[cantcopy]

When ambient sounds are too loud, I can’t understand what’s being said. While I can see that people around me are communicating easily. In the same way, lyrics are very hard for me to get.

Someday this research might people with the same issues.

[enobrev]

I started to have the same issue about 10 years ago. Suddenly bars and crowded places became far less enjoyable for me because I had such a hard time keeping up with conversations. I had my hearing checked and while it wasn't perfect, it was just normal for my age.

I remember reading that it had to do with how I processed language and sounds, and that there was no real cure yet as a few years ago.

The last couple years has made it far less of a problem but as we start to return to normal (eventually) I'd love to figure it out. I tend to feel bad sitting through a conversation where I'm only hearing about a third of what others are saying.

[JoeyJoJoJr]

Last year I became aware of how much difficulty I have processing speech. I think this is something I have always had. I could never understand lyrics in music, have trouble following discussions in meetings, and struggle understanding people with accents. I wonder if I have learned to just respond instinctively to “vibes” instead of actually properly processing the content of what is being said.

I suspect it is largely anxiety related. I’ve had moments where lyrics are crystal clear, after smoking weed, so I don’t think it is a hearing thing.

[davidandgoliath]

Not a doctor, but you can take audio/visual processing tests to get a better idea of what's going on. I took one during a barrage of ADHD related tests, it was interesting to say the least.

It could very much have an anxiety or ADHD element to it.

[enobrev]

I feel like I'd been ok, previously. I've spent a lot of time in loud places for most of my life. It's definitely possible that I simply didn't recognize the issue.

Interesting point about music. I'm terrible at remembering the words to songs, but just fine with melody and rhythm.

[limograf]

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/auditory-processing-disorder/

Get a full audiogram and also ask them to look for cookie bite hearing loss. It's fixable.

[pjc50]

> It's fixable.

Link says:

>> There is no cure for APD but there are things that can help.

I'm fairly sure I have this on top of regular hearing impairment. I've actually been through the NHS process and seen the graph that shows dramatic rolloff in my hearing above about 6kHz, and have a pair of NHS hearing aids.

I've not worn them since the start of the pandemic because I've not been in a crowded space with lots of people talking.

(Interestingly, because videoconferencing technology copes badly with multiple speakers and very rarely has proper working spatial audio, suddenly people with normal hearing can't disambiguate speakers either and everyone ends up rigidly taking turns)

[limograf]

Cookie bite hearing loss is more or less fixable, not CAPD. If you have both (which OP sounded like they did, or at least sounded like it was worth investigating) then you can fix it up a lot with targeted open dome hearing aids.

[8bitsrule]

I recall as a kid that I might hear a pop song on the radio for years without even -noticing- the lyrics (or the artist for that matter). It seems that, while I hear it all, what I'm listening to - is what I'm most attracted to. (I usually did listen to the funny lyrics of novelty singles - often backed by pretty silly music.)

I suspect that, for most of us, unless we get consciously involved, what we're most attracted to is the most pleasing or exciting or interesting 'channel'. (In the case of pop music, maybe we're more enchanted by the singer - or the 'message' - and the music be damned.)

In much non-vocal, 'purely' orchestral music, the melody is the attention getter, and all the other notes might be treated as 'just the support group'. Some conductors work hard to bring out the best parts of that support. (A lot of weaker melodies are strongly dependent on how they're harmonized.)