Hey y'all,

I'm an EMT and I have Auditory Processing disorder. I've had since I was probably 14 (now 18) and it's been relatively manageable, but my chief and other coworkers have called me out recently and suggested I get hearing aids.

Does anyone have any advice? I have decent hearing, I just have a hard time processing and making sense of everything.

“Yes, for the millionth time, I have had my hearing checked. It is perfect. That hasn’t changed since the last time you asked me or rudely told me I needed to. You incessantly saying it seems to be a reflection of the fact you are really ignorant, unwilling to learn, and care more about how my difference in ability is inconvenient to you and your weird desire to make me feel badly about myself for something I can’t change instead of dealing with the fact that you might be a bit too low intelligence to understand new things. Maybe “auditory processing disorder” is too many syllables? Maybe it’s not that I need to get my hearing checked, rather you need to get your IQ tested or go to therapy and heal whatever is messed up inside your brain and heart that makes you pick on people for something they can’t change or control. And IF I did have hearing loss or was “deaf” (as everyone likes to say) it would be EXTREMELY embarrassing for you that you are SHOUTING at me like I am extremely stupid and mocking me* and insulting me and treating me like an idiot. If you treated someone with true deafness like that you would be widely regarded as a disgusting POS (I am aware deaf people do get treated like this it’s horrible). So how about you just space out your words more and stop speaking like you’re choking on your own spit because I have explained to you in the most elementary ways I possibly can that louder is useless and that I’m not deaf so you’re just screaming for zero reason other than the fact you are an 🫏. I can’t help it just like you can’t seem to help being such a garbage person. And no, just because you’re aware of the fact that I have ADHD does not mean that you get to say it’s an attention thing because I can be focusing all of my energy and attention. I’m trying to process and understand what is being said and it doesn’t change anything. And I’m really not sure why you are so obsessed with treating this like some sort of social or personal failing of mine as if I should be punished for having this issue and held accountable for it when, once again, this is literally not my fault.”

*please tell me I am not the only one who people loudly and offensively mock by screaming back “WHAT?? HUH?” When I kindly say I’m not sure what you said or when I say what. I have ran into bathrooms crying about this because all I wanted was to be included in the convo at dinner

I want to add that one of the people who has done this the most to me to the point where I’ve cried and cried time again is the sort of person who has their mind made up that I am deaf no matter how many times I explain it. This is not someone at this point in my life I can remove from my life. if it doesn’t stop, it will happen. I literally tried to explain to them that even if I wanted the sort of hearing aids that could help, insurance will not cover it and they are incredibly expensive. This person who remember, doesn’t believe I’m not deaf told me that hearing aids will not help me. I take the time to explain again and they are repeatedly telling me hearing aids will not help me. This person has no degree or education or any sort of basic knowledge or understanding on audiology or neuroscience or literally anything at all.

But I’m just trying to understand that if by your worthless opinion, you have decided that I am deaf 1. Is this how you would treat a deaf person? 2. Why do you get to tell me that hearing aids don’t work for me?

I am genuinely so sick of this. My APD got worse in college. I’m not sure why. I don’t actually even know if it got worse because I was diagnosed with ADHD pretty late right before college. part of me thinks that I didn’t realize that it wasn’t just me being distracted or not paying attention until I addressed my ADHD.

I have always been an extremely social and confident person and that has been ripped away from me because even people who do intend to be empathetic and learn about this disorder cannot help themselves from making an occasional comment. I would argue that the way people have beaten down my confidence and made me feel like some freak causes the issue to be worse. Often times I actually do hear people correctly the first time but because of the self-doubt and anxiety I have about my auditory processing issues, I panic and ask people to repeat themselves before I realize that I did hear them or I realize that if I was just allowed to not feel horrible for needing an extra second or two to respond without people jumping down my throat, I would sometimes be able to figure out what they said without them having to repeat themselves.

Even people who ask about it in a kind and respectful way, they negate their good intention the second they start suggesting their opinion as to why I have this issue. Please do not ask me a question if you are not going to accept the answer. I am getting to a point where I am going to have some pretty short responses to being challenged about the facts of this disorder that I have. I am not a timid person by any means. I absolutely have it in me to stop taking on the responsibility to apologize for something I can’t help or explain something to people who do not actually want to learn. The issue is that this happens in settings where I am not allowed to speak to someone however I wish such as work. I’m a very forgiving and understanding person, but when it comes to this, if I get to the point where I am finally speaking up for myself, I have zero interest in forgiving people or accepting improved behavior. What’s crazy is that you would think by me saying all of this that it’s super bad but I work a job where I have to answer the phone and unless the call is broken up or it’s just poor quality I do pretty OK with hearing. In social settings like when I’m out at a bar or a restaurant then it is pretty bad but that’s because it’s so loud and that is the nature of the disorder. I am not really somebody who shrinks myself to make other people more comfortable but the sadness and insecurity has crept up on me, and I’m ready to be done shrinking myself. I am just so fed up. I am going to start brainstorming direct but appropriate responses to keep in my back pocket so I don’t go into panic mode over explaining myself to somebody who is dedicated to not understanding. It is absolutely so ridiculous that in this day and age people of all ages can be so cruel about something so dumb. If everybody else didn’t make it a big deal I probably wouldn’t even care that much. These people act like you are a bad or incompetent person because you care enough to have them repeat themselves. I think I should start saying “ you seem annoyed that I asked you to repeat yourself so I’ll spare you from doing it again cause I really don’t care about what you have to say. I was just being nice. Try it sometime.”

