Imagine it helping people with Autism and ADHD! ADHD people have hard time listening to 1 person because part of the brain tries to listen to all other conversations going around.
Prior to what i would describe as idiotic practices in my 20s and 30s, i could focus rapt attention on as few or as many people as required in nearly any situation, parties, bars, whatever. Music venues obviously not, but looking at someone and talking loudly near their ear (vice versa) worked fine.
My hearing issues are similar to my FIL's, who is 50% deaf in one ear and 95%+ in the other. if you're sittin on the wrong side, you're getting a lot of smiles and nods, because "eh?" gets old. real. fast. However, i can hear a raccoon messing around outside, and no one else seems to hear it; also a phone notification going off in the next room, as examples. my hearing "feels" fine, except in the very specific circumstance of human speech recognition. I also have tinnitus sometimes - it comes and goes, and if i concentrate i can focus it to the point of wincing, sometimes.
interestingly i have to turn down the master volume of games when i am voice chatting. any amount of noise from the game will interfere with my ability to process people speaking, especially if the game has a lot of talking. Additionally, i cannot watch any tv or film produced after about 2000 or so without subtitles, regardless of how fancy the "5.1 surround" center channel DSP is.
sorry for rambling, i suppose i don't think ADHD has anything to do with my hearing loss or issue; I should have worn hearing protection more when i was younger and i'm not regretting it much now, but when i can't hear music i enjoy i'll be pretty sad about that.
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss that as a potential factor, auditory processing issues are known to something that can be connected to ADHD in some people. (Also mentioned by a few other people in the comments.)
Couple of links that go into more details:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_auditory_attention
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_processing_disorder
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktail_party_effect
> Additionally, i cannot watch any tv or film produced after about 2000 or so without subtitles, regardless of how fancy the "5.1 surround" center channel DSP is.
IMO that's potentially more because audio engineers for home movie releases are... ok, well, let's just say, "have different opinions on how to mix audio with dialogue than me". :) It's a very common compliant.
> I should have worn hearing protection more when i was younger
Shouldn't we all? :) Still worth trying to protect what you have now--I've used the "Etymotic" brand ear plugs mentioned elsewhere in the comments which are intended to more evenly reduce sound levels without just "muffling" everything.
> but when i can't hear music i enjoy i'll be pretty sad about that.
Indeed. Understandably.
I use active muffs if i need to hear, and howard leight earplugs and plain howard leight muffs contemporaneously for exploding things. A skeet shooting film grip recommended this after (nearly?) having her eardrum broken by a long tube hitting a tower leg on a set next to her head. Specifically the brand, but also the doubling up if there's guaranteed risk of loud noises.
active muffs are so nice i regret waiting a decade to actually buy some. I'll check out the etymotic e*20** at some point, although i'm hesitant about how useful they'll actually be relative to active muffs.