There is a terrible lack of discussion on Figure Ground hearing difficulties, the one where you have trouble hearing when there’s background noise, so just to get the ball rolling here’s my life story:
I was having learning difficulties as a young kid at school and my folks took me to a hearing specialist who diagnosed me with a ‘figure ground auditory hearing problem.’
They gave advice that I should always sit up the front of the class, and that if the teachers wanted me to learn that they would need to clarify that I understood, and get me to repeat the info, especially with verbal instructions, because with verbal instructions I guess, its most crucial that you catch every single word, or else the rest doesn’t make sense. Of course this didn’t happen, and my education suffered.
This hearing problem I believe may have contributed to an impoverished early learning experience and now I have trouble listenting to and understanding verbal instructions. I think I just haven’t developed the listening part of my brain as well as I would have if listening had been a rewarding activity during my childhood. My hearing may have improved, but now the problem is intellectual now as well.
All I seem to find on the net on this problem is books for kids. What about adults?
I’ve mentioned the problem to employers before and they have not understood, or not believed me. I don’t blame them. Its a vague kind of difficulty, and if people are lazy, and don’t get it, they’ll either talk to you loudly, or interpret it that you’re retarded and give up on you. I just made a major error at work with my new boss, and I’m trying to think of a way of telling her my hearing situation without making her think I’m just stupid and won’t be able to do my job. I guess I am retarded, only I’m fine once the information is in my head. Its getting it in there in the first place that is the problem. I am a university student who gets mainly high distinctions (top marks). But I sometimes miss really obvious information.
I hope some more people show up on this forum soon.
Well, there’s my story.
Adios
Jane
thanks. any links on that?
I haven’t heard of these audio tapes. I’d like to find out more.
I’m not, as it happens a young adult. I’m a 28 year old taking a second shot at getting out of the gutter. You’re dead right that one must be simple with explaining things to employers and I appreciate your advice, so thank you.
One problem I have that makes explaining my situation more complex is that its not just hearing anymore. I’m a genuinely bad listener. I’ve always had to try really hard to take in verbal information, particularly instructions when a lot of words are used. Its as if my brain can’t catch up and I need it in writing. I’ve never had this diagnosed as its a hunch I have which I attribute to the fact that the first 20 years of my life have consisted of a situation where listening has been a futile activity, and I’ve been unconsciously conditioned by my experience to not put much priority on the activity. I always need instructions in writing. If I need directions to a place, people always try to tell me verbally, but all I want is the bloody address so I can look it up on a map and make them shut up.
Verbal instructions are my “disability” it goes beyond cocktail syndrome.
I’m very interested to know if this is recognised as the inevitable evolution of the brain’s development in people who have Figure Ground or Cocktail Syndrome.
Any advice? would be much appreciated.
(sigh!)
Deaf Sea Queen
thanks. any links on that?
I haven’t heard of these audio tapes. I’d like to find out more.
I’m not, as it happens a young adult. I’m a 28 year old taking a second shot at getting out of the gutter. You’re dead right that one must be simple with explaining things to employers and I appreciate your advice, so thank you.
One problem I have that makes explaining my situation more complex is that its not just hearing anymore. I’m a genuinely bad listener. I’ve always had to try really hard to take in verbal information, particularly instructions when a lot of words are used. Its as if my brain can’t catch up and I need it in writing. I’ve never had this diagnosed as its a hunch I have which I attribute to the fact that the first 20 years of my life have consisted of a situation where listening has been a futile activity, and I’ve been unconsciously conditioned by my experience to not put much priority on the activity. I always need instructions in writing. If I need directions to a place, people always try to tell me verbally, but all I want is the bloody address so I can look it up on a map and make them shut up.
Verbal instructions are my “disability” it goes beyond cocktail syndrome.
I’m very interested to know if this is recognised as the inevitable evolution of the brain’s development in people who have Figure Ground or Cocktail Syndrome.
Any advice? would be much appreciated.
(sigh!)
Deaf Sea Queen :cry:
Re: "Figure Ground Auditory hearing problem"
Look up CAPD. It sounds like you have some version of this
Search on this site and on the web in general for CAPD, The Listening Program, and Tomatis. There is a lot of information out there.
Re: "Figure Ground Auditory hearing problem"
Yes, sounds like, Central Auditory Processing Disorder, CAPD. Only they say it’s caused by head injuries, and mine runs in the family.
(http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html)
Re: "Figure Ground Auditory hearing problem"
Some of these things *may* be caused by brain injuries, some *may* be caused by birth accidents, some do appear to have a hereditary component and run in families, and some have no discernible cause. If you can find a cause and can treat it, good. If not, spending time and money chasing for a definitive cause that is not to be found is a huge waste, so don’t worry so much about causes, treat the symptoms. (Any good doctor does *both*)
As far as being a young adult, you are not yet thirty and you have a good thirty years and more of productive work ahead of you — it is certainly worth doing what you can to improve things now.
I agree with others, sounds like CAPD
From the discription of your difficulties it does sound like CAPD.
My daughter, Sam, was diagnosed in 1st grade, retested in 8th grade and again diagnosed with CAPD. It is something you have your whole life, but with help you can learn to better cope with it.
You mentioned that you go to college. That is where Sam was first diagnosed. The University of Central Florida has a Speech and Language Clinic that is run by Deans, Audiologists and Senior students. The second dx came from the school district she was in.
[u]I would suggest to check and see if your college has a speech and language department where they are teaching students to become Speech Therapist, Audiologists, etc.[/u] UCF gave therapy to kids with CAPD, ADHD, Austistic and adults that suffered from strokes.
Sam had her first job last summer at Walt Disney World. During the application process I told Sam to let them know she had CAPD. They sent home a form to take to her family physician. Her family physician, who is aware of her disability due to reports I have given him, signed off on the restrictions I had put down. They included “make sure supervision made eye contact before giving instructions”, “allow her to take notes while given instructions and allow supervisor to review to make sure she caught everything that was said”. Also, I made sure that they understood that she has a hard time concentrating in noicy rooms.
Believe it or not, Walt Disney World was much more accommodating than the high school she goes to.
I wish you the best of luck. Even if you are “now” dx with CAPD, it will help you understand your disability. And when people say to you “you’re not listening” you tell them “I am listening I just can’t hear you all the time” then explain your disability.
I also explain the disability to people as “dyslexia of the brain”. When you hear someone speak the words the get jumbled up in the brain and you have to put them back into an order that makes sense.
Again, good luck!
CAPD
There is also a GREAT book called “When the Brain Can’t Hear”
Unfortunately, a lot of children with CAPD are misdiagnosed as having AD/HD.
This is also called “cocktail party syndrome” (because as I’m sure you know, at a party with everyone talking it is really, really hard to follow what another person is saying.)
I have this problem too, and I tire after a while listening; it is a difficult task for me.
There’s no reaon as an adult not to use programs that work with kids; especially since you appear to be a very young adult.
I never had any formal training, but serious listening to music helped me a lot. So did curing long-standing sinus/ear inflammations and treating allergies.
There are programs — I’ve read here about The Listening Program and another called Tomatis — that use listening to music and to various tones to train the brain’s auditory systems. It would be worth a try, espeially while you’re still young.
As far as work, I learned far too late in life that the best thing to do is to be up front but simple: “I have a slight hearing problem. Can you please repeat that, because I didn’t hear all of it?” “I have a slight hearing problem. Can we get away from all this noise so I can hear you?”
Definitely do not go into detail about what kind of hearing problem or anything else; all people need to know is that it exists. If the rest of your work is good, people will soon learn to be clear giving you verbal directions.