Undiagnosed Auditory Processing Disorder

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I found out I might have APD. I mean I know I do because for one, I have poor listening skills. I remember being in school and having the hardest time doing schoolwork because distractions would drive me up the wall. I tend to hear things I don't want to hear, like the noises that bother me more than what needs to be heard... and I can never hear it. I've always had a problem with processing information and often times I can remember it but other times I feel like when more than one thing is said, I get confused and cover my head.

The other things I notice is if I read something out loud, I choke on those words and then I lose my place. I can read very well but when reading out loud that's where I have a problem. I have had lots of ear infections as a child too... some of which were so bad I was lukcy I survived through their pain.

I know I have a lot of trouble with filtering out background noise also. It can be a challenge when there is more things going at once and my mom or dad is talking to me... my eyes wander away and I end up getting frustrated and spazzing out by covering my ears. I also prefer written expression over verbal speech.

I didn't start talking until I was four and even after, my dad told me I still had problems with learning speech... and being able to communicate also. I took speech for years until 8th grade and I still have a hard time expressing myself. My vocabulary is very limited when I speak but when I write, it just comes out in a different way.

Currently it is under an undiagnosis, but I am very sure that I have it because it makes a lot of sense to me. I've always failed my hearing tests because I couldn't hear the beeps. They would make me repeat them and listen closer, and I STILL couldn't hear them... and each time I had failed. I'll be getting a follow-up with my psychiatrist and hopefully even demonstrate this.

I know I still have Asperger Syndrome because of the sensory issues and the routine; plus the limited social interaction and lack of social skills. My learning disability could very well be part of APD and maybe even my ADHD as well... because it HAS been a while since I was evaulated for ADHD and a learning disability... since second grade.

(Sorry I copied from my blog but I want a second opinion)

Someone here told me I might have APD and looking it up I found that I fit all of the symptoms. But do you think its possible I could have this?

I have problems with audio processing, specifically with speech, but I have not realised a need to be diagnosed. For me, if there is another conversation occuring as somebody speaks to me, or there is an abrupt coincidental sound, then I usually have difficulty processing what is said.

I had a beep test, which I did not have any problem with.

I have attended nightclubs, and at these places I see peoples mouths moving as they hold conversations, but when I am addressed I might as well be deaf.

It is frustrating sometimes when a question is asked of me, and a noise coincides. I do not 'hear' what they say, while they seem to expect me to. So, I ask for the person to repeat the question. If there is another coincidental noise I have to ask to repeat again. Sometimes people lose their patience and give up, or ask if I am trying to wind them up.

This is what I identify as Audio Processing Disorder. Does that 'ring any bells' with you?

I have it. It's one of several satellites orbiting the planet that is my Asperger's. Someone can speak right to my face and I can be trying to focus on what they're saying, and portions of it will be totally lost on me. It's also why I always watch DVDs with the subtitles turned on, despite my sensitive hearing.

Wow, same here... O.o My mom always tells me to turn down my TV... and for her, that's me not hearing my TV at all. So I always have have the subtitles to know what they are saying.

I have CAPD - with a professional diagnosis - and it sounds like you probably have it, although you will need to be tested to be sure.

It's not a question of being able to hear quiet sounds - most people with CAPD test normal to even a little better than average in hearing acuity - it's a question of making words out of what you hear. The problem is in the software, not the hardware, which is why normal hearing tests are worthless and a hearing aid won't help.

For me, if there is any competing noise, I can hear the sound of your voice just fine but can't make words out of it. For me to understand you, your voice has to be the ONLY voice, as well as the loudest sound in the immediate vicinity.

That's why people with CAPD need the TV at a higher volume - it's not to be able to hear the sound, it's to raise the volume of the dialog above all the background noise and be able to understand what is said.

If any of that sounds familiar then you have probably guessed correctly that you have CAPD.

You need to see an audiologist who specializes in CAPD and other brain-related auditory disorders and who has the equipment to do the testing properly. Google "CAPD testing" to find someone suitable.

Yeah, I know... my mom is always coming in and telling me I need to turn down my TV. I turn it down a little and she still comes into my room again telling me to turn it down when I already have. I also have a hard time hearing the TV if she is on the phone talking because I can hear her and not be able to hear my TV.

I always have my fan going on high because my room is hot most of the time so that's why the TV goes up. Because if the fan is on I don't hear the TV very well...

I also have troubling reading out loud, if that counts. I can read very well if I am reading to myself but if you told me to read something out loud then I would choke on the words, stutter on them and even mess up so bad that I sit there with an dumb embarrassed look on my face without even knowing where or when I was and how to start again.

I mean my reading and spelling are great but if I was asked to read or spelling something out loud... forget it. I always have a hard time being able to do those things out loud because its like my brain can't process the ability to tell someone else how to spell somehting or also how to read somehting out loud.

Also, I do have trouble with words. I didn't start talking until four and even after I had a hard time with learning words and communication. I do say words with TH and f sounds with my lips and not my teeth and lip... so its like to another person I am saying, "Baf" not "Bath".

Holy, that fits me to a tee. I had a couple lunch interviews (I seemed to actually do well, surprisingly) in crowded restaurants in the past few weeks, and they were nearly impossible for me. I've learned to merely smile and nod when someone is talking to me, and hopefully I don't miss a question.

Belatedly, thank you for pointing this out. I've been having CAPD-type issues for a long time, and this has been one of my issues for a long time, among others. I hate watching TV/movies without subtitles.

Does it 'come and go' at all for you? Sometimes I have no problem watching TV without subtitles, and sometimes I can't comprehend it at all. I definitely have to singularly focus on what I'm listening to or I get 'in one ear and out the other'.

Unless you feel you really need to prove that you have this, then I would say a diagnosis really is unnecessary.

I also have this. My entire life I could always hear things no one else could, yet at the same time I would constantly be repeating "what?" when I talked with people. I also can never understand what people are saying in songs.

Also, when I was younger, I used to always hear voices in the 'background' even though there were no people around, particularly at night time. But the words they spoke were never tangible, it would just be unintelligible voices. It would kind of weird me out, but a few years ago a specifically read that that was a major symptom of CAPD. Effectively, I was hearing incredibly small sounds, so much that though my ears could hear it, but my brain could not process it correctly. So the brain translates it into sounds it recognizes more and is familiar with. This often makes it sound like music, the tv, and people talking.

Yes. Sometimes it's just pure gibberish and sometimes I can hold onto what I'm hearing. Either way it's just so much easier to have subtitles on.

I think its quite common with or even part of ADHD. I have trouble at times taking things in and processing stuff if its just listening, I'm much better with visuals and actually doing stuff.