www.hearingdoctors.com/ Do you find yourself struggling to hear in noise? Do you have difficulty understanding sounds, including spoken words? Learn about auditory processing disorders and see what can be done to help.
I'm 42 and a medical professional. As a child I was classified as neurological impaired by the state. Later diagnosed as having auditory processing disorder. My dad was a teacher and was able to explain to my teachers about the disorder. Early years they alway sat me in the the front of the class. Not sure if that helped or not. It always made me feel different then the other kids. I got a chip on my shoulder that I was not good enough. That I had to work harder then everyone else just to get good grades. I made it through high school. But college is where the disorder hit me very very hard. At first it was a factor to my difficulties. College was different professors talk faster and throw slides one after the other in rapid succession. I crashed and burned and felt helpless. I then found my solution. I wasn't going to fail or drop a class again because I felt I couldn't do it. My solution was the good old fashion tape recorder. I didn't care if a professor said not to tape...I did it anyway. Took notes in class then redid them listening to the tape. My road was harder but it also made me who I am.
Thank you, Mike for sharing your story. So many people struggle and don't know why. Sounds like you made great decisions for yourself, I hope viewers also can find solutions that work for them. Best to you!
I love reading comments like these. I haven’t really met many people with the same issue. It’s hard to really explain to others what it is and what it’s like but I agree with you on that, I wouldn’t want to change this about myself either. I’ve went through constant hurdles trying to prove to myself that I was capable enough. What it really did was it made me that much more resilient to life challenges. My secret tip was creating an echo in your head when people are talking to you. It’s that much harder when you lose focus.. so this was my trick to just neutralize my issue. It’s like dyslexia but with sound processing haha best way to explain it.
I started talking at a late age, got held back in grade 1 due to comprehension issues, while attended special ed classes to help me pronouce "th" and "r" sounds. I also remembering the dreaded "keep looking at my eyes!", from the teacher. Surprisingly I was never diagnosed with anything then. Thinking back, I couldn't follow instructions in school but somehow still got B's/C's. Although I was failing English at one point and had a parent/teacher meeting. Good old mom got me an English tutor. As I started working in highschool, my coworkers hated me since I was bad at learning/following instructions. But once I got the hang of things, new coworkers loved me because I was a great trainer. As I first entered the medical field, my colleagues told me to get my hearing tested as I always got them to repeat themselves. The audiologist said I had "superhero" hearing. So I asked him why do I have trouble hearing people. He suggested it could be a processing issue, but didn't go further into it. I guess he figured I was successful enough to be in the medical field to not further diagnose me? I'm just glad I didn't get diagnosed as a child. Or else I think I would've felt hopeless. But yes, the amazing recorder and extra effort has brought me to where I am now
I am so glad that APD is becoming more widely understood. Years ago I had an audiologist suggest I go see a psychiatrist because he couldn't find anything wrong after testing my hearing. He told me he had never had a patient describe similar symptoms. I found that hard to believe because in my own circle of friends, there were others who also struggled. Ironic that years later my daughter became a Doctor of Audiology. 😊
I was diagnosed with apd in kindergarten . As I went throughout elementary school my teachers called me a puzzle because I would be really strong in areas such as writing yet math seemed impossible for me to grasp. Socially, I wasn’t mature for my age, and when I saw my peers start to grow up I always felt like I could never catch up with them. I wasn’t a self advocate for myself and grew to be embarrassed of myself. I got help with apd through a program called arrowsmith program and I’ve been really good since. I’m in college now and I’m able to keep up with my peers, make friends, and be the advocate I need for myself. It’s not gone completely (I still have extremely sensitive ears, etc) but I am really thriving these days
Sam, it is great to hear of your accomplishments with therapy, in school, with friends, and your ability to advocate for yourself. APD is a tough disorder because no two people are exactly alike when diagnosed. Your teachers were right to be puzzled. Thank you for sharing your journey.
Finally someone who talked about APD in adults! I feel especially invisible, in a already popularly unknown disability because I developed APD at 28 after having vitamin B12 deficiency and hearing loss. My audiometry It's not ghat bad, I wear hearing aids, but unlike other people with hearing loss like mine, it's more like if I were deaf: I need lip reading, subtitles, text transcription pretty much all the time. APD It's a serious thing and can be extremely limiting. It impacted my life so much... and to make it worse, it:s not recognized as a disability in my country.
I definitely had this. I had untreated ear infections,that didn't go away until my eardrum busted. I heard the pop,and finally the pain was gone. My ears drained all the time,and smelled horrible. My parents didn't have money or insurance for Dr. I seriously had delayed hearing. My father would say I answered him 15 minutes after he had asked me a question. Lol A few times he said I forgot what I even asked you. I would tell him what he asked me,and would say, I asked you that 15 minutes ago. That would explain why it seemed like the teacher handed me a worksheet and collected it back without me even having a chance to get my name on the paper. My mother was told I was days in class but I don't remember thinking of anything else. I had missing time. My body may have been there but my mind was completely blank. I remember teachers putting on headphones and having me do workbooks. I felt so stupid at school. Also I would know a math problem but for some ungodly reason I would write a different answer. After thr teacher would mark them wrong and give me back my paper with red checks all over it ,I would look at the problem on the paper and think I know the answer ,why did I put that answer.
Oh dear gods, so very this. At first i got annoyed, then i had a really good laugh about it. And then I watched the video again, to makes sure i hadn't missed anything.
I was diagnosed as an adult with this. I also cannot process auditory or speech based information only. I need to use visual aids of some sort. I take notes
My APD is severe, I can't understand music at all, unless I have auditory memory of that song (I developed APD as an adult). New songs to me sound like several songs are playing at the same time: A loud imdistinct noise. As for whispering.... Well, I need to lip read all the time. It doesn't matter if the person shouts at me, I won't understand them, just hear their voice without lip reading.
My APD is severe, I can't understand music at all, unless I have auditory memory of that song (I developed APD as an adult). New songs to me sound like several songs are playing at the same time: A loud imdistinct noise. As for whispering.... Well, I need to lip read all the time. It doesn't matter if the person shouts at me, I won't understand them, just hear their voice without lip reading.
I may have had a concussion as a toddler. My hearing has always been normal. I want to understand it. I took a lengthy battery of tests when I was in my 30s as a grad student
As a person with APD, this has been extremely frustrating experience. It crushes one’s confidence and ability to stay positive. I also have tinnitus which makes differentiating speech very difficult.
There are some excellent therapies available for APD, have you explored anything? And I do understand that tinnitus can compound the problem. Please check out the American Tinnitus Association for some helpful information.
There is no conclusive evidence that cholesterol medicine causes memory loss. However, some studies have suggested that statins and other cholesterol drugs may impair memory and other mental processes by lowering brain levels of cholesterol. More research is needed to determine the exact relationship between cholesterol medicine and memory loss. Memory is important when evaluating Auditory Processing Disorders.
