Tag: hearing-loss

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When Words Go Whoosh:

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The Hilarious Hiccups of Auditory Processing

Hey, fellow brain-glitch aficionados! Ever find yourself nodding along in a conversation, when—BAM!—your brain decides to take an impromptu vacation? Welcome to the wild world of auditory processing mishaps!

What’s Happening Up There?
Picture your brain as a super-slick computer. It normally takes in sound, converts it to signals, and serves up meaning faster than you can say “What?” But sometimes, it’s like trying to untangle last year’s Christmas lights: messy and confusing.

The Science-y Bit (Don’t Worry, It’s Fun)
This little brain hiccup is known as Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). It’s when your brain’s sound system decides to prank you. One minute you’re fine, and the next, you’re wondering if everyone around you started speaking Klingon. This little brain hiccup is known as Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). When you have APD, your brain struggles to process the sounds it hears correctly. It’s like if you were listening to music and the song kept skipping, leaving you wondering what just happened.

The brain processes sound in a specific order: first, the ear detects sound waves, then sends electrical signals to the brain. The auditory cortex takes those signals and decodes them into speech and meaning. Simple, right? But when there’s a glitch in that system, you might hear everything perfectly fine, but your brain just can’t put it together the way it’s supposed to. I know for me, it just takes my brain a little extra time to make the words known to my brain. Like my husband can talk, and I swear to you it sounds like Charlie Brown’s adults ‘wha whaaa wha waa wha’ lol, so I will ask for repeats or clarifications, then as he is talking, I understand what they said a minute ago and I have a comment about it. I have a bad habit of interrupting people, I am trying to stop, but I KNOW if I keep my comment to myself theres a 95% chance I will forget (and if I do I’m sorry and that will make me even MORE mad at my misfiring brain, its a perpetual state of loathing)

Fun Fact: Studies suggest that around 5% of children have some form of APD, and it often goes undiagnosed, leaving kids (and adults) in a perpetual state of “Huh?”

Signs You’re Having an Auditory Adventure:

  • Words suddenly sound like gibberish. (Is this what babies feel like all the time?)
  • You catch yourself saying “Huh?” more than a confused owl.
  • You’re nodding and smiling, hoping no one realizes you’re lost in auditory space.

The Plot Twist: When You’re the One Speaking
Irony strikes! Sometimes, your own words decide to play hide and seek in your brain. It’s like your thoughts are sprinting while your mouth is stuck in quicksand. So embarrassing and happens at least once per conversation

Why Does This Happen?


Fatigue: When you’re running low on energy, your brain can’t work at full capacity. Studies have shown that fatigue can slow down the brain’s ability to process auditory information. It can slow down the brains ability to process any information actually. Essentially, your brain starts skipping steps in its usual routine—like a tired computer processing instructions slower than usual. According to research, lack of sleep (or chronic sleep deprivation) can decrease the brain’s ability to filter out irrelevant sounds, leading to auditory processing issues.


Stress: Ever notice how hard it is to concentrate when you’re stressed? Well, turns out your brain is sort of like a nervous multitasker. When you’re under stress, your brain’s focus shifts to dealing with the stressor (like an impending deadline or an important meeting) and less on the conversation happening around you. Research from the American Psychological Association has found that chronic stress can affect how the brain processes auditory stimuli by overloading the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for attention and processing language.


Sensory Overload: Your brain is constantly bombarded with sensory information—sounds, sights, smells, you name it. When too much sensory input floods in at once, your brain can have a “processing jam.” Think of it like trying to run too many apps at once on your phone. Research has shown that sensory overload, especially in noisy environments, can make it harder for your brain to filter and focus on the important sounds (like someone speaking to you), causing a breakdown in auditory processing. Studies also show that people with APD are more sensitive to background noise, which exacerbates this issue.

Coping Strategies (or “How to Pretend You’re Still on Earth”)

  • The classic “Could you repeat that?” (Works 60% of the time.)
  • Blame it on a sudden case of daydreaming (who doesn’t love a good daydreamer?)
  • Master the art of the vague response: “Wow, that’s really something!” Practice the smile and nod.

