to repeat it. After a few moments, I often realize I heard them the first time but didn't absorb it, so I think I have some sort of auditory processing delay. Background noise can interfere with my understanding of what someone says. I always feel a little awkward when I have to ask someone repeat things like three times before I can figure it out. Verbal instructions can be tricky, especially if the other person is going through them quickly.

And yet, I can still hear the "mosquito" ringtone, even though I'm older than those who can typically hear it. Go figure.

I used to ask "what?" so often that my dad and grandpa would get angry at me (They didn't know about my AS, I didn't know about it at the time either)...they also wanted me to look at them when ever they were talking to me, this obviously didn't help.


But yea, I've always had a hard time hearing language in particular. My sense of hearing is just fine, I've had it tested quite a few times through out my life, it's just making sense of the noise coming out of someones mouth and putting it into language. I sometimes have trouble with verbal instructions, conversations on the phone, two-way radios, accents, and situations where there is a lot of stimulus. Sometimes I'll close my eyes and try to put all my focus into listening to what the person is saying.