Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All,
Another question from me - I think I've built up A LOT and now that I've found a space to get answers they are all coming out so...
Before I realised I had Autism and ADHD I had started researching Auditory Processing Disorder. For a long time I have really struggled with audio input and from a quick research it seems like this is another thing that is linked with Autism - which, makes sense. I've had a hearing test and everything is fine physically.
Here are some of my experiences.
I often have a lag between what people say and my brain deciphering it. Sometimes someone will say something, I say 'what?' and then halfway through them repeating it my brain computes what they had said.
I often misunderstand what people say and code the words as something with a similar pattern. As a silly example, I might hear 'cat on a mat' as 'bat on a hat'.
I struggle to talk to people when I perceive the background sound to be louder than they are. For example, talking to people on a bus is really, really hard. I find the bus is louder than they are and I keep struggling to process what they are saying. It makes the conversation really hard and stressful and then my brain just starts shutting down and stops generating the conversation. This usually ends up with me sitting in silence or really feeling like I have to wade through a conversation. It isn't like this every single time, I can have good days but I can also have bad days where it is much worse.
Music. I just really struggle with lyrical music. I find it hard to hear the lyrics and feel like all the other sounds make the actual vocals really hard to hear. It can be really difficult if someone tries to get me to listen to music and think about the lyrics and I need to actually see the lyrics to engage. Sometimes, it can all sound like a mash of sound if I'm feeling sensitive. I do like some lyrical music but that's either because the music sound is nice and I don't actually pay attention to the vocals OR the music is nice and the vocals are simple and clear. Most of the time I listen to instrumental music like chillstep.
Does anyone else have experiences with symptoms of Auditory Processing Disorder that they are willing to share?
Yep, it’s quite common. I often don’t ‘get’ verbal instructions first time, so ask for them to be repeated, or I try to repeat it until it makes sense. It could happen while on a phone call, and I can’t keep up with the conversation if I am being given information etc.
If I am in a coffeehouse for example, I can’t hear what my companion might be saying, because I can hear all the other conversations going on around me, and I can’t concentrate.
Thank you for sharing, Catlover. I'm the same with verbal instructions. I find people also add lots of unnecessary information into their speech which makes it more difficult sometimes. I often find myself processing and condensing verbal instructions down into simple points and asking for clarification. For example, they may speak for 5 minutes and then I say ok, you want me to do 1, 2, and 3? I prefer written instructions where possible as it reduces the pressure to try and correctly process and remember what they want me to do. With telephone calls I struggle to keep up too and have to have a pen and paper to hand to write down instructions as they come in. I find using headphones helps while on the telephone as the sound is going directly into my ears while also blocking out other background sounds. I completely understand about the coffee house situation. I have good days where I can deal with those types of situations and bad days where I really, really can't. I work in an open plan office with lots of different teams but am allowed to use headphones which helps me to tune out extraneous information.