EternalFootmen
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- Apr 19, 2011
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I'm pretty sure I'm not actually HoH but, in fact, have an undiagnosed auditory processing disorder (I only just got health care, I'm dealing with my depression meds first!).
What that means for me is that some loud things I don't hear at all, some quiet things I hear as though they were loud. Certain sounds are very upsetting/frustrating. I repeat phrases/sounds in my head over and over and over. In crowded, loud areas I can't focus on what people are saying, even if I can hear them (which I usually can't) all I hear is
. I have some ability to lip read, and have been able to since all my life I've had trouble hearing some things.
I think I failed to notice it because when I was frustrated or found my inability to 'hear' (really, it was being HoH and /also/ not being able to understand, to put the sounds into words unless I could lip read, which is tiring for me) was spoiling my enjoyment of an evening I would tune out. I'm a writer, and I can entertain myself pretty well with my imagination, a bit of paper and a pencil. Also now I have books on my phone!
When I'm in a quiet place I can hear just fine. I listen to music and watch television and movies, though I tend to listen over and over and over and over until I can understand the words and then I can basically just quote them to myself without having to work to understand. Talking to people when I can't see them is difficult. I can't concentrate, I miss things, I tune out. If someone gives me verbal instructions I won't remember or understand them. Either one thing at a time, or write it down. Even two things is too much!
I'm not doing it to be rude. I'm not doing it because I want to. It's runied a lot of social gatherings for me, and I've been yelled at a lot by my father and sister who seem to think my mother and I are doing it just to annoy them (though I think my mom might just be mildly HoH)
I'm trying to teach myself ASL because I would like to be able to go out in groups without getting frustrated and upset. My inability to process sound would be less of a problem if people weren't using sound to communicate! I figured since I can process signs and pictures and words, I could probably understand ASL better than English if I learned it.
I guess not being able to hear, and not being able to understand what you're hearing aren't the same, but they're close enough for government work
Obviously since mine isn't a physical state, but a mental one, I'm not sure this is the place for me, but unlike a lot of people with APD I communicate very well with the written word, one to one when I can see someone (a lot of APD people have trouble processing no matter what), and with other people who don't mind if I zone out or am scattered, so I kind of feel like I have more in common with Deaf who can process just fine, than with Hearies whose processing abilities are treading into Autism.
Anyways! Let me know if this is not the place for me, I promise I won't be offended.
What that means for me is that some loud things I don't hear at all, some quiet things I hear as though they were loud. Certain sounds are very upsetting/frustrating. I repeat phrases/sounds in my head over and over and over. In crowded, loud areas I can't focus on what people are saying, even if I can hear them (which I usually can't) all I hear is
. I have some ability to lip read, and have been able to since all my life I've had trouble hearing some things. I think I failed to notice it because when I was frustrated or found my inability to 'hear' (really, it was being HoH and /also/ not being able to understand, to put the sounds into words unless I could lip read, which is tiring for me) was spoiling my enjoyment of an evening I would tune out. I'm a writer, and I can entertain myself pretty well with my imagination, a bit of paper and a pencil. Also now I have books on my phone!
When I'm in a quiet place I can hear just fine. I listen to music and watch television and movies, though I tend to listen over and over and over and over until I can understand the words and then I can basically just quote them to myself without having to work to understand. Talking to people when I can't see them is difficult. I can't concentrate, I miss things, I tune out. If someone gives me verbal instructions I won't remember or understand them. Either one thing at a time, or write it down. Even two things is too much!
I'm not doing it to be rude. I'm not doing it because I want to. It's runied a lot of social gatherings for me, and I've been yelled at a lot by my father and sister who seem to think my mother and I are doing it just to annoy them (though I think my mom might just be mildly HoH)
I'm trying to teach myself ASL because I would like to be able to go out in groups without getting frustrated and upset. My inability to process sound would be less of a problem if people weren't using sound to communicate! I figured since I can process signs and pictures and words, I could probably understand ASL better than English if I learned it.
I guess not being able to hear, and not being able to understand what you're hearing aren't the same, but they're close enough for government work
Obviously since mine isn't a physical state, but a mental one, I'm not sure this is the place for me, but unlike a lot of people with APD I communicate very well with the written word, one to one when I can see someone (a lot of APD people have trouble processing no matter what), and with other people who don't mind if I zone out or am scattered, so I kind of feel like I have more in common with Deaf who can process just fine, than with Hearies whose processing abilities are treading into Autism.
Anyways! Let me know if this is not the place for me, I promise I won't be offended.
to AllDeaf forum. Just try to breathe in and out to be calm down. I know the frustration very well. Everyone goes through every time hearing people giving us a hard time thinking that we are not listening or could not hear them with our hearing aids or CIs. That is perfectly normal. Now that you are here, the word is Audism if that is what you are looking for on the last sentence of your thread. Autism is a medical condition. Okay, enough of me. 
