Does it sometimes feel like your partner is ignoring you? Or find they struggle to hear speech in a noisy place?
The reason could be auditory processing disorder (APD), a condition that creates a problem with how the brain interprets sound, the Daily Mail reported.
People with APD are unable to differentiate between words and sounds.
APD is different from hearing loss because the sound can reach the brain, but people are unable to process it.
APD is rare and hard to diagnose. Sufferers are often perceived as being rude. This can lead them to become anxious and depressed.
"APD is not a learning difficulty, but it causes them," Alyson Mountjoy, co-founder of APDUK, a support group, told the Daily Mail. Adding, "And it has lifelong implications, affecting education, relationships, work and self-esteem."
Researchers are hopeful that a new test being developed by a team at University College London (UCL) will make diagnosis more clear.
