Hearing problems? | ADHD Information

My boyfriend and I both have a little bit of trouble hearing normally, but I also think the ADD makes matters worse. We tend to avoid a lot of crowded areas. I think I am more the one who's attention trails off mid-conversation though. People walking past windows in an office/restaurant is bad too. 8(

its gotten so bad with me that i cant sometimes figure if its outside noise or just in my head.  with add you can hear things that arent there because your mind is goin at such a fast pace and it confuses the hell out of me :(

[QUOTE=armyofone05]

with add you can hear things that arent there because your mind is goin at such a fast pace and it confuses the hell out of me :(

[/QUOTE]

No kidding.  You'd think we could cure cancer or answer centuries-old philosophical questions and come up with the meaning of life with all this, right?    Drives me up a wall.

 

I have the same problem. I can't hear well with backround noise! Adderall helps with that.

Us ADD'ers hear everything, the conversations, the backround noises, and are sensitive to other distractions ALL AT THE SAME TIME and it's hard to single out the one thing you are trying to listen to.

However, it's not completely your fault either, some people don't make an effort to be heard clearly anyway.

It gets worse when the person does not make an effort to speak loud and clear with good english.

Also some people have horrible phone manners, and don't speak correctly into their phones when talking to you, no wonder you can't hear them! I always have to tell my wife to take the phone out of her cheek so I can hear her voice, instead of just mumbles.

I sometimes have to pretend to hear people or act like I didn't hear them at all until the other person speaking makes an effort to be heard.

I've even been falsely accused of "not listening" when I'm looking at them directly in the eyes the whole time and I ask them to repeat themselves because I didn't hear them correctly. If I was not listening to them, I would have never asked them to repeat themselves in the first place. Sometimes I wonder the ones without ADHD are the retarded ones LOL!ADHDinsane39119.4707523148I have problems with hearing.. but it's not entirely because of ADD in my case. I was born with a cleft lip/cleft palate and I had to have total inner ear re constructive surgery when I was 12 and 13. So that plays a huge factor on my hearing.. but I do tend to also hear every noise around me making it hard to focus on one person speaking in loud places.

It wouldn't hurt to get your hearing tested to rule that out. My daughter had hers tested before I took her in to be tested for ADD as well because the teacher made it seem like she just didn't hear her.

I think it's the ADD for a lot of us.  What about on the phone??  Am I the only one that practically spits venom at anyone around for simply talking?  LOL

I've seen people at concerts on their cell phones and I have NO idea how they do that and it's not my hearing.  My hearing is fine, I just cannot fathom how they can concentrate on that little voice coming from the phone with so much noise in the background but many people can do this. 

I practically chew out the cliche "pin" that drops if I'm on the phone.  I suddenly get really bitchy and make huge hand gestures at anyone that makes noise.  Makes it tough in an office, too.  I always thought it was odd that I needed absolutely no distractions, sound wise, just to have a simple conversation on the phone. 

I have the exact same problem.
It's like my brain must listen to every sound at once and process it- but it can't.It's so unbelievably draining !!
I feel so tired afterwards from the strain of it.
I'm so amazed that other people can block background noises.

What if the chatter on the phone is stupid or boring?  Oh come on.  I gotta block all this out about .............this? 

Did you even hear what I said??

No, I really wasn't paying attention. 

Same here,same here !!


I hear things others don't hear but they are there. For example i hear things way before someone else can hear them. And i hear things others don't hear.(yeah my own voice ) No but it's true. And my sense of smell is extremely keen,which is gross sometimes others can't even smell what I smell.
I also can sense danger way before anyone.
It's wild. (well, I feel like a wild animal human hybrid sometimes )

I don't know if it's from my ADHD ???

I don't know either but since we're on the subject I'll throw this one out in the ring.  I've been to concerts and heard a sour note and winced, immediately looked around only to notice (to my shock) that nobody else seemed to notice it.  It doesn't affect my enjoyment at all but I feel weird that it seems to be I'm the only one who even heard it.  I come from a musical background but I'm not a musician and wouldn't call myself an expert unless appreciating it counts so while it may just be in my genes to have a good ear.....I hardly think that's the case. 

Have no idea if that is yet one more thing about me and ADD but thought I'd post it anyway. 

Sometimes, I just think we're a bunch of lovable weirdos.

Lee7439136.6665509259

Does anyone here struggle hearing especially with background noise?  I know that everyone doesn't hear as well with background noise but I seem to have more trouble than everyone I know.  Restaurant noise, traffic noise, etc.

I'm wondering if I need to get my hearing tested or if ADD people generally have trouble hearing when there are other noises.

My husband is ADD and he definitely has hearing problems when there is background noise.  It's so bad that he doesn't like going out to restaurants with friends because he can't focus and he can't hear the conversations that are going on.  he can't block out the other noises and is always saying WHAT?  What?  Then when you look at him he is straining so hard with his eyes closed (presumably to block out all other stimulation) just to hear one sentence.  It's kind of painful to see.  He's fine if there are a lot of people and we are having a group conversation, it just has to be in a setting where the background and peripheral noise is minimal. [QUOTE=ADHDinsane]
I've even been falsely accused of "not listening" when I'm looking at them directly in the eyes the whole time and I ask them to repeat themselves because I didn't hear them correctly. If I was not listening to them, I would have never asked them to repeat themselves in the first place. Sometimes I wonder the ones without ADHD are the retarded ones LOL![/QUOTE]

Hear, hear!!! ;)

I allso can't hear a thing with background noise; well actually I DO hear that someone is talking, but I can't figure out the consonants ("oo oo wa ee ?" = "Do you want a beer?"). I guess it's one part ADD and one part tinnitus. When it's totally silent, i have an incredible concert of different buzzes and rings in my head, fortunately I don't hear the tinnitus when theres a few ambient sounds (but trying to sleep is hell) but I guess the buzzing masks the sounds of human speech somewhat wich makes it hard to hear with extra external noise..

But I do hear weak and high pitched sounds that nobody else seems to notice; even when I ask them and describe it (I can hear many octaves beyond what I'm able to produce myself by voice, whistling or even a guitar (!)).
My monitor for instance, when in standby, makes a wistle sound about 3-4 octaves above the normal television-hum, it's really painful allthough it's not very loud, but my wife can't hear it at all. And actually a doctor said my hearing was very good, a few years ago when I took a test on the "Sesjon" (The "health test" that the Norwegian Armed forces uses to see if you're fit to be drafted). See Mandatory military in Norway if you don't understand what "Sesjon" is.qvasi39134.1402777778When my nose is "open" for once (my sinuses chronically clogs up, almost all winter) I allso seem to notice unexpected smells before anyone else, or at least I'm the only one that gives it a second thought...
On the bus back home the other day, i noticed an intense exhaust smoke smell, allthough it was no visible smoke i made me caugh and look around for smoke or flames (but it was none) but nobody else seemed to notice at all. Except maybe the woman nearest me who looked worried, but she did so before the smell appeared and her pupils were excessively dilated like this, I think she was either psychotic or a speed abuser. Wich is another thing I guess nobody else noticed her absurdly large pupils....
(Gotta quit writing now... heheh)

My immediate family all have the "hearing" problem. We use the word "huh?" way too often.  The ears work fine but the signals get scrambled on the way to the brain. It is so hard to filter out the background noise and focus on the voice.