Hearing |
Overreactive |
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Avoider |
Can't attend certain public events or places due to excessive noise. |
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Avoids loud noises. |
Can't work with background noise. |
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Holds hands over ears. |
Easily distracted by auditory stimuli. |
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Covers ears in the cafeteria or cannot go into the gym when there are many people in it. |
Easily distracted in classroom. |
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May refuse to go to movie theaters, parades, skating rinks, musical concerts etc. |
Distracted by sounds not normally noticed by others; like humming of lights or refrigerators, fans, heaters, or clocks ticking. |
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May decide whether they like certain people by the sound of their voice. |
Over reacts to loud noises or unexpected sounds, like sirens. |
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Frequently asks people to be quiet; i.e., stop making noise, talking, or singing. |
Cries about sounds in environment (e.g., hair dryer). |
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Fearful of the sound of a flushing toilet (especially in public bathrooms), vacuum, hairdryer, squeaky shoes, or a dog barking. |
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Hearing |
Underreactive |
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Seeking |
Had little or no vocalizing or babbling as an infant. |
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Makes sounds constantly. |
Often does not respond to verbal cues or to name being called. |
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May frequently make noises just to hear them. |
Needs directions repeated often, or will say, "What?" frequently. |
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Talks self through a task, often out loud. |
Seems oblivious within an active environment. |
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Will often speak louder than is necessary. |
Seems to have difficulty understanding or remembering what was said. |
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Love loud noises, often watch TV and listen to music very loudly. |
May fail to recognize a sound that most would find alerting or strong. |
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Need to listen to music to concentrate. |
Appears confused about where a sound is coming from. |
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Appears oblivious to certain sounds. |
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Hearing |
Poor Perception and/or Discrimination |
May be hyper or hyposensitive to sound. |
Difficulty pronouncing words. |
Difficulty using prepositions. |
Difficulty remembering and sequencing multi- step directions. |
Difficulty sequencing verbal directions. |
May appear inattentive. |
May need to make a lot of effort to concentrate. |
Short attention span. |
Trouble hearing in groups. |
Difficulty focussing on foreground sounds and blocking out extra background sounds. |