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Difficulty in job search because of auditory processing disorder

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by BobObob, Jan 5, 2016.

  1. BobObob

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    I have auditory processing disorder (professionally diagnosed as a child), a learning disability where someone the person has trouble perceiving what they hear absent of any hearing problems (i.e., their ears can pick up sounds just fine, but the brain often fails to understand those sounds correctly). You can think of it as the audio equivalent of dyslexia (symptoms for which tends to coincide with auditory processing disorder). A few minutes of this video shows what it's like to have something similar happen, but for visual information instead of auditory information.

    I'm employed by a company that farms me out to companies that need temporary, but skilled, workers for software jobs, and I've recently been looking for a new project. Most companies hiring for the type of job I'm looking for (software QA) first have someone call me to get some general information, then perhaps set up a phone interview, then either an in-person or a Skype interview (depending on whether or not the job is local). On top of being an anxiety-prone guy with poor people skills, having auditory processing disorder can make this process really difficult. APD can cause communication problems during face-to-face interviews, especially if the interviewer has an accent, but it's especially difficult on the phone because I can't see the person, and the audio quality is worse than face-to-face.

    Just today, I had about a half dozen phone calls where I couldn't understand most of what the person was saying. Because of that, I couldn't get their name, so I was constantly confused about which person I was talking to. I couldn't hear many of their questions, even after them repeating it at my request.

    EDIT: I just want to add that in spite of having auditory processing disorder (and maybe mild dyslexia), I've been able to do well in tasks that don't require much communication. For instance, I finished a master's degree in computer science back in June.

    Does anyone else have advice? Anecdotes of similar experiences?
     
    #1 BobObob, Jan 5, 2016
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  2. Really

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    Are there things the other speaker(s) can do to make it easier for you?

    Have you tried prefacing the conversations with a quick word about the fact that you have a small hearing deficit and that if they do A,B and C, it would help? I don't think you need to get into details about the condition but I'm sure nobody would have a problem accommodating you. Especially, seeing as the interviews aren't in person.
     
  3. BobObob

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    Other than having the interview in a quiet place, not really. Although, even that probably wouldn't make a big difference if I have trouble understanding that person. Hypothetically, if the interview was somehow via text, that would be much better (even though I'm a very slow reader), but I don't think there is any interviewer who would want to do that. Because of that, I typically prefer written communication instead of verbal communication.

    Things that might work for those who are hard of hearing, such as speaking louder, speaking slower, or repeating yourself usually don't help. I've had many awkward situations in which I couldn't understand what the person said after they repeated themselves 3 or 4 times, so I either awkwardly cut off the conversation or just said "yeah" in hopes that they would move on (and that "Yeah" would somehow make sense, or at least not have bad consequences).

    Not really. Some of the people I need to talk to are middlemen(/women) or screeners who I only briefly talk to without any prior communication. For many of these people who I talk to over the phone, I tell them that I'm getting interference that's making it difficult for me to hear them (even if it's a lie), since that's easier to briefly explain to people in a way that they would understand.

    I should probably think about telling people, on some level, about this issue before face-to-face interviews. However, the only thing I could get out of doing that is more understanding if I have difficulty understanding the interviewer. I should probably look into whether or not I'm protected from discrimination on this basis from the ADA as a temporary contractor, although being protected from discrimination doesn't make it impossible to be discriminated against.

    Aside from seeking a tutor when struggling in a Latin class I had to take in college (because I got a "D" the previous semester), I haven't sought out accommodation for my APD before. Surprisingly, it was rarely a problem in the classroom during college. It wasn't a problem very often in the past, even when I communicated with customers all the time when working as a customer service/cashier.

    It seems that my auditory processing disorder get so much worse with anxiety, and boy do I get anxious during interviews. I suspect that that's partly why I usually didn't have problems in school or with previous jobs with my APD. But boy do I get anxious when I have an interview.
     
    #3 BobObob, Jan 5, 2016
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  4. Really

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    Hmm. That's tough. You're right, interviews are anxiety producing, even at the best of times.

    That link you provided mentioned some special headphones. I don't suppose you have access to a pair of them, do you?

    Alternatively, is there a university near you that might be doing research in this or perhaps some post grad student interested in working with you? I'm thinking maybe in the linguistics department. Might be something to look into. Even if they don't have something currently, someone might be interested to work with you and research possible therapies or tools to assist you.

    In the meantime, maybe you could get a friend to role play with you. Call you up and ask some interview questions. Would this sort of practice help? It could lower the anxiety level possibly the more you practice.