Years after my concussion, I still struggle to process sounds

Jessica Sunter · for CBC First Person

· Posted: Apr 28, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

This First Person file is written by Jessica Sunter, a caregiver surviving with auditory processing upset successful Ottawa. For much accusation astir CBC's First Person stories, delight see the FAQ.

"We're having food 'n' kabobs."

That's what I heard my spouse say. I knew I didn't perceive it close but I couldn't fig retired why. So I told her what I heard, and I asked her to repetition herself.

"Chicken kebabs," she repeated. Ah yes, that made much sense. What didn't marque consciousness was wherefore I misunderstood the archetypal clip erstwhile I was virtually sitting 1 ft distant from her.

As I would soon corroborate with testing, it's not due to the fact that my ears were struggling to hear. Instead, my encephalon was struggling to process the sounds.

WATCH | What it feels similar to unrecorded with auditory processing disorder: 

Dyslexia, but auditory

Several months aft the kebabs incident, I was diagnosed with auditory processing upset (APD).

My audiologist erstwhile described it arsenic akin to dyslexia, but auditory. The ears tin instrumentality successful the sounds astir you, but the accusation the encephalon gets doesn't marque sense.

Some radical are calved with APD but others, similar me, tin make it aft an wounded oregon trauma to the brain. 

My satellite shifted after I slipped disconnected a bedewed structure and deed my head, leading to a concussion. Instead of recovering close away, the symptoms continued, turning into post-concussion syndrome.

While my different symptoms, specified arsenic sensitivity to light, gradually improved implicit the years, the contented with proceeding things otherwise remained and it took a agelong clip for maine to recognize that it was much than conscionable sensitivity to noise. 

It besides took maine a agelong clip to find an audiologist who could diagnose what was going on. She asked maine to reply questions astir my tolerance for music, my quality to recognize a speech with inheritance noise, however easy I americium distracted by noises and more. 

The symptoms of APD overlap with different aesculapian conditions, which explains wherefore it tin mistakenly beryllium attributed to representation problems, aphasia, trouble with concentration or conscionable plain proceeding nonaccomplishment (which I besides have, though it is lone portion of the story).

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Before gathering my audiologist, I struggled with a batch with elemental interactions with the satellite astir me, similar listening to music, reading, and talking to my household and friends. My spouse had to repetition herself frequently.

Fo example, I was sitting crossed from my spouse successful a restaurant, listening to her archer maine thing erstwhile suddenly, alternatively of words, I heard conscionable sounds. This lasted respective seconds and past I was capable to recognize her again. It was arsenic if she was speaking successful 1 connection and abruptly she switched to a antithetic connection I didn't understand.

Another time, erstwhile my spouse and I were some sick, I thought she asked maine if we had immoderate "music treats." The words are English but they didn't mean thing to me. I had to archer her I didn't recognize what she said. She repeated herself, "Neo Citran" — the blistery portion for colds.

Experiences similar these felt disorienting, and though learning I had APD was scary, getting the diagnosis besides felt similar a doorway had yet been opened and I could get retired of prison. There was a mode to interact with the satellite aft all.

How to header with APD

My audiologist told maine determination is nary cure for APD but there are tools and tricks to marque it easier to unrecorded with. 

Hearing immunodeficiency assistance some with my proceeding nonaccomplishment and with tuning to circumstantial sources of dependable truthful that inheritance noises don't distract maine arsenic much. When I americium having an important telephone conversation, I usage earphones successful some ears for the aforesaid reason.

When my spouse wants to speech to me, I halt what I'm doing archetypal due to the fact that my encephalon can't process aggregate streams of accusation anymore.

In the 5 years since my accident, I've had to advocator for myself a batch — from uncovering doctors to diagnose and dainty my assorted symptoms, to helping radical astatine enactment and astatine location to recognize my caller connection needs, and adjacent to getting the abstraction I request erstwhile the satellite is excessively much. But it paid disconnected successful the end.

My aboriginal is looking brighter due to the fact that present I cognize however to pass amended with the radical astir me. I've learned to usage the tools I person marque up for the changes successful however my encephalon works.

Bonus, I tin perceive to and bask euphony again. 

It's besides large that present my spouse isn't frustrated astir having to repetition herself implicit and over. 

The downside is that the mode she ever gets my attraction present is making maine consciousness a small similar Siri. Our conversations often statesman with, "Hey, Jessica!"

Do you person a compelling idiosyncratic communicative that tin bring knowing oregon assistance others? We privation to perceive from you. Write to america at [email protected].