Good night!! Now my ears are going! Help!!
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free skin care · Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:05 pm

Ok, some of you may know I had knee surgery in May, but what has me flustered is the results of my hearing test!

I had my hearing tested last Feb due to ringing in my left ear. I had a weapon discharge near my ear which resulted in ringing. No big deal, right? No such luck. While getting tested my doctor suspected an underlying issue and had me take a test to stress my audio processing ability.

Well, the test is back and I just got a phone call-- I have CAPD. Central Auditory Processing Disorder. I've goggled it and I'm still a bit unclear on the why. Does anyone have this or know of someone who does???!!!

Based on what I've read and my doctor's explaination, basically, my ears work, but I don't process sound like most do. My ability to process sound didn't mature normally. I went in thinking I just had hearing loss...not something wrong with the wiring!!!

I guess I shocked my doctor and his assistant by asking if this meant I was in some way retarded? He was at a loss for a second since I followed up with, "If I was retarded--would I even know it?" My husband is still laughing about this phone conversation. He doesn't think it is that big a deal. It is to me, but I'm still trying to process this. BTW, my doctor assured me that my mental state is fine and in no way affected- just how I sort sound is the issue. Basically, if I was a r-tard before the test, than I'm still a r-tard now. Nice to know, eh?

I'm rather blunt and this is a bit of a shock to learn I have CAPD. My sense of humor is not always PC, but I was also partially serious as I don't know what catogory this places me in. Does this mean I'm legally disabled? Should I tell me boss? I've gone my whole life thinking my hearing just sucked, but otherwise I was fine.

I hope I have not offended anyone. I just don't know what to do with this right now. Oh, he wants to fit me with a hearing aid to help boost what I do hear. He said its a BTE which I'm not really sure what that is yet. I have to go down in a week or so for a fitting if my insurance will even cover the hearing aid.
I just had my knee fixed and now I find out my brain is broken! UGH!!

This just sucks!! Mad

I could use a shoulder right now... Confused

free skin care · Mon Jul 09, 2007 3:30 pm

OK, it ain't your brain as such which is screwed up it's just (sorry more really than 'just') a sensory impairment. Possibly under your laws stateside you may be classed as disabled but I like to think of disability as a continuum. Most people experience disability at some point and it often just creeps up on us (like my screwed up knees) or like you it is a swift fell swoop.

Essentially you are the same as before your diagnosis, it's just that you may have to live with a label attached to you because of your impairment. Labels can be tough. They can hurt like calling some one with learning difficulties a retard or they can help by being a badge and creating a sense of community like in Martha's Vineyard or even just a way to get certain benefits.

Either way, it is up to you how you want to take it. My guess is your intelligence and humor will see you through.

Aren't you glad you have a disabilities studies post grad on hte forum Laughing

free skin care · Mon Jul 09, 2007 3:30 pm

OK, it ain't your brain as such which is screwed up it's just (sorry more really than 'just') a sensory impairment. Possibly under your laws stateside you may be classed as disabled but I like to think of disability as a continuum. Most people experience disability at some point and it often just creeps up on us (like my screwed up knees) or like you it is a swift fell swoop.

Essentially you are the same as before your diagnosis, it's just that you may have to live with a label attached to you because of your impairment. Labels can be tough. They can hurt like calling some one with learning difficulties a retard or they can help by being a badge and creating a sense of community like in Martha's Vineyard or even just a way to get certain benefits.

Either way, it is up to you how you want to take it. My guess is your intelligence and humor will see you through.

Aren't you glad you have a disabilities studies post grad on hte forum Laughing

free skin care · Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:16 pm

Yes, I am glad you are on here!! Thank you GG!

I know that I am the same person, but it is still hard for me to wrap my mind around this yet. I have worked within the Deaf Community before, but I find I'm struggling with the idea of wearing a hearing aid myself. I never thought anything about working with the deaf, but I am having a hard time accepting I have limitations. Weird, eh? I guess,I'm not sure how I'll take people labeling me. Does that make sense?

I do hope I hear better with it as I have struggled in certain situations both at home and work, but I am weirded out by this test result? I can't help it. I know I'm not the best listener, but always thought it was something I could overcome with enough effort. To know it is a struggle because of something I can't fix or control is frustrating. I'm going to have to adapt and that scares me a little. I worry about how I will hear as I age. My hearing is not great now, but as it worsens...how does this disorder affect that? I'm praying that it only means when I hollar at my DH and hit him in the shin with my cane for not listening to me- I'll find that that he was-I just didn't know it.

BTW: I also think I may have offended you by using the word 'retard' or its cousin 'r-tard'. After watching 'The Ringer" with Johnny Knoxville I find I do use this word alot now, but NEVER with anyone who is disabled.

I prefer it for normal people who do stupid things..repeatedly. FYI: I work with young adults who think its ok to jump out windows to go have a smoke (I guess doors are for conformers?) or who hang out their dorm windows naked during drug searches to avoid getting caught. Yes, this and more has happened to me at my job and, oddly enough, it is a term of endearment among my current group of young knuckle-heads. I'm very protective of them, but they do drive me crazy. I call them 'My little r-tards' and they love it. Hehe.
For now, unless my boss notices the hearing aid....I think I'll keep this to myself. At least until I know more about it.

Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:34 pm

I wouldn't think of this in any way as being retarded Laughing

I don't see it as any different than someone who's eyes don't work correctly and they need glasses to see well.

free skin care · Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:02 am

No offence taken. Smile

free skin care · Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:25 am

Thanks Karianne! I really appreciate your response (and GG). I just wish I knew the 'why' behind this. Oh, I now have to go see a specialist to rule out a brain tumor or possible other causes of CAPD. My doctor told me not to worry, but "Holy Crap!" How can I not?

Wow! I guess I must be a leper on EDS. Sad

I've been on here almost two years and with something like this that really upsets me -I get little response from the forum. Hell, more folks responded to the 'woman?' with holes in her nose and dirt that wouldn't wash off! I guess my feelings are a bit hurt right now.

At work and home I try to hide how I feel about things, but here I can be a bit more open. I admit, it stings a bit at this reception to my situation. I find it hard to open up and I was looking for support here. I guess it was my fault to expect anything or to share anything deeper than make-up.

-Deeply hurt in Arizona.

free skin care · Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:06 pm

I agree with Karianne, that I don't think this would be considered any more of a disability than having bad eye sight would (unless you are leagally deaf of course). I wear glasses and when I am tired I quite often see double vision because of a lazy eye and was told I may need eye surgery to correct this. It's something that really sucks but I just consider myself lucky that I can see at all. I also have a teenage son with ADD, which is a neurobiological disorder, and he has to take medication for it but I certainly wouldn't call him disabled or retarded just because the neurotransmiters in his brain don't work properly.

I really hope that once you get the hearing aid, you notice a big difference with your hearing and the way you interpret sound. It is always a shock to hear that you have a health problem, especially when it is something that you are not familiar with. And especially when they start mentioning the word tumor. Embarassed

That is so scary. I was once told I may have MS and had to wait 6 months to get the CAT scan to find out that it was actually something else, and I can remember how upset I was. Please keep us up to date on your test results. And don't be upset that not more members have responded. It's only been a day. Give everyone time and I'm sure they will all offer their support.

Hugs
Diana

free skin care · Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:44 pm

Thank you Diana for the kind words, but 'only a day?' I just don't buy it. It was sweet of you to try though.

Actually, I did find a bit of info you might be interested in:

Quote:

As CAPD is one of the more difficult information processing disorders to detect and diagnose, it may sometimes be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD.

It is something to look into anyway. It really depends on the testing done on your son. If testing was very in depth, then he probably has ADHD.

Out here many doctors just prescribe meds and if the child responds well than THAT is the conformation of ADHD. Isn't that crazy?!! So many people are lumped into having attention disorders which the medical professionals themselves do not fully understand.

For anyone this may help. Here is some background info on CAPD:

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) (previously known as "Central Auditory Processing Disorder" (CAPD) is a disorder in how auditory information is processed in the brain. It is not a sensory (inner ear) hearing impairment; individuals with APD usually have normal peripheral hearing ability. APD is an umbrella term that describe a variety of problems with the brain that can interfere with processing auditory information.APD can manifest as problems determining the direction of sounds, difficulty perceiving differences between speech sounds and the of sequencing these sounds into meaningful words, confusing similar sounds such as "hat" with "bat", "there" with "where" etc. Fewer words may be perceived than were actually said, as there can be problems detecting the gaps between words, creating the sense that someone is speaking unfamiliar or nonsense words.[edit] Behavioral manifestations
Some of the manifestations below may be observed in individuals with other types of deficits or disorders, such as acquired brain injury, attention deficits, hearing loss, psychologically-based behavioral problems, and learning difficulties or dyslexia. Common behavioral characteristics often noted in individuals with APD include:

Difficulty understanding what people are saying when there's background noise, such as noise at a party
Difficulty comprehending more than one piece of information at a time or following long monologues
Difficulty hearing or understanding conversations on the telephone
Preferring to learn a foreign language (or challenging vocabulary words, or difficult last names) by learning to read and write the words first, and then learning to hear and speak the words, and then only when the words are spoken slowly
Difficulty remembering spoken information (i.e., auditory memory deficits)
Difficulty taking notes
Difficulty maintaining focus on an activity if other sounds are present; person is easily distracted by other sounds in the environment
Difficulty with organizational skills
Difficulty following multi-step directions
Difficulty in dividing attention
Difficulty with reading and/or spelling/dyslexia
Preferring to watch movies with the subtitles or closed-captioning on/Preferring to either read subtitles with no voice-over or vice versa, but not able to cope with both subtitles and voice simultaneously
Sensitivity to certain sounds, particularly sudden or high frequency sounds: a condition called "Hyperacusis" and/or inability to separate sounds (e.g., inability to "tune out" a television on in the background while "tuning in" a conversation with a person), referred to by psychologists as the inability to process "The Cocktail Effect"
Difficulty picking out one musical instrument from a band or orchestra

Take care Diana and thanks for listening!

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