…I am not ignoring you. Nor am I being condescending or aloof, I’m not bored with what you’re saying, and I’m not wishing you would leave me alone, no matter what my facial expression might suggest. Honest.
In fact, the odds are good I really want to talk to you, since weekend nights are usually the only times I see many of my friends. But you talk to me and I smile and give vague responses and nod a lot and don’t try very hard to keep the conversation going. Mostly, this is because I can’t hear a word you’re saying.
I’ve got some high-frequency hearing loss. Some things I hear extremely well. It doesn’t affect my enjoyment of music or movies or normal conversation. But when I’m in a loud environment such as a busy restaurant or bar, I find it very difficult to pick out individual voices. Even if you’re right next to me, when you’re talking I’m probably making guesses from context and reading your lips, and I’m not a very good lip-reader. Teres and I will often text each other from inches away, just to carry on a conversation that isn’t shouty.
This is also why, when I’m at concerts taking photos, you’ll probably see me using ear plugs. I want to protect what hearing I’ve got left.
So please, bear with me. And save anything complicated for outside.
It might not even be high-frequencies. There could be a dip anywhere from the mid-range to the high frequencies which just happens to be where most people’s voices tend to be. I have the same thing. In crowded bars I can’t hear people talking to me, and I can’t tell if I myself am talking too loudly or too quietly when I try to reply. All I can think of in those places is “why don’t they try noise dampening materials on the walls?”.