If you have ADHD, you should know that auditory processing disorder is a thing too. I wish I found out about it sooner.

I know this sub is mostly about school, but it's really about how to learn best. So here goes.<br><br>I've had shitty hearing since I was a kid. It was hard to hear teachers, classmates, my boss, people in my classes....anyone, really, if i wasn't right in front of them. I couldn't get hearing aids, and earplugs (one of those weird earplug hearing aid things) were too expensive. Eventually, I learned to adapt. I'd sit in the front row, I'd listen carefully, and I'd try to remember what people said.<br><br>When I was in my 20s, I got diagnosed with ADHD, and suddenly a whole lot of my life made a lot of sense. The shittiness. Why I had to push myself to succeed. Why I needed to follow the same routine so I'd know what to expect. Why money disappeared so quickly. Why I couldn't stay focused.<br><br>I learned ways to adapt with ADHD. I got used to it, and things seemed a lot better once I figured out how to study best, how to manage my money, how to do a lot of things.<br><br>It took me until now to get my hearing properly tested. It turns out my hearing is "just" 25% impaired. No hearing aid for me. I was disappointed...but then I read through the rest of my hearing test results. It turns out that not only is my hearing not great, my brain has a hard time processing sounds too. There are a whole lot of sounds I have trouble hearing (p, f, s, th are among the worst), and I have a really hard time hearing when there are background noises.<br><br>*Auditory processing disorder.* Look it up if you haven't already.<br><br>For me, this explains why I always have such a hard time hearing in classes, meetings, when people talk to me. It explains why I sometimes mishear words, or have to ask people to repeat themselves.<br><br>I wish I'd learned about this years ago, because it would have saved me a lot of grief and frustration. It's hard to learn, to listen, when you can't hear properly.<br><br>I'm old now, at least as an undergrad student goes. I'm almost done with my degree. I'm an RA. I have a good life, and I'm doing my best to succeed. But I still found out something new about myself, and I'm still learning to adapt. I thought I'd share this here so others can learn about it too.