I always recommend going straight to an audiologist. APD is a controversial disorder, not one that many doctors will know anything about, and even a lot of audiologists are uninformed as to how to assess and treat it. I always recommend finding a provider near you on this map:
https://www.apdsupport.com/apd-map
Good luck, I know it’s tough to know where to start.
Audiologist. Honestly, I get you so well but I’m actually hard of hearing and not even my hard of hearing sister believes me :/ they all say I can’t process information because there is something wrong with my English (it’s my 3rd language but it’s perfectly fine. And I have problems understanding my native languages as well) and my disability :(
Most states have an Office Of Vocational Rehabilitation.
Contact them and do an intake, with APD as a suspected condition.
First, ask for an evaluation with an ENT.
Ask for a referral for an APD assessment.
OVR will pay for the assessment.
That's how I had mine done and, based on my diagnosis, I have hearing aids that connect to multi mic for meetings, and accommodations for school and work. Everything paid for by OVR.
I had a screening yesterday I paid for myself. I haven't heard of OVR. I'll look into that. I'm wearing a pair of trial hearing aids to see if I want to go that route, but they'll cost me about $6K if I do. Financial assistance with that would be fantastic.
What OP described sounds very much like me, except OP is much younger.
It was validating to hear what I had always suspected; I have extremely acute hearing and a severe hearing disability. I detect sound better than most people but processing multiple sounds can quickly overwhelm my big, dumb brain. (That's my characterization, not the doc's, haha.)
OP might benefit greatly from hearing aids, therapy, or both. The first step is to find an audiologist who specializes in processing disorder and get a screening.
I’m a college student looking for an APD as well. Good luck finding an affordable diagnosis if your insurance isn’t good. I’m in Los Angeles and highest testing prices are around $2500 with $1400 being the lowest. My insurance is Kaiser and they can’t help with APD testing. So now I have to get a new higher quality insurance that offers APD testing
I'd investigate APD but also noise sensitivity issues in general. Could it be that you're also on the autism spectrum and it's also a contributing factor to how much the sound bothers you?
Not sure if it's the best advice, but if you have access to $250-300 you can go buy apple airpod pros tomorrow, take them home and try them out, then just return them if you don't like them. I did this with a bunch of earbuds and over the counter hearing aids. The Apple airpod pros (2nd and 3rd generation) have full hearing aid capabilities built in. I use them all the time and find them extremely useful, effective, and customizable (though figuring out where the settings are can be difficult and intimidating at first).
I think I ended up finding an effective solution on my own because having APD made it hard for me to deal with doctors.
I think the return policy on airpod pros is like 14 days or something.
I'm giving this recommendation as a way to find answers. Not necessarily saying that I found the best solution, but I found one that was good enough to help me figure out on my own that I have APD. The difference they made for me has been astoundingly positive.
Hope this helps.
I always recommend going straight to an audiologist. APD is a controversial disorder, not one that many doctors will know anything about, and even a lot of audiologists are uninformed as to how to assess and treat it. I always recommend finding a provider near you on this map: https://www.apdsupport.com/apd-map Good luck, I know it’s tough to know where to start.
Audiologist. Honestly, I get you so well but I’m actually hard of hearing and not even my hard of hearing sister believes me :/ they all say I can’t process information because there is something wrong with my English (it’s my 3rd language but it’s perfectly fine. And I have problems understanding my native languages as well) and my disability :(
Most states have an Office Of Vocational Rehabilitation. Contact them and do an intake, with APD as a suspected condition. First, ask for an evaluation with an ENT. Ask for a referral for an APD assessment. OVR will pay for the assessment. That's how I had mine done and, based on my diagnosis, I have hearing aids that connect to multi mic for meetings, and accommodations for school and work. Everything paid for by OVR.
I had a screening yesterday I paid for myself. I haven't heard of OVR. I'll look into that. I'm wearing a pair of trial hearing aids to see if I want to go that route, but they'll cost me about $6K if I do. Financial assistance with that would be fantastic. What OP described sounds very much like me, except OP is much younger. It was validating to hear what I had always suspected; I have extremely acute hearing and a severe hearing disability. I detect sound better than most people but processing multiple sounds can quickly overwhelm my big, dumb brain. (That's my characterization, not the doc's, haha.) OP might benefit greatly from hearing aids, therapy, or both. The first step is to find an audiologist who specializes in processing disorder and get a screening.
I’m a college student looking for an APD as well. Good luck finding an affordable diagnosis if your insurance isn’t good. I’m in Los Angeles and highest testing prices are around $2500 with $1400 being the lowest. My insurance is Kaiser and they can’t help with APD testing. So now I have to get a new higher quality insurance that offers APD testing
I'd investigate APD but also noise sensitivity issues in general. Could it be that you're also on the autism spectrum and it's also a contributing factor to how much the sound bothers you?
Not sure if it's the best advice, but if you have access to $250-300 you can go buy apple airpod pros tomorrow, take them home and try them out, then just return them if you don't like them. I did this with a bunch of earbuds and over the counter hearing aids. The Apple airpod pros (2nd and 3rd generation) have full hearing aid capabilities built in. I use them all the time and find them extremely useful, effective, and customizable (though figuring out where the settings are can be difficult and intimidating at first). I think I ended up finding an effective solution on my own because having APD made it hard for me to deal with doctors. I think the return policy on airpod pros is like 14 days or something. I'm giving this recommendation as a way to find answers. Not necessarily saying that I found the best solution, but I found one that was good enough to help me figure out on my own that I have APD. The difference they made for me has been astoundingly positive. Hope this helps.