r/AudiProcDisorder

hi , I've been having "trouble hearing" since i was at least 3 years old and after consulting tons of "specialists" i think i finally found what had been happening to me what i manifested as "trouble hearing" as a child is in fact trouble understanding what i hear when people talk. I am currently being evaluated for APD but I'm 99% sure i have it, even my new specialist thinks so too, it has been a relief to finally confirm that i was not "making things up" as other doctors said.

Today i was researching what can legally qualify as a disability in my country and i came up with a question, what type of disability is APD? it doesn't match the criteria for a hearing disability but it also doesn't quite fit in any of the neurodevelopmental types of disabilities definitions as far as I've seen.

My son will be 3 in two months. He has been in OT for sensory and speech for delayed speech for 6 months. He has been in play therapy for a month now (the purpose of this is to gain independence and socialize, similar to preschool. It is 1 day a week).

Speech is progressing wonderfully, he is still behind but barely. Sensory issues are not getting better. He is terrified of loud sounds. Vacuum, noisy restaurants, blender, ice machine in fridge, and his peers. Poor buddy goes into an intense, full body (stiffening, pupils dilating, shaking, eyes widening). This response is greatest when kids make noise (babies crying, kids squealing with excitement). He is happiest with adults or alone (with me or dad or family). I try to expose him to loud noises in a controlled environment where he has some control (ie asking him to turn the vacuum on), we go to story time, gym class, play therapy, the park, the grocery, etc. Nothing seems to help.

Because he doesn’t have issues with everyday noise (he’s fine playing in our quiet home or walking through the park, etc) therapists don’t think headphones would be helpful.

I am at a loss. It absolutely crushes my husband and I to see him respond this way. In environments that should be happy and playful and fun, he can’t handle it. I want so badly for him to have fun and get to enjoy these things.

To add: His OT, SLP, and Pediatrician all have said, and continue to say, he is not on the spectrum. He has a couple other sensory issues, he’s fearful of water, doesn’t like his socks off, etc. But by far noise is his biggest challenge.

If this does sound like APD, do you have advice? I want to help him as best I can as early as I can. Thank you

My daughter is turning 10 this year. Last fall she was diagnosed with APD. She was initially evaluated for ADHD and dyslexia. Doctor said she didn’t seem to have those but saw more as my daughter having APD.

Evaluation for that was done, and she was diagnosed with APD. While I was relieved at first because I thought this seemed like an answer to why she was struggling, I now feel I don’t know how to navigate this. Accommodations at school have been made, but at home I don’t see improvement.

Communication is where we struggle. I feel she doesn’t fully grasp what I am saying to her. She doesn’t articulate her thoughts well to the point one of us or both us seem exasperated.

Having meaningful conversations has been tedious. She gives one-word answers or just defaults to something negative or just saying “I don’t know.” I try to ask questions about her day that require a detailed answer only to be met with something that doesn’t quite make sense to what I asked.

Yes, I’ve had her hearing checked. It’s perfectly fine. I ruled that out before the APD evaluation to make sure.

She has expressed things in very negative ways, honing in on something minor and making it seem bigger. She gets tired of being asked questions and runs off and gets upset saying I don’t understand her. She’s right. I don’t understand her.

I want her to be happy. I want her to thrive. I feel like I am doing something wrong to the point that communication is so difficult.

Any advice is appreciated. I’m just a mom trying to raise a daughter with something I didn’t even know existed till she was diagnosed with it. Thanks in advance and thank you for reading all this.

I was considering getting tested, but insurance doesn’t cover it, so it’s $750. It’s not going to put me in debt, but that’s quite a lot for me. But if I can actually improve, it would be worth it. It’d help me at home, work, everywhere.

Basically, has getting a diagnosis helped you? Have there been treatments that helped?

I’m 34 and am certain I have some form of APD. I was tested for hearing as a kid (under 6), and my parents were told, “She can hear just fine, she’s just not paying attention!” I can’t understand speech in noisy environments, or distinguish melodies in live music if it is too loud or I am too close to the instruments.

