If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options
Hearing people talk in a loud environment
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I've been wondering about this for a while. As far as I know my hearing in general is fine - I guess it's suffered in the past from nightclubs, but I'm usually the first person to be able to hear a random, quiet sound (e.g. a TV buzzing or rain outside) so I don't think the sensitivity has gone. However, I have real problems picking out people's voices when the background noise is close to or greater than the loudness of the person speaking. If I'm in a noisy pub or cafeteria it becomes a nightmare to have a conversation without asking people to repeat themselves. It seems to be my ability to pick out voices rather than the loudness in general, as others are normally able to talk in these situations. Is this most likely a hearing problem or could it be something like this?
0
Comments
Because I generally have my MP3 player in, I don't think it helps much, but even when I take it out I find it hard to pick out the voice of the person next to me in a loud room.
I don't know what it is though sorry.. just thought I'd let you know you aren't alone
Xx
P.S. I listen to a load of loud music as well, and I know my dad gets this too and he has been a DJ for over 20 years... so I reckon it is to do with clubs etc.
It may be that users are finding it difficult to answer the question. The things that you are experiencing with your hearing could be a number of things - including APD or a hearing disorder. The only way to be sure is to ask a health professional. How would you feel about seeing your GP about this, or perhaps you could talk it through with someone at NHS Direct? (0845 4647).
Hopefully you can get to the bottom of this soon. Take care and keep posting.
It comes from the bruise-inducing, brilliant world of dyspraxia (in my case).
I think of it like this... Imagine the difference between looking at a 2D and a 3D picture. You can see depth in a 3D picture, it has dimension.
I kind of hear in 2D... That's the only way I can describe it. I work in the service industry and I often find that noisy customers really put me off...
On the flip side, I have very sensitive noise to sound. I really have issues with the noise of people eating, or tapping fingernails, or ticking clocks. This is really common with people who have dyspraxia, aspergers, ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions which make us think and react to the world differently than the main stream.
Sound Sensitivity Syndrome
Xx
Wow you've just described exactly the way that I would describe my hearing! I've never really understood it because I thought it was bad hearing and I had a hearing test and found that I was better than average, so just disregarded the hearing problems I have with daily life! People often get very frustrated with me for not being able to hear them and I don't like being in loud areas because it feels as though there is my head and my mind, and then there is another layer (the sound) of all this confusion and noise and I can't distinguish any of it! Yet when there is too little noise then I can feel the most irritation at just the sound of someone eating; it drives me crazy! There are some noises that just seem to make me feel tense in every bone of my body.
I'm 16 and have a part time job in a fish and chip shop, and when I'm speaking to customers I often have to repeat what I've heard several times and ask them to repeat what they have said, partly because I don't like making mistakes and also because I can't hear them, and just pressing the buttons on the till or hearing the steam from the fryers will seem to distract me away from what the person in front of me is saying! Although I don't worry about it too much, it does get to me as customers sometimes get frustrated when I can't hear them.
I also have problems with speaking. It is less so with people I know very well but it is still apparent. My words often come out in a jumble and I sometimes forget what I'd like to say and I can't speak at all and become completely stuck with how to say the words that I've got in my head. Sometimes I use the wrong words or have to say a word several times before I can pronounce it, or I miss out key words that are needed to form my sentences so that they end up being fragmented. However, this is not always. When I can speak, I am usually very articulate and strong. So I'm quite puzzled as to why there are other times that I struggle so much?
I'm also doing an A level in French and seem to have a lot of difficulty in speaking the language. I can sit down and write streams yet when someone asks me the same question, I can't say anything at all. My teachers don't seem to listen to me with this problem and say that I need to get over my 'nerves' and make sure that I revise well. But my nerves only seem to kick in when I'm actually aware that everyone is waiting for me to reply and nothing is coming out of my mouth.
When it comes to listening I also have a very hard time concentrating on what people are saying. I can forget very quickly what people have said and feel that I will think for very long about one sentence and then therefore miss a lot of other things that are being said.
I have no problems in reading and writing and I think this is probably one of the reasons that I am so inclined to join so many online forums; this one being a new one!
I'm aware that I've just written an EXTREMELY long post - sorry about that! I never really realised that this could be a problem and I've just learnt to deal with it but it would be nice to know if anyone has experienced or can relate to any of the same things!
Thanks for reading.
ps. but I don't have dyspraxia or any other conditions...that I'm aware of anyway!
errr i wouldnt reccomend anybody emailing you, you're a schoolboy right, no medical or professional qualifications...
Xx
And what exactly do you base your diagnoses on? Tbh i'd think if i went to my dr saying "well this is wrong with me, because thats what a school boy with no medical training told me" i'd be laughed out of his office
Do you ever get like a sound of noise rushing out your ears when loads of noise or a certain pitch of sound hits your ear? I get it all the time. Only in my left ear.
Lip-reading isn't a bad idea... I guess it would be harder to learn if you aren't deaf though, since you don't have the same amount of sensory deprivation they do.
After cleaning the wax out my ears it gets worse, letting the wax build up to a certain level makes it reduce to the point it barely ever happens. I don't know what it is.
I think I have the same thing you describe, about being unable to focus on a specific voice/sound when there's many.
And I have to ask people to repeat themselves in loud pubs myself all the time
Wikipedia of course.
i don't let that person know that i'm watching them because it's not fair also i do it to help other who need advice on a disorder what they have.
Click Here to read about dispraxia. I asked a friend of mine what problem they had and they said dispraxia so i watched how they acted differently to everyone else
also the official site for autism is www.nas.org.uk now this is where you get 100% true info about autism and aspergers syndrome. I have aspergers syndrome.
I make sure the info is true before passing it on to anyone else and i don't use the internet for making sure something is true.
.org domains are more likely to be true.
And you have described exactly how I hear. Although I have never thought the two were linked. When I am in a noisy environment I cannot hear anything going on at all; I get so confused and I just cannot hold a conversation. However, in a quiet environment I can hear the slightest noise from far away and also get so irritated by how noisy eaters my house mates are. I also have a hard time concentrating when people are speak, quite often I zone out and miss everything they are saying.
It is getting so bad that it is affecting my life and I don't know what to do anymore. I find it very difficult meeting people when I go out as I cannot hold a conversation, however get me in a quiet environment and I am fine. Because of this I am struggling to find a girl friend and just don't know what to do anymore.
How do other people live with this?