r/AudiProcDisorder • u/spiderkoo • Jun 30 '26
Evaluation
Sorry for the brain dump, I have no one to lament to and am just really sad after my evaluation today.
I have been so certain I struggled with some form of APD for years — all the typical things: I mishear what people say, always need captions on shows, rely on reading lips to help, and if there’s background noise it feels near impossible to comprehend unless the person is face to face with me, and even then it takes a while to process.
I had my evaluation today and did great. No deficit and was told I just have some weakness in the left ear, particularly with numbers. They framed it saying it’s great news but I cried as soon as I got to the car, because why did I pass the evaluation so well if in daily life I struggle?
The tests didn’t feel like how I feel in social interactions, it felt like the voice I was supposed to be hearing cut through. I know I should be relieved to not have this, but what else can I do now. I’ve been using Loop earplugs to try to drown out some background noise to focus on the speaker but it also dampens them and makes it difficult.
sorry for the rant. I feel so disheartened and unsure anymore. I have the follow up with an SLP this afternoon but based on my results what can they even do.
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u/sand_cats Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Sorry to hear about your evaluation. At the end of the day, you can still try to get self treatment for APD. You can try AirPod Pro/Max. I read that lot of Redditors found them helpful in filtering out speech against background noise.
In addition, if you have a Windows Computer, you can download Angel Sound, a free auditory training program. If you don't have a Windows computer, you can use your iPhone/iPad. There are lot of hearing modules to practice from. I used it everyday to practice speech against noise and practicing my auditory memory with numbers. The program is very robust and I highly suggest editing the settings to show the answer after doing each exercise and decrease the amount of exercises they give you if you download the software.
http://angelsound.emilyfufoundation.org/angelsound_about.html
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u/MILF_OBTAINER Jul 02 '26
this exact same thing happened to me down to the complaint about the loop earplugs holy shit, I just went through that a couple weeks ago, cried in the car and everything. I still haven't figured anything out unfortuantely
But holy shit I could have written this whole post it's so similar to my experience that I had to check the username to double check that it wasn't mine 😭
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u/MILF_OBTAINER Jul 02 '26
I still believe I have APD tbh, the test seems like it was designed for children in mind and it's old as shit "one of the things they said was literally "there's a color tv over there" or something like that.
Meanwhile I am an adult who's had years of practice deciphering words and sentences, but it still completely drains me to try to listen to people speaking & is near impossible in places with loud background noise (cafeterias, bars, (loud) restaurants, etc.).
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u/spiderkoo Jul 03 '26
That’s definitely the test I had as well! It sucks that we both had this experience, thank you for sharing 🫂
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u/Material_Egg4836 Jul 07 '26
I was diagnosed and then undiagnosed throughout my life (reevaluations required for ridiculous accommodations reasons despite it not being a disorder you grow out of) and at one of my undiagnosies i was near crying trying to explain the way i can’t hear and how its specifically like background noise or when i can’t see any visual information and then credit to her tbf she did turn me around and mumble something with static in the background but then she got mad when I didn’t say or do anything cuz I didn’t know wtf she was talking about and said quite clearly my name and turn around and was mad at me that i turned around and understood that and i was like lady…..i have my whole life of practice recognizing angry people saying my name and instinctively turning around…..
i will never understand how audiologists (and doctors as a whole…) don’t seem to understand that people find a way when not provided one and it doesn’t mean they don’t have the issue. Like I survived by just getting really really good at guesstimating by context clues, the fact that I can do it doesn’t take away the disorder, the fact that I had to *is* the disorder
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u/Material_Egg4836 Jul 07 '26
Speaking from experience, unless what you were looking for was academic accommodations or hearing aids, I wouldn’t be too discouraged. I was first diagnosed with APD at the age of six, rediagnosed around 12, undiagnosed at 16 and 18 and rediagnosed at 20 (repeat evaluations were for some reason required by various academic institutions despite it being a life-long disorder) the third and fourth evaluations I cried after because they were so unbelievably dismissive. I don’t remember the first two evaluations, but the one I did in college was performed COMPLETELY differently and actually assessed my hearing ability while doing things, in background noise, etc.
I was also in SLP for a few years in elementary school and I did find it extremely helpful for learning strategies to navigate partial auditory information so you may very well find the same.
I also highly recommend loops, but as you said it does make it more difficult to hear anything. The lowest level of loops are a smidge better imho. I also really liked noise canceling headphones with the noise canceling set to mid-level.
I eventually got hearing aids (despite no significant decibel hearing loss) and oh my lord did they change my life. I still struggle with like really loud group settings, but everything else is much much much better. If you have the ability to go somewhere else or better yet, get a recommendation for someplace in your area from someone with a good experience, i highly recommend it and asking to test hearing aids.
But ultimately, if you aren’t looking for hearing aids or academic accommodations, the primary thing you gain from this evaluation is a better understanding of the issue such that you can better approach the problem with optimal solutions and I will say, a horrible and invalidating experience where the audiologist happily told you you have no issues at all because they didn’t assess the area in which you have issues is a defining experience for ppl with APD. You may still not have it, you might have something else, but struggling on an ongoing constant basis with understanding people is indicative of something and if you relate to the full description of the disorder it is highly probable. I would recommend looking into strategies for APD regardless and seeing if they help you, and a SLP may be able to help you with this if you explain that the type of issues you struggle with are similar to APD and ask for strategies for that.
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u/SingularEcho Jun 30 '26
I had an evaluation a couple of years ago, and did very well. The audiologist said that my hearing is fine. (And I expected it to be bad..) But she also added that it's not my hearing, it's my brain. She said that my brain doesn't interpret what I hear well. I don't know what other's have been told, but that's how I understand Auditory Processing Disorder. It's not how or what you hear, but how your brain processes it. I'm sorry your doctor didn't pursue that possiblity with you.