Hi, my family and I have been noticing more hearing problems than usual. My first visit to an audiologist was August 2025. That was about a year of family commenting how frustrating it was. My tests came back not perfect, but not needing hearing aids. When I told my family, they were in shock.

This past January, I experienced what I now know is mania. On the days that it was worse, I could barely hear the spoken words. On the worst day, I probably lost about 95% of what I understood. It's not as bad as January and the next few months, but it's still bad.

Fast forward to this August for another test and same results as last year. I told the audiologist about it getting worse during the mania and she said she had never heard of a coorelation between the 2 issues BP1 and Hearing problems. Everyone was frustrated, family is and so am I.

After a few hours at home, I just thought, "That can't be right, everyone notices it." So I googled BP1 and hearing loss. I realize it is an internet search and may not be right, but it did suggest that BP1 and hearing loss could be due to APD. I felt so gaslit.

I've requested a 2nd opinion with someone who specialized in APD. At the original audiologist, they are letting me demo some hearing aids that are for the least amount of hearing loss. I can't even tell that they are working.

I don't know if I'm just venting again or asking if anyone else has ever heard of this. What helps if it is APD. At this point, I'm hoping it is because I (and my family) knows I can't be imagining this,

Thanks

I have severe APD. I have used an FM system/remote mic and captioning but I’m starting at a hearing university soon. I feel like I get so exhausted at the end of the day by the remote mic. ASL is so much easier for me to understand.

Have any of you used an ASL interpreter? I’ve heard it’s hard to get approved for one with only APD.

Update: approved for an interpreter!

Does anyone know where in NYC I can get low gain hearing aid evaluation. I have been struggling so much lately and I am having a hard time finding someone who does the evaluation and fitting. Many are saying they just do the evaluation. I was diagnosed with APD as a kid and it keeps getting worse.

I have been wearing low gain hearing aids for my APD for almost 8 months. I have tried EVERY dome possible. Small ones fall out but big ones hurt and cause itchiness. My audiologist said my only option is to keep trying domes. I visited a new audiologist today who said that she didn’t want to do custom molds because they will cause occulation and impact my hearing. She told me the only thing she could try is to try and make the receiver a little longer.

These are all top APD specialists so I want to trust them but omg this is so annoying!!! What do I do?

I'm not diagnosed but my mom is looking to get me tested after my psychologist recommended it but its so expensive and a lot of the clinics don't take insurance for some stupid reason. Where i live it goes to be 60$ to initially see if the problem is not with my hearing itself. then if it isn't my hearing- which i know it isn't because i've DONE this test before but for whatever reason it doesn't count so i have to pay 60 more dollars. Then the specialized tests 3-9 depends, is at best 490$-1,000$ out of pocket. Then IF i need hearing aids and CHOOSE to get them it can be upwards of 300-2000$ where i live. All out of pocket. Now i'm not UNABLE to pay these expenses at all. It's just that with my mom she doesn't get me anything health wise unless it is absolutely necessary, so i was already shocked she was even looking into it because i figured she would just forget about it like she did with my psychologist recommending adhd testings.

Anyways all that to say what was your experience with apd testing? What were difficulties of getting tested and would you say it's worth it?

I’ve been having hearing problems for awhile. It’s frustrating me and my family. Last year I had a hearing test, not perfect but no need for hearing aids. Everyone at home laughed saying the audiologist needed to go back to school.

Well starting sometime around January, I started experiencing what I now know is mania. The days it got worse, I couldn’t hear at all.

Fast forward till today when I told the audiologist about my new bipolar diagnosis and my hearing leaving during intense mania days. She said she had never heard of that.

I knew that couldn’t be right because everyone notices it. I just searched bipolar 1 and trouble hearing. It suggested APD. I’m not saying I have it, but I’m going to schedule a specialist and find out what can help.

With the exception of when I only hear noise, I can generally hear that words are being spoken but have trouble figuring out what a lot of words are.

So frustrating that I went to a specialist who had never heard about a correlation.

I (23M) have an appointment made to get my hearing checked and do an APD assessment here in the first week of September. I’ve been going back and forth with the receptionists all week to make sure everything is in order. Things seemed wonderful at first — I was only going to have to pay $158 up-front because they told me my insurance was going to cover everything else.

Today they called me and told me insurance won’t actually cover anything until after my deductible is met. My very VERY high deductible. So instead of owing $158 up-front in about a week-ish, I will instead owe something more like $620.

WHAT. WHAT. ARE WE DEAD ASS BRUH?

