Auditory Processing disorder

I have just been diagnosed with a Similar diagnosis. Can anyone Tell me how to get over this Problem? I thought i was going deaf! That was a wierd twist!

I don't, but I'll throw this out. I'm a very good musician and I have a theory as to what makes many of us, musicians. Most people who have normal hearing, have the ability to not hear all the residual sounds. Their brain enables them to zero in on one sound at a time, usually the person talking to them, or whatever it is they want to hear. But some of us, hear all the sounds and our brains begin to process all those sounds at once.

I don't know if you've ever used a mixing board, but it's an electronic device used to process many audio inputs. Put simply, if you have a band, all the microphones get plugged into the board as well as the instruments. Then the sound guy adjusts all the levels, loud, soft, medium so that the audience hears the balanced sounds between the instruments and the vocals.

I've envisioned my brain as having this mixing board that makes me hear all the sounds. Some might be louder and some softer, but if I'm in a room where everyone is talking, or even if there is a squeaking noise while someone is speaking, the other noises become very annoying.

But here's the plus side for me. When I listen to my choir during rehearsal, I can hear all the four parts and to some degree, all the different voices. I am readily able to process that and correct wrong notes or change how one singer is sounding a particular vowel sound.

Even better, when I listen to a recording of a big symphony, I hear all the parts and I process what each part is doing not only musically, but mathematically. My theory is that having this ability is what might make some of us musically talented.

For you, trying to process one teacher who is lecturing against all the other ambient noise can become a big, overburdening problem. People who wear hearing aids complain of this very problem because the hearing aid is amplifying all the sounds in the room.

As a solution that might work but probably won't, when I was playing in a rock band, I would often wear one earplug in the ear that was closest to the rest of the band. That way I could hear me through the unplugged ear, but the rest of the band was muted. I'm not sure how that would work in a classroom setting though.

Of course, everyone else should be quiet in a classroom because it's all about courtesy. Maybe you could have your professor give you a copy of his or her notes. They do that in special education classes in public school, so it's not unheard of.

Angelic said:

I have just been diagnosed with a Similar diagnosis. Can anyone Tell me how to get over this Problem? I thought i was going deaf! That was a wierd twist!

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Many of us Autistics have difficulty with Audio Processing.
A PhD Aspie Lady Mathematician I know has it, plus a ScD Aspie Guy Computer Scientist I know too.

dogboy said:

I don't, but I'll throw this out. I'm a very good musician and I have a theory as to what makes many of us, musicians. Most people who have normal hearing, have the ability to not hear all the residual sounds. Their brain enables them to zero in on one sound at a time, usually the person talking to them, or whatever it is they want to hear. But some of us, hear all the sounds and our brains begin to process all those sounds at once.

I don't know if you've ever used a mixing board, but it's an electronic device used to process many audio inputs. Put simply, if you have a band, all the microphones get plugged into the board as well as the instruments. Then the sound guy adjusts all the levels, loud, soft, medium so that the audience hears the balanced sounds between the instruments and the vocals.

I've envisioned my brain as having this mixing board that makes me hear all the sounds. Some might be louder and some softer, but if I'm in a room where everyone is talking, or even if there is a squeaking noise while someone is speaking, the other noises become very annoying.

But here's the plus side for me. When I listen to my choir during rehearsal, I can hear all the four parts and to some degree, all the different voices. I am readily able to process that and correct wrong notes or change how one singer is sounding a particular vowel sound.

Even better, when I listen to a recording of a big symphony, I hear all the parts and I process what each part is doing not only musically, but mathematically. My theory is that having this ability is what might make some of us musically talented.

For you, trying to process one teacher who is lecturing against all the other ambient noise can become a big, overburdening problem. People who wear hearing aids complain of this very problem because the hearing aid is amplifying all the sounds in the room.

