Can hear out of both ears, but only comprehend what goes

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in the right ear?

When I talk on the phone, I have to hold it to my right ear (which ironically, I have poor hearing it). When I hold it to my left, its loud and clear, but I cannot make any sense of what is being said to the point of being afraid I'm a dork, I know.

Last night my mom and I were watching TV on her bed and she was on my right side, whenever she said anything I could only hear her, and not the TV anymore, even though the TV was louder than she was.

Anyone else? I just thought this was odd/interesting.

Maybe you have a partial defect in your corpus callosum. As I understand it, each ear goes to the opposite hemisphere, and usually only the LEFT hemisphere can understand sound. Your right hemisphere would have to communicate with your left to parse sound coming from your left ear.

If you cover up one eye(probably your right eye), can you name things you see? If not, I am almost certainly right.

That is ODD, but not unheard of(excuse the pun).

BTW USUALLY females have a bigger corpus callosum(so they say, anyway), so it is interesting that you are female and have this problem.

Hi,
I am the same way, only opposite ears. I have central auditory processing disorder, which affects how the brain interprets sounds. This has nothing to do with how well you actually hear. For some reason, the pathway from my left ear to the hearing portion of my brain is "worse off" than the pathway from my right ear. I asked my audiologist why one ear had more difficulty, but she didn't know, nor have I found any research to suggest why one pathway can be more affected than the other.
Hope that helps

It looks like I have CAPD also, but it is more of a disconnect or a mediator between my hearing and understanding. It afefcts both ears equally. That doesn't sound like what redears said about apparently having NO way to understand what goes in the left ear. BTW the speach center is USUALLY on the left, but sometimes on the right. As I recall, most people that have it on the right are left handed. Are YOU?

The amount that CAPD affects understanding speech can vary from person to person. It is a spectrum, with some moderate cases (like mine) and some severe (which could be redears case). It is possible for CAPD to be severe enough to limit any understanding. You can go to an audiologist and request to be tested for CAPD. First they will check your hearing to rule out hearing loss. Then a series of tests are done to determine how your brain is processing speech.

In answer to your question, CAPD affects sounds coming through my left ear more severely than my right (though my right ear still has problems). I am right handed.

Interesting that some of you have CAPD-like symptoms that are pronounced on one side. I have moderate CAPD, but always assumed it was bilateral. Both of my ears work fine, until anything beyond the faintest background noise starts; then, following a conversation is almost impossible.

I also always assumed that it is unrelated to my hypersensitivity to sounds, particularly anything loud and sudden, high-pitched whines such as certain vacuum cleaners, or annoying things such as plastic bags rustling (especially during the evening and night hours). These I understood to be "standard issue" with autism.

Normally it is bilateral from my understanding. But for unknown reasons, it can sometimes occur mainly on one side. My audiologist said she has seen a few cases like this, and had no explanation.

I also believe CAPD to be unrelated to hypersensitivity. They are separate issues (one can occur without the other) but on the autism spectrum it is not uncommon to have both issues.

Well, it IS called *****CENTRAL***** audio processing disorder!

From autistics.org:

Internal Symptoms:

Difficulty discriminating "foreground" from "background" noise

I have that to some degree.

Distortions of Incoming Speech

You could say I have that.

Difficulty Discriminating Sounds

Some speech, yep.

"Delay" or "Lag Time" in Processing Speech

Several months ago, many spoke about that here, and I was one.

Difficulty Recognising Speech as Speech

Yep.

External Symptoms:

Asking for Repetition ("Huh?" "What?")

YEP, and many here had the SAME problem I did! We asked What?, and MOMENTS later, BEFORE the person could answer, we knew the answer. It is kind of delay.

Echolalia and Re-Auditorization

I have the re-auditorization, like others here.

Articulation Difficulties

NOPE

Responding Incorrectly to Spoken Directions

NOPE

Apparent "Ignoring" of People

YEP!

Interrupting or "Speaking Over" People

YEP!

Delayed Response to Speech

YEP

Not Remembering Names Correctly

Usually no.

So, CLEARLY, my understanding is right there. It is CENTRAL! It has NOTHING to do with the ears. I can hear FINE in BOTH ears. I hear at the same level in both ears. I like classical music, and can detect the subtle changes on either side, etc... It is just that it is like I can't hear english words! I end up almost repeating things internally, to understand. Moderately noisy environments, like restaurants, show an interesting phenomenon. I may be the ONLY one at the table that doesn't hear the words. I might as well be deaf. Others here have said the SAME!

Exactly.

Interesting. before I was 10 or so, I used to fail hearing tests because I couldn't tell which ear was hearing sounds, or if it was both ears. Those were weird tests. The beeps wre terrifying.

Same here, except it is my right ear that I have difficulty comprehending things(even though I have great hearing). My Left ear is what i have to use to listen to things and on the phone so that i can comprehend it.

2ukenkerl, I pretty much run the table on your list of symptoms and presentations. I have gotten much better about the "talking over" bit - I am much better at waiting, although modulating volume is still challenging.

Yeah, same here. I try to anticipate what is said, or just react, and the repeating over doesn't seem to be required all the time. The problem with hearing over noise has gotten worse though. That IS funny, since I CAN hear fine. Even with the teenbuzz tests, I am supposed to hear better than someone that is less than half my age.

This is very interesting, thank you for your thoughts everyone! I am female, and I am EXTREMELY right handed, we used to joke my left hand is just there so I don't fall over

I tried covering each eye and reading the page of wire reports in front of me and it was very interesting, my right eye took longer to focus without the left (it shouldn't really, I have had Lasik) but like my right ear, it was easier to comprehend what I was reading. When I used only my left eye I could somewhat comprehend but it was difficult and things like the flickering of the flourencents and the pattern on the carpet were driving me nuts and almost making me nauseous.

I do that "what?" thing all the time, knowing the answer before they repeat themselves. Very interesting.

I have the CAPD, and it varies. Noisy environments are hell, particularly restaurants. My most recent job was over the phone computer troubleshooting, and I was always challenged to get the person's name correct. V's and B's, F's and S's all get mixed up, and I grit my teeth when I get some young person who talks fast and won't slow down.

I had this impression before once. That language is processed into words better going into one ear. As of now, I don't notice any difference.