Hard of Hearing
I suffer from the second kind mentioned here. I felt a need to make this because even people I’ve known for years and who knows about my condition still get angry at me when I can’t hear what they say in noisy areas.
Comic
27th November 2017
Community made Fan Art:
7 years ago #9710320
My boyfriend always says I need my ears checked because I'm always asking what he says, but I wonder if it's this! Actually, my mom has hearing aids because she has a type of hearing loss that, as I understand it, particularly affects the frequency of human speech. The doctor told her it is mostly found in Scandinavians, which makes sense because she is 1/4 Swedish. Anyone else heard of this type? I tried to find it online but couldn't.
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My boyfriend always says I need my ears checked because I'm always asking what he says, but I wonder if it's this! Actually, my mom has hearing aids because she has a type of hearing loss that, as I understand it, particularly affects the frequency of human speech. The doctor told her it is mostly found in Scandinavians, which makes sense because she is 1/4 Swedish. Anyone else heard of this type? I tried to find it online but couldn't.
7 years ago #9704186
I'll throw my 3 cents to "when you're speaking to". Not exactly about hearing problem but concentration. If you want to talk to someone with ADD/ADHD they're busy at the moment with anything at hand (conversation, activity, whatever), make sure they actually pay attention to you before you start talking. And I mean MAKE SURE of it. Wait a moment before actually talking to be certain the attention is actually fixed on you, if you're on good terms with the other person, maybe you can touch their shoulder. Just do something to be sure. Because we can tell you "yeah, go on.." without registering you or what we just said at all. It's a hyperfocus state when a brain is so fixed on one thing, that all the others go by practically unnoticed. You can tell me the thing that is very important to you, and go on with your life, and I'll be a blank state like nothing ever happened. Being angry at me afterwards won't change things for the next time. So please understand, and just make sure the other person is really listening to you
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I'll throw my 3 cents to "when you're speaking to". Not exactly about hearing problem but concentration. If you want to talk to someone with ADD/ADHD they're busy at the moment with anything at hand (conversation, activity, whatever), make sure they actually pay attention to you before you start talking. And I mean MAKE SURE of it. Wait a moment before actually talking to be certain the attention is actually fixed on you, if you're on good terms with the other person, maybe you can touch their shoulder. Just do something to be sure. Because we can tell you "yeah, go on.." without registering you or what we just said at all. It's a hyperfocus state when a brain is so fixed on one thing, that all the others go by practically unnoticed. You can tell me the thing that is very important to you, and go on with your life, and I'll be a blank state like nothing ever happened. Being angry at me afterwards won't change things for the next time. So please understand, and just make sure the other person is really listening to you
4 years ago #9839504
I have the second type, also called Auditory Processing Disorder. I often lip-read to understand what's happening.
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I have the second type, also called Auditory Processing Disorder. I often lip-read to understand what's happening.
6 years ago #9786664
As someone with a sister and father who are hard of hearing and as a person who is very soft spoken (my natural tone of voice is very soft and what I'd say is bordering a whisper) I understand what its like to change the way I communicate with them to account for the lack of hearing to each. With my sister, I have to speak at a louder volume, possibly eliminating any background noise for her. My father, on the other hand, I often have to eliminate background noise and slow down and enunciate my speech to have him completely understand me.
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As someone with a sister and father who are hard of hearing and as a person who is very soft spoken (my natural tone of voice is very soft and what I'd say is bordering a whisper) I understand what its like to change the way I communicate with them to account for the lack of hearing to each. With my sister, I have to speak at a louder volume, possibly eliminating any background noise for her. My father, on the other hand, I often have to eliminate background noise and slow down and enunciate my speech to have him completely understand me.
7 years ago #9771092
Yes.. It's really hard to hear someone in the noisy areas.. Sometimes i just nod my head and smile to the person who talk to me in the crowd
even i can't hear what they said.. i'm still don't know why i did that☺☺☺
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Yes.. It's really hard to hear someone in the noisy areas.. Sometimes i just nod my head and smile to the person who talk to me in the crowd
even i can't hear what they said.. i'm still don't know why i did that☺☺☺
7 years ago #9731318
I have Tinnitius and this is exactly what I have to go through.
Basically I constantly hear a high pitched whine like a really old TV starting up or that really annoying high pitched noise in dying headphones. As long as it is quiet I can hear fine but if there's a lot of talking or other noise it all goes blurry and I have to desperately lip-read.
I would get into a lot of peer pressure fights with friends trying to drag me out drinking with them even though I don't drink and then keep asking if I was feeling well when I sat mutely in the corner unable to hear a word.
