[voidUpdate]

I believe I have some kind of auditory processing issue because with some accents, it can be really hard for me to understand what someone is saying, when other people can understand them fine. It's gotten to the point where I avoid going to some shops in my town because I know the staff have quite strong accents and I feel embarrassed having to ask them to repeat themselves all the time

[wincy]

My wife has this problem. She got chided because she asked for a translator for the doctor at the children’s hospital and they just assumed she was being racist. He was Thai and his English was very difficult to understand.

[voidUpdate]

Yeah, that's my concern too. I went to a beauty salon where the woman who saw me had a strong Eastern European accent, and the only fabric shop in town is staffed by people who have a strong... Indian accent? it feels like somewhere in that region. I have no problem with the people themselves, but I just struggle to properly understand their accent sometimes