I’ve always known this about myself, but recently at an event, it was made clear to me just how MUCH I rely on lip reading, and how participation in conversation with background noise is impossible without it. It got me wondering, is there anything that can actually be DONE for APD?

I never thought about getting tested, because I assumed not, but thought I’d ask. I‘m not in school, and am self employed very part time, so no formal accommodations needed.

I’m autistic, if that makes a difference in whether or not treatments or helps are available for my situation.

Hi friends, I was diagnosed with autism later in life but I am on the lower end of the spectrum. I do have some problems with auditory noises, such a repetitive sounds, words, phrases, buzzing or equivalent like sounds (relevant).

Sleeping for me has always been a challenge, I need absolutely no light, not even little ones on tvs, cable boxes, etc. No TV, and no noise EXCEPT a box fan. I genuinely cannot sleep without a box fan, I am so in tuen with it that I will wake up the second it turns off. If our power goes out in the middle of the night, sometimes I will wake up before it's even fully turned off. My SO wakes me up in the morning by turning my box fan off so I get woke up gently. We don't sleep in the same room as his snoring is so bad I could never sleep (we love each other I promise lol).

As I've gotten older it's gotten harder and harder for me to get to sleep and stay asleep. ​​I went from being a deep sleeper to a light sleeper and my brain has started hyperfocusing on sounds. Specifically my box fan, my box fans makes a humming sound (this isn't even accurate to how it really sounds but is the only way I can describe it, if that makes sense) that prevents me from falling asleep and keeps me up all hours of the night. It is starting to affect my mental health, I can hear it through ear plugs and covering my head with a pillow. I was starting to worry that maybe I was going crazy, because my SO can't hear it and I have tried at least 4 different fans and they all have a similar noise. I've tried so hard to block it out and I just can't. I recently read an article that talked about how people with autism can sometimes hear electricity or electrical buzzes and I'm wondering if what I am hearing is the electrical portion of the motor, since it happens with every fan I have.

So my question is, does anyone have any advice on how I can block this out to sleep? How do I get my brain to stop hyper focusing on that one sound no matter what. I've rearranged my fan every direction I can in my room, elevated it, put it on the ground, I can always hear this noise. Hopefully someone else has experienced something like this and can give me some advice because I'm at a loss lol.

Im in my late 30s, in the last year I've noticed I am having a hard time "hearing" people, I constantly have to ask people to repeat themselves, although I hear them speaking. I dont have hearing loss, and after doing some research I believe I may have APD, however can APD develop all the sudden in adults? Most of what I've read it usually starts in childhood, what can all of the sudden give an adult APD?

I’m 20 and I’ve had APD since I was about 14. It’s ruined so much for me.

I could barely maintain any friendships during all of high school because I’m so useless in any location just slightly too loud.

When I had a job in a store a few months ago, I couldn’t understand customers right in front of me. I could barely hear my coworkers right next to me. It’s dawned on me that basically every job is going to be like this- loud music, loud noises, loud people around you but never anything you can understand.

I almost cried at my college orientation because I couldn’t understand a single person, even when I put my ear directly towards them. Everyone around me talked to each other perfectly while I couldn’t hear my own thoughts.

It’ll be like this for the rest of my life. I don’t want college to be like high school, I don’t want to struggle and be useless at every job I work.

The noise is overwhelming and quickly makes me confused, it can often be physically painful.

People have recommended I wear ear plugs- I think it’s supposed to make it easier to understand people next to you when you’re in a loud place. They work well in places like concerts, but in regular locations, it just muffles all the noise around me.

I’m starting to think maybe it would be better that way, just muffling as much noise as possible to the point I’m almost deaf. At least then I won’t be overwhelmed by noise, I’d seriously rather learn sign language or always carry a notebook around or something to communicate at this point. Has anyone else tried this?