Last year I became aware of how much difficulty I have processing speech. I think this is something I have always had. I could never understand lyrics in music, have trouble following discussions in meetings, and struggle understanding people with accents. I wonder if I have learned to just respond instinctively to “vibes” instead of actually properly processing the content of what is being said.

I suspect it is largely anxiety related. I’ve had moments where lyrics are crystal clear, after smoking weed, so I don’t think it is a hearing thing.