I am one of those individuals who can't understand a word someone is saying to me if there is any loud background noise - e.g. other people talking near me. That frustrated me so much in the past, nowadays I just say loudly and politely I can't understand a damn word because someone near me is talking a bit too loudly.

I suffer from something similar, I'd say I hear you, but I probably wouldn't.

I read ya man, gatherings of 3+ people are hell :(

I struggle we have a guy in our office who talks way to loud and it's a nightmare trying to concentrate or absorb things others are saying he doesn't take the hints we all drop

Try wearing headphones with active noise reduction.

Makes you look kinda goofy, but hey... who isnt?

It's a sign of tinitis, loss of hearing. I have the same problem... I listen too much to loud music :/

@superroot I don't know, I always had this "limitation", since I was a kid. If it really is a hearing loss, me thinks I probably would be deaf by now.

Plus, I can hear people very well if I focus - usually when people are badmouthing someone lol

Jokes aside, I will take the possibility of tinits into consideration and learn more about it, thanks.

@ladsoft Sounds exactly what I suffer with. Had it since birth, typically hearing IS good, but too many concurrent noises just result in a wall of indecipherable white noise?

@ladsoft It's just... you being you. Too much stimulation can make you "overload" while trying to process everything around you. It's something more or less typical for introverts (maybe not for all, though). Dont worry anyway, you aren't broken. Simply say there's a lot of noise and ask them to repeat or to clarify. It's fine :) I'm hardcore ISTJ type and this happens to me all the time, especially in clubs where a bit louder music combined with many people "yelling" around sometimes almost shuts down my ability to understand a person talking to me %)

@nmunro me too, there are sometimes I think I might be hearing loss, until I hear this speaker electrical buzzing or that air conditioning whistling no one else hears 👻. In fact I complained about the latest to my boss, and that bit** politely told me to fuck off 😈.