On one hand, ok mom maybe you were right. Maybe I have selective hearing and can’t follow directions.

On the other hand, at least I didn’t vote for the fascist regime mom. So I would say I’m winning.

Do you have difficulties processing what people say despite having a functional chain of hearing organs?

Yes, but it presents as me not being able to hear. Especially if there are many noises happening at once. So I just say I have hearing problems because it’s not technically a lie?

I use that to explain why I use subtitles and why I need people to repeat themselves. What’s actually going on in my head is my processing is too slow. For example, I will ask someone to repeat themselves and maybe 50% of the time my brain will catch up before they start talking again. And then I get impatient because I don’t need them to repeat themselves anymore, but then I’m angry and forget what they are saying. It’s distressing, honestly.

Are you able to follow written instructions

Yes

to the shock of neurotypicals who may sort you into a lower ability bucket?

No, but probably because I was sure it was bad hearing for so long and presented it as such and I have little scripts. I carry a notebook around (which is totally appropriate for my workplace, so it’s not weird) and say something like, “I really want to make sure I understand what your asking and don’t forget, so let me write that down.” and maybe ask them to repeat it and ask clarifying questions through that process. It’s usually received as me being very interested in their request.

I’m in a position of power where I am generally doing people favors, so your milage may vary. Most people who don’t suck want you to be successful so waiting a sec for you to write it down is generally okay in my experience.

When I was a kid I would tell I was audibly dyslexic. I could hear what people said, my brain just wouldn’t process their words. And I wasn’t (still can’t) able to filter out background noises. Places like bars were always a nightmare.

Yes, this is a constant problem for me. I work in an environment that has a lot of loud intermittent background noise and I have to have a radio on me. If someone is talking to me while something loud happens or if others start talking on the radio I can’t process anything. I have to turn the radio down or off or wait til whatever loud thing is done to actually hear anyone speak.

It also seems like my brain gets stuck on a word it thinks it hears even if the context is out of whack.

For example, someone could say “my kids went to the park and played on the merry go round” but my brain seems to insist that it hears “my kids went to the park and played on the burial ground” despite making no sense in context. Like any other better fitting similar sounding word is out of the question. It’s so frustrating.

Auditory processing disorder really ratchets up your social life to hard mode.

AuDHD here but yeah I go deaf in noisy areas, its quite embarassing tbh as I can generally mask quite well but then I look like a moron in front of people in those sorts of situations.

I started to have this issue when loud environment won’t let me understand what someone is saying after I got self discovered. I don’t know why it changed like that, before I was working in bars and pubs with dozens of drunk people inside yelling and screaming and it was fine, I took orders and everything. But recently I was sitting in clinic corridor with bunch of people and one of them was doing small talk to me and I didnt understood anything they said cos I was waiting for echocardiogram result and focused on thinking about that. But with phone calls its same bad as before, I never liked phone calls and often don’t remember whats been told after phone call is finished. Secretary of my doctor called me and said to do one small thing before my doctor phone call appointment but I totally forgot when I was supposed to do that small thing, at same day or at the day of doctors appointment. It also depends how clearly someone speaks. My doctor speaks very clear and logical and repeats instructions two times in different way. And she doesn’t even know I’m autistic its just her professional style I think.