4 days ago
Take the test that can help spot the hidden sign of ADHD that no one talks about
If you find yourself having a hard time following a TV show without subtitles, or asking people to repeat themselves, it might not be because there's something wrong with your hearing.
Instead, experts says that auditory processing disorder (ADP)—a little-known sign of ADHD—could be to blame.
According to Dr Sermed Mezher, a UK based GP and influencer with over 344,000 followers on Instagram, an inability to follow dialogue could be a sign of ADP.
ADP affects around five per cent of the population and can make it incredibly difficult to process sounds, including spoken words.
However, people who suffer with the condition usually have normal hearing.
In an Instagram video that has so far garnered over 1.4million views, Dr Mezher explained: 'It isn't just people with ADHD that can hear things but struggle to process them.
'Auditory processing disorder is thought to be a dysfunction of what's known as the "cocktail party effect" of the brain—where you can selectively focus on different parts of your hearing.'
The problem, which affects roughly half of people with ADHD, refers to a listener's ability to hone in on specific conversations or sounds, while ignoring other background noise.
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A post shared by Sermed Mezher (@drsermedmezher)
Audiologists can diagnose the condition via special tests, some of which can be replicated at home.
For instance, testers may ask people to pick out details in two pieces of audio played at the same time-one containing speech, and the other music.
You could test for this at home by playing music as well as your favourite tv show, and try to decifer what is being said.
Elsewhere, tests are available online, such as a basic one by tech firm Forebrain, although these are not medically verified.
Dr Mezher said: 'Signs that you could have [APD] include if you ask people to repeat things a lot, or you speak too softly or loudly for the situation.'
He continued in the caption: 'People with APD might also appear to be inattentive or distracted especially in group settings, when in reality they are simply having trouble processing what is being said.
Other common symptoms include having difficulty understanding people with a strong accent that is different from your own, problems following spoken instructions and difficulties with similar sounding words.
Dr Mezher said: 'These challenges can impact academic, social and professional life, making early recognition and support essential.'
Symptoms of APD and ADHD often overlap, meaning that children are misdiagnosed. Common symptoms of both conditions include finding it hard to listen to what people are saying, talking noisily and seeming disinterested in a conversation
According to the NHS, APD most commonly develops in childhood, and is often found in people with attention, language and learning difficulties—such as ADHD, as well as dyslexia.
This comes as worrying new figures published by the NHS estimate up to 2.5million people in England could be living with attention deficit disorder (ADHD), with more than half a million people waiting for an assessment.
Doctors have raised concerns in recent years about a surge in diagnoses—but this marks the first official estimate of how widespread the condition may be.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder with symptoms such as difficulty listening to what people are saying or following instructions, overlapping with APD.
Other symptoms in children and young people include being easily distracted, forgetting everyday tasks and talking noisily.
Around five per cent of children and young people in the country are thought to the condition.
This means a total of 741,000 children and young people aged five to 24 may have the condition, including those without a diagnosis.
This comes as ADHD campaigners have accused the NHS of presiding over a 'widely failing system' as it emerged that prescriptions for ADHD medications have risen by an alarming 18 per cent year on year since the pandemic.
