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

[EzraIsShy76028]

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.

Yes it's normal.

No it's not normal.

[MrChinaski]

No, it's not normal. My wife has this. It is a cognitive auditory processing disorder. I don't think there is a cure, nor does it get worse per se but overall reduction in hearing quality with age can exacerbate it. My experience... I'm not a doctor.

[exitseven]

it is usually normal but may mean some degree of hearing deficit.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO

[Anonymous]

There's a name for that kind of hearing loss but I don't remember what it is and you should get it checked by an ENT, they will give you a complete hearing test and at your age there's probably something they can do to fix it.

[EmmaMary]

Perfectly normal.

[EzraIsShy76028]

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.