[MandiePoo]

This has been happening for many years, but it now becoming an issue. I'm wondering if it is mental or physical - I can't seem to find anything else suggesting it is an actual illness at this point except stroke, and I know I am not having strokes.

Basically I get these "attacks" where I can be listening to the TV, or music, or conversating with someone etc, or on the phone - basically listening to LANGUAGE(musically, everything stays the same/ambiently there are no changes) - and suddenly for about 10-30 seconds, I can't UNDERSTAND any of it. Now, I can still HEAR it - but the way I hear it changes - it literally sounds jumbled, as if I was hearing another language or they were speaking nonsense.

What the heck is this, any idea?

[krisakira]

it happens to me for a few seconds when my mind wanders off, i hear the sound, but don't pay attention to what the words mean... it could be a form of dissociation, where you're not totally "there"

[jitters]

Yes! What you have sounds like Auditory Processing Disorder. It seems like people with wonky neuro-wiring that causes mental illness frequently have other neurological conditions.

Is it more acute when you're stressed? I find that it works that way for me, which creates just one more obstacle to deal with in social situations

[Umbral_Seraph]

I get something similar to that; if I hear something too many times it will suddenly have no meaning and I can't understand it, like it was in a different language.

[MandiePoo]

Originally Posted by jitters

Yes! What you have sounds like Auditory Processing Disorder. It seems like people with wonky neuro-wiring that causes mental illness frequently have other neurological conditions.

Is it more acute when you're stressed? I find that it works that way for me, which creates just one more obstacle to deal with in social situations

Not that I am self diagnosing, but I quite literally have EVERY.SINGLE.SYMPTOM. on this list and have all my life:

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical..._auditory.html

Symptoms of APD can range from mild to severe and can take many different forms. If you think your child might have a problem processing sounds, consider these questions:

Is your child easily distracted or unusually bothered by loud or sudden noises?
Are noisy environments upsetting to your child?
Does your child's behavior and performance improve in quieter settings?
Does your child have difficulty following directions, whether simple or complicated?
Does your child have reading, spelling, writing, or other speech-language difficulties?
Is abstract information difficult for your child to comprehend?
Are verbal (word) math problems difficult for your child?
Is your child disorganized and forgetful?
Are conversations hard for your child to follow?

Lol, I was actually diagnosed with math disorder. And I had HUGE issues with saying compound words backwards(fly-butter, brush-tooth etc) and with getting + and - backwards etc. HOW INTERESTING is this. The garbling specifically doesn't seem stress specific really, but I definetly have MAJOR trouble hearing with any background noise. If the tap is on forget it - and at my hearing test I tested fine with just a little more trouble on the right side due to damage. I actually thought I might be losing my hearing!

Do you suppose this is why I am so logic based now a days - because abstract thinking has ALWAYS been an issue for me. I can't follow it quite often and it takes me a long time to understand.

Sorry I am just at how like me this sounds. Of course with mental health issues, it could be those too but I am going to mention this to the doctor.

[lizardlady]

Mandiepoo, I have fibro. When I'm having a flare I experience what you describe. Since I make my living listening to other people talk it's a pain.

[Oxidopamine]

An alternative may be auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, in which the dysfunction occurs either at the auditory nerve that transmits sound from the ear to the brainstem or the inner hair cells of the ear (which are responsible for encoding sound to neural signals). It's a bit of a weird disorder because people can have almost normal hearing outcomes from standard hearing tests yet have very poor hearing ability in background noise. It's a very recent disorder and the dominant view is that it is a hereditary condition due to hyperbilirubinemia or mild lack of oxygen during fetal development, however, not all cases are detected at birth.

[Perna]

I can have that happen when I'm reading; the words won't "hold together" for me so I might understand each word but they don't mean anything when put with others.

[lizardlady]

Originally Posted by Perna

I can have that happen when I'm reading; the words won't "hold together" for me so I might understand each word but they don't mean anything when put with others.

Perna, I have the very same problem at times with both the written and spoken word.

[gma45]

I am with you Lizardlady and Perna reading sometimes is the worst or I have had people ask me where something is a work and I have to look at them again and say What was that you were looking for cause my mind just go's blank.

[Perna]

I think it is just our individual neural wiring, a glitch somewhere, maybe genetic, maybe "learned" (my mother had a major speech issue when I was learning to talk). Slowing down when I catch it happening to me, helps me. Sometimes I make no sense because I'll lack references and my husband has to say, "I don't hear any nouns" and I stop and form the sentence in my head rather than trying to "wing" it where I'm apt to skip over parts I have in my thoughts but which I neglect to convey to the other person :-) Picturing a restaurant, its surroundings, in your mind's eye and "knowing" where it is is not the same as giving good directions to it, especially if you can't remember the restaurant's name