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I have Tinnitius and this is exactly what I have to go through.
Basically I constantly hear a high pitched whine like a really old TV starting up or that really annoying high pitched noise in dying headphones. As long as it is quiet I can hear fine but if there's a lot of talking or other noise it all goes blurry and I have to desperately lip-read.
I would get into a lot of peer pressure fights with friends trying to drag me out drinking with them even though I don't drink and then keep asking if I was feeling well when I sat mutely in the corner unable to hear a word.
7 years ago #9727217
There are so many ways people can have difficulty hearing. Hearing loss can range from losing different frequencies (my dad worked in a machine shop and stopped being able to hear high frequency sounds), to just gradual loss of all frequencies in one or both ears.
Then there's the type of hearing issues that have to do with processing, not capability. ADHD types tend to have difficulty changing focus. And they and those who are autistic can often have a difficult time processing language if there are too many conversations going at once; they can hear and probably even repeat the words, but they don't have any meaning. Then there's the problem mentioned, here, where background noise can turn pretty much everything into white noise, even if each one individually could be heard just fine.
Meanwhile, tinnitus is another issue entirely that can range from a constant ringing that doesn't cause any other issues, to a sound that can keep a sufferer from sleeping at night. Tinnitus isn't actually a sound, and those who have it and no other hearing issues can hear soft sounds as well as anyone while the ringing can still be heard, even in a very noisy environment.
I've got fairly strong tinnitus, myself, but am capable of just ignoring that it's there, thankfully. I also have the processing issue where too many conversations robs words of all meaning. I've found that the key to making people understand the issue is to be very blunt. If I tell them that there are too many conversations and I can't focus on them, they seem to get the issue. I never actually tell someone I can't hear them unless I actually need them to speak louder; better to tell them I can't understand them, and then let them know it's me, not them along with how to correct for the issue. Less frustrating for everybody that way.
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There are so many ways people can have difficulty hearing. Hearing loss can range from losing different frequencies (my dad worked in a machine shop and stopped being able to hear high frequency sounds), to just gradual loss of all frequencies in one or both ears.
Then there's the type of hearing issues that have to do with processing, not capability. ADHD types tend to have difficulty changing focus. And they and those who are autistic can often have a difficult time processing language if there are too many conversations going at once; they can hear and probably even repeat the words, but they don't have any meaning. Then there's the problem mentioned, here, where background noise can turn pretty much everything into white noise, even if each one individually could be heard just fine.
Meanwhile, tinnitus is another issue entirely that can range from a constant ringing that doesn't cause any other issues, to a sound that can keep a sufferer from sleeping at night. Tinnitus isn't actually a sound, and those who have it and no other hearing issues can hear soft sounds as well as anyone while the ringing can still be heard, even in a very noisy environment.
I've got fairly strong tinnitus, myself, but am capable of just ignoring that it's there, thankfully. I also have the processing issue where too many conversations robs words of all meaning. I've found that the key to making people understand the issue is to be very blunt. If I tell them that there are too many conversations and I can't focus on them, they seem to get the issue. I never actually tell someone I can't hear them unless I actually need them to speak louder; better to tell them I can't understand them, and then let them know it's me, not them along with how to correct for the issue. Less frustrating for everybody that way.
7 years ago #9719056
Oh my gawd, this explains why I passed the hearing test. I mostly rely on lip-reading for movies and for holding conversations in a crowd. I thought it was something like the specific frequencies of certain human voices were inaudible to me, and was SO confused when the hearing test said I'm fine.
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Oh my gawd, this explains why I passed the hearing test. I mostly rely on lip-reading for movies and for holding conversations in a crowd. I thought it was something like the specific frequencies of certain human voices were inaudible to me, and was SO confused when the hearing test said I'm fine.
7 years ago #9715047
I think I have a mild variant of this. If I'm in one conversation I can generally follow it even if it's noisy around, but it takes concentration. If there are several conversations around me, none of which I'm part of, it's hard to pick one because I'd have to sequentially concentrate on each to see which one suits me, which generally doesn't seem worth the effort. I generally get the impression most other people don't experience this same barrier.
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I think I have a mild variant of this. If I'm in one conversation I can generally follow it even if it's noisy around, but it takes concentration. If there are several conversations around me, none of which I'm part of, it's hard to pick one because I'd have to sequentially concentrate on each to see which one suits me, which generally doesn't seem worth the effort. I generally get the impression most other people don't experience this same barrier.
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I have the second one. I found out it's called Audio Processing Disorder. It is difficult to hear/process spoken language. I was relieved to find out it was really a thing and I was not alone in the world. I'm sorry you have it too.