As a solution that might work but probably won't, when I was playing in a rock band, I would often wear one earplug in the ear that was closest to the rest of the band. That way I could hear me through the unplugged ear, but the rest of the band was muted. I'm not sure how that would work in a classroom setting though.

Of course, everyone else should be quiet in a classroom because it's all about courtesy. Maybe you could have your professor give you a copy of his or her notes. They do that in special education classes in public school, so it's not unheard of.

Click to expand...

I don't have that, but! Dogboy, fun fact, that is a function of the thalamus, in the diencephalon of the brain. Your thalamus "filters out" the background noise and allows you to focus on one person talking in a crowded room. (Sorry. I just got excited. I had an exam on that this morning.)

OP, I'm not sure how you can "get over" this problem. But there are ways you could try to adapt. For classroom use, maybe see if you can get a tape recorder or use your phone to record lectures. Put the tape recorder closer to your teacher. I have a hard time listening in my class of 200 people. Luckily, my professor records the lectures from the computer at the front of the room where he stands. I just watch them online now. It's awesome. I hope that works for you!

Angelic said:

I have just been diagnosed with a Similar diagnosis. Can anyone Tell me how to get over this Problem? I thought i was going deaf! That was a wierd twist!

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Sadly I can't help, but have you had a full discussion with your doctor? That would be where I would start asking for advice.

DLsGirlfriend said:

I don't have that, but! Dogboy, fun fact, that is a function of the thalamus, in the diencephalon of the brain. Your thalamus "filters out" the background noise and allows you to focus on one person talking in a crowded room. (Sorry. I just got excited. I had an exam on that this morning.)

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Ooh, ooh! (*Raises hand, eagerly*). Isn't that called "dichotic listening", miss?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichotic_listening
http://opl.apa.org/Experiments/About/AboutDichoticListening.aspx

:tongueout:

Hope your exam went well... I got my fingers crossed for ya!

My hearing is weird, it's like it's farsighted. While I might not be able to properly process someone talking to me up close in a crowded room, if you say my name from a distance in the same room, I totally heard that.

Omg the Same Goes for me

Isn't it the most annoying thing? I hate asking people over and over to repeat themselves, so sometimes I just nod my head and go with the flow.

I always hope that I'm not nodding my head and saying "uh huh" to the wrong things.

I got away with not Paying the Full amount for the Bus because of it so i guess it has its perks

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I just say i am hard of hearing

I've had to say that in the past, although I always feel weird about saying it since I really can hear well... but maybe it really is accurate even if it's more of a processing issue.

I don't really think there is a way to "get over" auditory processing disorder, caitianx has noted, it is a common comorbid for people with autism.

Above all, try to be kind to your sense. If you are feeling anxious in a situation for no apparent reason ask yourself if perhaps it is the environment. If you find that you tend to get anxious in busy or loud environments then take precautions. You might try to avoid them, but this can be limiting. Ear plugs or noise canceling headphones are often better options. Many people report that listening to music while in public helps them to drown out the extraneous noise. If you are feeling overwhelmed it's also okay to find a quiet place escape the din until you can regroup.

For classes you might want to try setting up a personal pre amp. Basically the instructor could wear a microphone which feeds through a system into a personal set of headphones. I have seen simmilar setups for classes with ADHD students, only they used speakers instead. I'm not sure if your professors would agree to this, but you might be able to get some support from student resources since you do have a diagnosis of auditory processing disorder.

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I don't really think there is a way to "get over" auditory processing disorder, but there are strategies to cope. AS caitianx has noted, it is a common comorbid for people with autism.

Above all, try to be kind to your sense. If you are feeling anxious in a situation for no apparent reason ask yourself if perhaps it is the environment. If you find that you tend to get anxious in busy or loud environments then take precautions. You might try to avoid them, but this can be limiting. Ear plugs or noise canceling headphones are often better options. Many people report that listening to music while in public helps them to drown out the extraneous noise. If you are feeling overwhelmed it's also okay to find a quiet place escape the din until you can regroup.

