What can I do to understand speech better?

@user1186 said:

Did you audiologist talk to you about the speech banana? That’s a part of the frequency graph where speech sounds are and if your loss is in those areas it can make it hard to distinguish between, for example c and t in speech even though your overall loss might not be great. Did they do the speech test in the hearing test?

They didn’t mention the speech banana, or do the speech test. It was just looking in my ears to check for obvious issues, and the listening to beeps… There was an online form I had to do in advance, asking me about my health history and writing about my concerns, but I don’t think the audiologist actually looked at it at all, to be honest.

@user1186 said:

I would suggest doing a trial of a pair of hearing aids

I’ll gladly try it, even if it’s just to know for sure that hearing aids will/won’t work- but I’m worried that I’ll just get dismissed again, based on the audiogram not being that bad. It’s not very easy for me to go to these appointments, even though they’re free- I’m physically disabled and it usually costs $40 or so just to get to and from a nearby suburb. (and yes, I’ve tried for government subsidies and accessible taxis- that’s as cheap as I can get transport unless I become best friends with someone with a car. which is a bit hard when you can’t hear them )

If you have a specific clinic you’d recommend, I’m all ears, otherwise I’ll just gradually try different places as money allows. I worry that I already come across as “too poor for fancy hearing aids”, since I can only afford the appointments by getting them for free by being a pensioner… The joys of healthcare!

@Emile030 said:

One thing I did not find in your post was what f.i. your general practitioner thinks about your problem. As hearing is a proces and not just a functionality of ears in my imagination there could be going something wrong in a lot of paths leading to speech recognition.

That’s a good point! I haven’t spoken to my GP about it yet, and I’ll bring it up at my next appointment. I recently got a new one since the last GP quit, and we’re still doing the whole “okay, who are you, what are your needs, what did the last GP forget to do that’s now my problem” conversation.

Could it be Auditory Processing Disorder of some sort? Your audiogram is really good.

Ps just seen others have mentioned it as well. Definitely worth looking into.

forgot to mention it in my last reply- yes I plan on looking into that as well!

“APD therapy isn’t rocket surgery, but it does need to be done precisely and with care.”
‍Angela Alexander, Au.D.

Rocket surgery? lol

WH

Sometimes a problem like yours (I have had a lifelong situation like yours since my early 20s also, and I BECAME a speech/language specialist) can be helped through a thorough language evaluation done by a well qualified speech/language pathologist who is familiar with the many facets of adult communication.

I have a low frequency/high frequency hearing loss, and now, at retirement age, I wear an excellent (very expensive) hearing aid, and needed to seek out a second audiologist before having my equipment set correctly for my needs.

If you are near a university with an audiology department and also a speech/language you may be able to find more help there, at lower cost.

I hope you will continue to seek answers for your situation.

Here’s a suggestions that may provide some temporary help in understanding phone calls. My I-phone has a capability to provide closed captions of your caller’s words. You’d probably need to use speaker phone settings to see the print out. For me, i went into settings, selected accessibility, then scroll down and click on accessibility mobile (closed captions). I believe an android phone may have a similar capability.

Well AI is also suggesting auditory processing disorder as a reason for your issue. I guess your audiologist needs to learn how to use AI using Bing’s search engine.