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An odd relationship between hearing sounds vs. voices

Oakling

I wondered if someone more knowledgeable could help me to understand why, with my incredibly sensitive hearing, I struggle to hear and interpret words and voices.

My hearing is, probably like many here, exceptionally sensitive. I can hear things that most people around me cannot. What other people seemingly allow to happen around them will often make me uncomfortable (tremendous volume to me). And yet, I often struggle to hear what someone has said to me, or near by to me. I am constantly turning the tv volume down to get away from loud music/ sound effects, but having to turn it up during dialogue. I now have the subtitles on constantly. 

Does anybody else experience this? Does anybody have any information or ideas on the matter. I’m wondering if it is to do with interpreting, processing and understanding spoken information, rather than simply recognising that a sound has occurred and trying to identify its source.

Parents

  • >with my incredibly sensitive hearing, I struggle to hear and interpret words and voices

    That may be why.  It's not so much that your hearing is sensitive, it's that your brain isn't tuning out the background noises and tuning in the speech.

    A simple way to demonstrate this sort of tuning is to think about say the colour blue.  Then go scan a cluttered room looking for all the blue objects.  You will perceive the room differently, small blue items that you wouldn't normally notice become quite prominent.  This is how a lot of supermarket branding works.  You go looking for a tin of beans and the Heinz can will probably jump right out at you.

    Non Autistic people have brains well tuned to picking out speech.  To the point where someone whispering in a library, cinema or bedroom is something they can't tune it out very well at all and find it highly distracting or irritating.

Reply

  • >with my incredibly sensitive hearing, I struggle to hear and interpret words and voices

    That may be why.  It's not so much that your hearing is sensitive, it's that your brain isn't tuning out the background noises and tuning in the speech.

    A simple way to demonstrate this sort of tuning is to think about say the colour blue.  Then go scan a cluttered room looking for all the blue objects.  You will perceive the room differently, small blue items that you wouldn't normally notice become quite prominent.  This is how a lot of supermarket branding works.  You go looking for a tin of beans and the Heinz can will probably jump right out at you.

    Non Autistic people have brains well tuned to picking out speech.  To the point where someone whispering in a library, cinema or bedroom is something they can't tune it out very well at all and find it highly distracting or irritating.

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