Remember, you’re not alone in this auditory obstacle course. So next time your brain takes an unscheduled break, just smile and laugh—it’s too short not to!

Take care, stay quirky, and make sure to be good to each other! Don’t forget to spread the kindness and love, to yourselves and each other! (George is around btw he says hi. I was going to post a picture of George and Georgina they are always playing with their kids in my yard, I’ll get one soon!)

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Auditory Processing Issues, AKA ‘wait… what?’

JoLeave a comment

Part of coming back from the abyss that has been so difficult for me is this new thing, that I’m told is common after head injuries, strokes, blood loss, high fever, basically a LOT, is something called Auditory Processing difficulties, and I’ve since learned thats also something ADHD-ers and Autism sufferers sometimes experience it as well. I will say for me, this mainly presents as I can look at you talking and forget what you are saying before you are even done saying it. Now a lot of times, I’ll ask a question to be 100% clear that I understood it, and you will get irritated thinking I wasnt paying attention, but its as if its just on a delay, my brain IS listening and it knows something important is being said, it just takes a minute to translate it to English from Galifreyan (Dr Who reference for nerds like me but if you are unfamiliar substitute any alien language). Its annoying to me just as much as it is to the person I am talking to, maybe more so for me because I know I’m not dumb so why do I need to be talked to like I’m 12 for me to process it?

So what are Auditory Processing difficulties? Auditory processing difficulties are like having trouble with how your brain understands and makes sense of the things you hear, even though your ears work fine. It’s sort of like trying to listen to someone talk when there’s a lot of background noise – it can be hard to pick out the words and understand what’s being said. People with auditory processing issues might struggle to follow conversations, remember spoken instructions, or tell the difference between similar sounds. These difficulties can make it challenging to learn, communicate, and engage in everyday activities that involve listening.

Imagine you’re in a noisy restaurant, and your friend is telling you a story. While you can hear their voice just fine, the background noise makes it incredibly challenging to follow the narrative. You keep missing crucial details or misinterpreting what they’re saying, even though you’re trying your best to focus. This is similar to the experience of someone with AP issues, where filtering out background noise and isolating the important sounds is a constant struggle.

Another example could be trying to follow a set of verbal instructions. Let’s say someone tells you, “First, take the blue folder from the cabinet, then make three copies of the document inside, and finally, staple them together.” For someone with AP issues, the order of these steps might get jumbled in their brain, leading them to make copies first, then retrieve the folder, and potentially forget the stapling part altogether.

Auditory memory is also affected in AP issues, making it challenging to remember things that were said, even just moments ago. This can be particularly problematic in classroom settings, where a student with AP issues might struggle to recall the teacher’s instructions or retain information from lectures or discussions.

In some cases, AP issues can also impact language development and comprehension. A child with problems with AP might have trouble learning nursery rhymes, songs, or even their own name, as the sounds and syllables get jumbled in their brain. This can lead to delays in speech and language acquisition, as well as difficulties with reading and writing later on.

It’s important to note that we are not talking about a hearing impairment and its important to get everything checked out when you start to notice these issues as they CAN be indicative of other more serious problem, or a neurological condition that affects how the brain processes and interprets auditory information. While there is no cure for AP issues, early intervention and specialized therapies can help individuals develop strategies to manage their symptoms and improve their auditory processing abilities.

There are some tips that can help this be more manageable:
1. Minimize background noise and improve acoustics
2. Use visual aids and cues  NOTES ARE MY BEST FRIENDS, I am never without a pen.
3. Use a recorder- even a notes app on your phone will work.
4. Always check that you are understanding and being understood. Its easiest to ask and repeat it to yourself
5. Know your weaknesses, if this is one of them, being upfront with save everyone headaches when you find something that works for everyone involved.

Be patient and supportive guys, believe me, most of the time these people are more frustrated with themselves than you are. You never know, this is incredibly hard to deal with if someone is struggling with it and then aware that everyone is getting irritated at the clarifying questions, the person won’t ask the questions, shit will get done wrong, and everyone suffers. Til next time gang, take care of yourself, and each other!