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2024

Abstract

ople with thick accents is also a struggle, much to my embarrassment. Also, I’ve been subconsciously reading lips for as long as I can remember.</p><p id="0c0d">Phone conversations, which don’t provide ANY visual cues, are the hardest thing in the world for me and something I avoid as much as possible. I have to pay attention when people speak, and audiobooks and podcasts are far more effort for me than they’re worth.</p><h2 id="29dc">Risk Factors for Auditory Processing Disorder</h2><p id="21b8">While APD can affect anybody, things that increase a person’s risk include:</p><ul><li>Head trauma</li><li>Stroke</li><li>Aging</li><li>Seizure disorders</li><li>Lead poisoning</li><li>Issues linked to birth</li><li>Repeated ear infections</li></ul><h2 id="5521">Diagnosing Auditory Processing Disorder</h2><p id="fa47">An audiologist can run tests to rule out other hearing conditions and diagnose auditory processing disorder.</p><h2 id="40ac">Managing and Treating Auditory Processing Disorder</h2><p id="7a33">While there is no “cure” for APD, the following <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24938-auditory-processing-disorder">treatments</a> may help you better learn to manage your symptoms:</p><ul><li>Specialized speech therapy focused on building listening skills</li><li>Changing the environment, like asking for written (as opposed to verbal) instructions</li><li>Using coping strategies such as asking for more information or recording conversations to refer to the information later</li></ul><h2 id="6859">A Note From the Author</h2><p id="2479">Knowledge is power. While there isn’t a way for you to suddenly understand everything you hear if you have APD, understanding why you struggle to understand what people are saying and accommodating yourself is hugely empowering.</p><p id="9760">Putting subtitles on TV shows, movies, and YouTube videos (when available) has made a WORLD of difference in my life. I often wonder if I’ve enjoyed watching foreign media from a young age because

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I was better able to understand subtitled foreign content than English content without subtitles.</p><p id="3840">Additionally, I prefer to do things in writing as often as possible (this is also partially due to my being AuADHD). If I HAVE to schedule an appointment or handle other important things over the phone, I always take notes and repeat back the information I THINK I heard to ensure that I heard correctly.</p><p id="c609">I also learned to forgive myself for struggling to keep up with conversations in group situations. I used to think I somehow just wasn’t trying hard enough, but now that I understand it’s not my fault that I struggle to keep up, I don’t hate myself as much as I used to.</p><p id="3d53">If you appreciated the above information about auditory processing disorder, you might also be interested in reading about how learning that I’m AuDHD saved my life.</p><div id="554d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/learning-im-audhd-saved-my-life-96fcd6e79252"> <div> <div> <h2>Learning I’m AuDHD Saved My Life</h2> <div><h3>As young as 11 or 12, I would lay in bed at night staring at the red light on the smoke detector and wishing that the…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*cdbUf1dZKcw06GThswonBw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="c59a">Countless adults are now finally being diagnosed with things like APD, ADHD, and autism after a lifetime of not being able to understand why they struggle with things that other people don’t seem to struggle with. It turns out that not all brains work the same, and there’s nothing wrong with that.</p><p id="8563">Be sure to follow me for more stories about what it’s like living with autism, ADHD, and auditory processing disorder.</p></article></body>

What Is Auditory Processing Disorder?

You may have it if words get scrambled between your ears and brain.

Do you often have to ask people to repeat what they’ve said because the words didn’t make sense? Do you find yourself smiling and nodding in extensive group settings because you can’t follow along with conversations in loud environments? Has your hearing been tested, and was it found normal?

You may have auditory processing disorder (APD) if the above sounds familiar. Before I learned about APD, I had decided that I must have some auditory dyslexia because words I heard spoken aloud were constantly scrambled going into my brain. Hearing tests (unrelated to this problem) revealed that my hearing was better than expected for my age.

Auditory processing disorder commonly co-occurs with ADHD and autism, although it can also happen with other types of hearing loss or ear damage.

Symptoms of Auditory Processing Disorder

According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of auditory processing disorder may include struggling to:

Understand words spoken in a noisy room or said quickly
Tell where the sound is coming from
Understand and remember spoken information
Follow verbal directions
Learn a new language
Spell or read
Sing or enjoy music

In my experience, my brain might switch a couple of words in a sentence to ones that don’t make sense or warp language entirely, especially in loud areas. Understanding people with thick accents is also a struggle, much to my embarrassment. Also, I’ve been subconsciously reading lips for as long as I can remember.

Phone conversations, which don’t provide ANY visual cues, are the hardest thing in the world for me and something I avoid as much as possible. I have to pay attention when people speak, and audiobooks and podcasts are far more effort for me than they’re worth.

Risk Factors for Auditory Processing Disorder

While APD can affect anybody, things that increase a person’s risk include:

Head trauma
Stroke
Aging
Seizure disorders
Lead poisoning
Issues linked to birth
Repeated ear infections

Diagnosing Auditory Processing Disorder

An audiologist can run tests to rule out other hearing conditions and diagnose auditory processing disorder.

Managing and Treating Auditory Processing Disorder

While there is no “cure” for APD, the following treatments may help you better learn to manage your symptoms:

Specialized speech therapy focused on building listening skills
Changing the environment, like asking for written (as opposed to verbal) instructions
Using coping strategies such as asking for more information or recording conversations to refer to the information later

A Note From the Author

Knowledge is power. While there isn’t a way for you to suddenly understand everything you hear if you have APD, understanding why you struggle to understand what people are saying and accommodating yourself is hugely empowering.

Putting subtitles on TV shows, movies, and YouTube videos (when available) has made a WORLD of difference in my life. I often wonder if I’ve enjoyed watching foreign media from a young age because I was better able to understand subtitled foreign content than English content without subtitles.

Additionally, I prefer to do things in writing as often as possible (this is also partially due to my being AuADHD). If I HAVE to schedule an appointment or handle other important things over the phone, I always take notes and repeat back the information I THINK I heard to ensure that I heard correctly.

I also learned to forgive myself for struggling to keep up with conversations in group situations. I used to think I somehow just wasn’t trying hard enough, but now that I understand it’s not my fault that I struggle to keep up, I don’t hate myself as much as I used to.

If you appreciated the above information about auditory processing disorder, you might also be interested in reading about how learning that I’m AuDHD saved my life.

Learning I’m AuDHD Saved My Life

As young as 11 or 12, I would lay in bed at night staring at the red light on the smoke detector and wishing that the…

medium.com

Countless adults are now finally being diagnosed with things like APD, ADHD, and autism after a lifetime of not being able to understand why they struggle with things that other people don’t seem to struggle with. It turns out that not all brains work the same, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Be sure to follow me for more stories about what it’s like living with autism, ADHD, and auditory processing disorder.