Asking
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

Is it normal to not be able to understand what people are saying when there's A LOT of noise?

Poll - Total Votes: 10
Yes it's normal.
No it's not normal.
Show Results
You can only vote on one answer.
So what I mean is say you're at a party and the music is really REALLY loud are you able to understand what your friends (or whoever you're with) are saying? I'm not able to. Or say you're at a restaurant and it's packed with a lot of people who are talking REALLY loud are you able to understand what your friends (or whoever you're with) are saying? I'm not able to.

I always assumed my experience was the default but apparently it's correlated with mental disorders such as autism and ADHD (which I do have both by the way but I didn't know there was a correlation) and most people can understand what their friends are saying just fine despite the noise?

Reading this sort of blew my mind to be honest. No wonder though everyone else can somehow understand each other just fine and I can't. They're talking among themselves just fine.

I don't really have hearing problems for the most part but whenever this comes up it's just easier to tell people that I'm sort of deaf rather than give a long explanation about how I don't technically have a hearing problem but when there's a bunch of noise at the same time it becomes hard for me to understand people. Especially since I can't understand what they're saying in the first place so the fastest explanation (that I'm sort of deaf) is the best explanation.
Top | New | Old
4meAndyou · F
I presently have a friend whom I can't understand because her voice is pitched so soft and low! I can be alone with her in a perfectly quiet room, and have no idea what she just said!!! It's embarrassing to have to ask her to repeat herself all the time. (And it doesn't happen with any of my other friends). Sometimes, pitch is an issue with almost everyone.

Similarly, I have difficulty understanding male actors on television because THEIR voice are pitched too low.
There are many conditions making it difficult to distinguish one voice from another, in a group setting, or noisy crowded room.

1 - APD "the cocktail party effect" Simultaneous conversations overwhelm your brain's ability to isolate a single voice

2 - Ambient noise level matches the pitch of the speaker, canceling it out.

3 - Damage to auditory sensory hairs that receive high frequency sounds, missing words with sharp consonants.

Here's a link:

https://americanhearing.us/how-the-cocktail-party-effect-affects-your-hearing/
https://www.thehearingsolution.com/blog/understanding-auditory-processing-disorder/

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/01/why-it-may-be-hard-to-follow-conversations-in-noisy-environments/#:~:text=Hidden%20hearing%20loss%2C%20on%20the,and%20are%20thought%20to%20arise

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/auditory-processing-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20555261
plungesponge · 41-45, M
What's a party
EzraIsShy76028 · 22-25
@plungesponge Huh? Is that a serious question?
jehova · 36-40, M
Though normal and understandable, if you are the only one in the group having that problem, maybe double check by seeing a doctor.
SumKindaMunster · 56-60, M
You're not alone.

I absolutely have this problem too, and I too thought it was hearing related.

But unfortunately, like you, it seems to be a perception thing.

I am completely overwhelmed in a loud, chaotic environment. It's extremely discomforting.

Weddings, parties, night clubs are all overwhelming, miserable experiences.
DLight ·
I can't understand a thing even when the background noise isn't very loud at all, and I tell people to text me rather than call, because I'm absolutely hopeless at having a conversation over the phone. I would say yes, this is normal, but no, it doesn't necessarily mean you have autism or ADD (or anything else).
Yes, it is very common to have difficulty understanding what people are saying in a noisy environment. 🍁
EzraIsShy76028 · 22-25
@valobasa4ever Ah good I think lol. I myself am the furthest thing possible from normal all the way to the other side of the universe (not in a good way it's actually VERY isolating and lonely) but it feels validating to hear that this one specific thing about me is normal.
It’s most likely a hearing related issue or in rare cases cerebellar 💁‍♂

 
Post Comment