In social situations maybe try limiting the number of people you get together with. Too much cross talk can be confusing, and if you are like me, can even cause you to shut down. Try to arrange gatherings in calm environments without too much background noise or large crowd.

For classes you might want to try setting up a personal pre amp. Basically the instructor could wear a microphone which feeds through a system into a personal set of headphones. I have seen simmilar setups for classes with ADHD students, only they used speakers instead. I'm not sure if your professors would agree to this, but you might be able to get some support from student resources since you do have a diagnosis of auditory processing disorder.

I don't know if you've ever used a mixing board, but it's an electronic device used to process many audio inputs. Put simply, if you have a band, all the microphones get plugged into the board as well as the instruments. Then the sound guy adjusts all the levels, loud, soft, medium so that the audience hears the balanced sounds between the instruments and the vocals.

Click to expand...

Yes, I have used a mixing board, and I have used the exact same analogy. While my own filters don't work as well as some people's I know they are at least working to some extent most of the time because I have now experienced what it is like when they don't.

This past year I experienced a few months of serious auditory and visual sensitivity, and it was terrible.

To give you an idea of what it was like, immagine that a scene in your life is actually part of a movie. Let's say that you are in a caffee having a conversation with your best friend. Because this is a movie (with a fairly good budget I might add) every sound is carefully recorded individually. Obviously you have people with boom mikes recording your conversation, but if those were the only sounds the audience heard it would be eerily quiet and unrealistic. This is a busy caffee, so there are going to be other people having conversations as well, dishes clattering, cash registers beeping, the keen whine of electric blenders, some white noise from the air conditioning, ext. All of these sounds are lovingly recorded to create a realistic soundscape.

Of course, if you threw all of these sounds together haphazardly it would be an unintelligable mess. That is where the mixing board comes in. The conversation is important, so obviously that gets mixed louder than the other sounds, meanwhile everything else gets mixed way lower. Some sounds might get dropped entirely. I the sound of that guy typing on his laptope integral to the scene? Probably not. The end result is that the conversation is clear as a bell, but the background noise is almost subliminal.

Now immagine somebody had taken this mixing board, turned off all the mute buttons, and cranked every fader to full blast. Not only can you hear the person across from you, but the one at the next table, and the one next to that, at virtually the same volume. The blender, the AC, the guy on his laptop, no longer background noise but an in-your-face cacophony which you must penatrate in order to decern what your friend is saying to you. Your brain is straining to sort through all of this information, and before you know it you are too exhausted to go on. You need a break. If you were a movie goer watching this film you would probably just walk out of the theatre or turn it off.

That is auditory processing disorder at its worst, discounting the physical pain.

LittleLettuce said:

I've had to say that in the past, although I always feel weird about saying it since I really can hear well... but maybe it really is accurate even if it's more of a processing issue.

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I know my anxiety makes the problem a hundred times worse. When I get anxious, my ability to focus on one person speaking, and my ability to decode sounds into words really tails off.

I find it hard to use the phone sometimes as I can't lipread and listen to a tiny fraction of the bandwidth of someone's voice makes it even harder to work out what they're saying.

tiny said:

I know my anxiety makes the problem a hundred times worse. When I get anxious, my ability to focus on one person speaking, and my ability to decode sounds into words really tails off.

I find it hard to use the phone sometimes as I can't lipread and listen to a tiny fraction of the bandwidth of someone's voice makes it even harder to work out what they're saying.

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Seriously, the phone can be the worst, especially if people have a bunch of noise in the background or can't talk at a normal volume.

It also doesn't help in face to face conversations that I can't lipread, but yeah, anxiety doesn't help either.

I have trouble using the telephone.
Backround noise makes listening to the telephone audio difficult.
I can tell you, that over the telephone, I can not tell the difference between my cousins LW and JW who live on Prince Edward Island in Canada.
But, last time I was up there in 2001, when face-to-face with them, I could tell their voice patterns apart.