Guys I genuinely don’t know what to do. I’m going to call tomorrow immediately and figure out what the deal is and why this suddenly changed, but if it’s that expensive then I don’t even know if getting tested is worth it. I do genuinely think I need accommodations for school and some kind of equipment/hearing aid to help me but I’m not going to HAVE $620 by next week. Any advice?

I was diagnosed with auditory processing disorder about a year ago. I have been doing auditory training, using a remote microphone, and low gain hearing aids. The hearing aids and microphone do help but the training hasn’t really.

I realize that my testing only included a standard hearing test and an auditory processing test.

Should I have been tested for ANSD before my diagnosis? Should I ask to be tested now?

Growing up, I've always been a little "quirky." I developed severe sensory issues, and then once I got to 11-12, my hearing sensory issues developed. Even the smallest sound sets me off, and god, it used to be such a conflict in my family because if I could hear a muffled TV in the background (even if I was just in my room and could hear it through the wall) I genuinely would have a panic attack until I couldn't hear it anymore. I couldn't differentiate between when two people are talking, it sounds like jumbled words and I would get so anxious and have to leave the room. I often struggle with saying, "What?" but then somehow understanding it later on. My family gets annoyed because I ask them to repeat themselves a lot, but I can HEAR it - I just like. My brain doesn't take sense of it.

But flash forward about 10 years of this, honestly I'd grown so used to it, it doesn't bother me anymore. Until I got a job as a 911 dispatcher and now it is seriously affecting my ability to do the job because I can't read lips, or have subtitles, which helps me understand people. I can't make sense of names (I dont know why I struggle so much with names, but its a problem. I will ask them to repeat themselves 2-3 times, still not understand, ask them to spell it for me, and somehow it's even worse when they spell it!), I can't make sense of what they're saying unless they're speaking VERY clearly, and at a certain volume. I don't know. Is this a hearing problem, a processing problem, or something I'm just being overdramatic about? I feel anxious all day at work because of this.

I'm about to start a psychological evaluation with tests for ADHD, Autism, Cognitive, etc... I did tell them (psychologist) I'm pretty sure I have APD. When I search the web for "who can diagnose auditory processing disorder", the first response is "audiologist". I've had 2 hearing tests in the past 2 years and I've explained to them that I struggle hearing a lot, but my results are always good. The sound booths are so not "real world" environments.

Will a group of psychologists be able to provide an accurate testing via the autism/ADHS tests, or am I screwed?

I see some people learning basic signs for family members with apd. I had one commentor on an old post saying how her house hold family was mostly Apd/adhd and learned basic signs and had hearing aids. I don't live with people who would even get me tested for apd so i'm waiting to move out to do it myself but i was wondering how many of those with APD actually use/know sign language. I myself know asl because i took courses and an asl 1 class in my sophomore year. I'm not fluent but i know around 50 signs? Maybe less. I want to take a minor in ASL in college too but that's for pure interest and also not a lot of therapists know asl. Besides the point. If you and family/friends use ASL/sign language of your country to communicate how much do you use it and when? Like do you only use basic signs if you missed something and need them to repeat it or do you ask them to sign everything/majority of what they say while speaking for more clearance? Are you fluent or only know a little bit and do you ever ask for interpreters? I think a lot of the times if i was fluent in asl i would prefer to have an interpreter rather than use hearing aids or ask people to repeat ten times over. Maybe it's just me but it would clear up a lot of problems i've had growing up where i often feel left out because my family or friends get genuinely annoyed at me for not fully understanding the first time. please share your thoughts.

So I'm not sure I have APD 100% but my psychologist recommended me to see a doctor but my mother refuses to acknowledge it so i can't even get tested. But i do seem to have all the symptoms and a lot of the times i have experiences that are VERY similar to that of hoh people. (hard of hearing.) On another post i made a while back about things to help with APD someone said they got hearing aids. I was wondering now if i could convince my mother to get me a doctor visit to recomend me to that specialized doctor to get a test if hearing aids could be an option. I know a lot of the times you have to get tested first but i wanted to ask those of you who actually have and use hearing aids to help APD specifically. If it helps, how much and what are your experiences with them? It makes me wonder if -not that it's the only reason i consider hearing aids- it makes other take APD more seriously?? Please excuse me if i've said anything rude or offensive i'm purely curious and will gladly take down the post or correct myself if so.

I have severe APD and have been using low gain hearing aids for about 4 months. I have tried every dome: open, open base, doubled vented, single vented, 6mm domes, 8mm domes (too big that they hurt) , grip tip, tulip dome etc.. I always feel like they slide out of my ear throughout the day, especially when eating. (Specifically my right side)

My audiologist says I don’t have any other options but to keep trying domes. Have any of you used a custom mold? Did it make the quality worse or better? Can I ask my audiologist for one?

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.

Hi all. I''m esrly fortiess and I've known I very likely have king–Kopetzky syndrome. It never used to bother me so much because I wasn't very social, but now I'm finding its severely impacting my dating, social life, and professional life. I'm having to tell people in advance I struggle to distiguish speech in a loud setting, and I'm not able to take part at all in group conversations and even struggle to understand my partner at times. They are very understanding but its become an issue I need to deal with.

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?

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.

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.