Auditory Processing Disorder/Deficit

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Has anyone else been diagnosed (by an audiologist) with an auditory processing disorder or deficit? I only ever see it discussed as a symptom of autism on WP.

No one?

I have difficulty taking in oral information, but wouldn't say I have an auditory processing disorder.

I think it is probably common among people with aspergers and more severe autism
i am really sensitive to sound and i think that this is where a lot of my stress comes from
as the sounds trigger the fight and flight reaction in me
and think that since i live somewhere there is unexpected sudden and mechanical sounds all the time
i am constantly stuck in the fight and flight mode
which makes me hypervigilant like someone who has ptsd who has just come back from war who has witnessed horrors.

i think that i would benefit from living around nature, deep in the woods or near the sea
where there were not many cars, or people or mechanical sounds to trigger the fight and flight

i think also that living in a sound proof abode would help
even if it had little or no light
but had air conditioning

this would at least give me some quiet time without triggers
as well as sleep!! !
as getting to sleep is really hard where there is noise pollution

if you also need to sound proof your housing
let me know, i have researched the subject to a fair extent
and have a specialists view in this subject as i have a BA in Sound Engineering
ironic really, as sound is what i love and hate the most in life

My understanding is that auditory processing issues are relatively common among people on the spectrum -- I think there are a number of WP threads on it. It's not a condition I have, but paradoxically it's how I figured out I was a little bit aspie myself. I had a student with an auditory processing problem, and while it was very easy to work with her through email, in conversation it was much more difficult. In researching ways that I might be able to better help her, I figured out that she was also an aspie, and that the description fit me as well.

I am diagnosed with a type of APD, referred to as, Language Processing Disorder. There are several symptoms that can result from the disorder. I am unable to process language, where there is background noise of any kind.

Thanks for posting. I'd never heard of that before. Did you get diagnosed by an audiologist or some other type of specialist? And did/do you struggle in school? Are you sensitive to noise?

I was diagnosed with auditory processing deficit, unspecified ear.

If you don't mind saying, which part of California do you live in?

My audiologist didn't think so, but if this occurs in the brain rather than the ear, I'm not sure if this issue falls within his expertise.

I can have issues with background noise and feel I have a harder time understanding things like CB radio, Walky-Talkies, or Intercom speakers.

My pleasure. I was evaluated by both, an audiologist and a speach and language pathologist, but, this was many years, ago. Decades ago, so, if you are asking where I am in CA, because you'd like to find practitioners, I would happily inquire with my parents, in case they still have the information. One was at UCLA and the other, in Pacific Palisades (a city within Los Angeles county). If you'd like, I could perhaps, help you do research on where to find a reputable audiologist and speech pathologist in your area. I will inquire with my Mom, in case she has the info stored in her brain, which wouldn't surprise me. Also, I should add, that there is some overlapping of Auditory Processing Disorder and LPD, and I have read on many occasions that APD and LPD are two entirely different categories. I thought I'd throw that out there, since I assume you'll be doing research.

Indeed, I had a lot of difficulty in school. Particularly, elementary school. Let me know if you want details. I also possess the same issue, visually/while reading, and, I have a separate, visual processing disorder, in addition, which happens not to be a sensory processing disorder. I possess several sensory processing issues. I hope I havent given you too much unnecessary information, which I tend to do.

No, I was just curious because I live in CA too.


Yes, you can post as much as you want about that and I will read it. Especially the things that made people suspect you had issues, whatever motivated your parents to get you assessed.

I think it occurs sort of in between the two—the part of the brain that is connected to the ear.

I'll answer somewhat, briefly, as I am off to sleep, and will return, tomorrow if I think of further examples I can offer you.

My folks, initially, recognised that I was having trouble following directions, when I was quite young. Jumping forward a bit, I recall my Mom had described to my ASD therapist, that she had, initially wondered if I simply hadn't cared to follow directions, or, cared to do what she would request of me, or, she would give me directions for going about a task or how to play a game, etc, and I would seem quite eager, however, it would seem as if I had not been listening, or, did not find her directions necessary, or similar. She told the therapist, I showed no signs of defiance, and always seemed to want to do what had been asked of me, and I became sad, confused or frustrated when I learned I had done something incorrectly or could not complete a task. She said, I was a cooperative, content and happy child, despite the difficulties that I had been exhibiting. This was the first indiction that my parent's had, that I may have been struggling with something, or, perhaps there had been something wrong with my hearing.

When I was in first grade, I had a lot of difficulty learning to read. I was always behind and my reading comprehension suffered greatly, as the result of this learning disability, and this was when I initially went to some type of doctor, also at UCLA, and I clearly recall her telling my parents that she was surprised to see a young child complete a puzzle as quickly as me. I had to do a few different types, including a couple 3D puzzles, but, now, I am going way off topic. As I mentioned previously, I also have a separate, visual processing delay, and I read approximately 3 to 4 times slower than the average reader of my age (apparently), unless I read aloud, and, ironically, I am a visual learner and have acute visual-spacial abilities.

To answer your initial question, I have acute hearing, and I am sensitive to noise and certain sounds, but, my hyper-sensitivity to sound had not been the cause of my symptoms. It was the inability to process language, with background noise.

I would be interested to hear about your APD discovery, and the symptoms you've experienced/how it has effected you, etc. - if you'd be open to talking about it.

Loud noises bother me, & some types of noises, like a knife scraping on a pan, or chalk screeching on a board bother me. I also sometimes have a problem grasping what people are saying. It's not the volume they are speaking at, I just have trouble processing the incoming sounds of their speech. I compensate a little by watching their lips. I do better when I can read things.

Yes. I had speech therapy for it when I was younger. But I don't actually notice it much myself, except for the fact that it's sometimes difficult for me to make out what others are saying in noisy environments, which causes me to focus on lips, and I'm more sensitive to loud noises. So I guess compared to others, things seem louder to me, and less intelligible?

I hate loud noises since childhood,car horns and crackers give me startle,and I have developed buzzing in my left ear in response to loud sounds.Sometimes a sudden loud sound causes extreme buzzing in my head and I give an extreme startle response with a jump or spasmodic head movement in extreme cases,I don't know whether my symptoms are consistent with sensory processing disorder.

I don't have a diagnosis, but I do have trouble with interpreting language at times. Sometimes I can hear the sounds people make without being able to make sense of them, to connect them with any meaning. Then I sometimes "rewind the tape" and relisten to the sounds inside my head, and then I make sense of them.

However, I am not sound sensitive, rather the opposite. I tend to just block out sound, and I don't notice when others are bothered.