Sometimes I worry that people think I’m rude if I stare at the ceiling/look up, or around when they are talking to me. Usually I’m very much an eye contact person, but I do it mostly with people who are softly spoken, or who have strong accents I have trouble understanding, especially if I’m sitting too far away to the speaker to be able to lean in close. The reason I do it, is so I can read the words that come out and stretch their way around the room, gradually rising, like steam. I find it easier to follow the hallucination of the words than to just rely on listening to them. I know that my brain must be picking up the audio, or I wouldn’t be able to read the words either, but I find shutting off what I perceive to be the “listening” part and concentrating on the visual, really help me clarify what they are saying. But yes, I do worry that people think I’m not paying attention, when really I am concentrating quite hard.
embarrassing
9# Sound Dodging.
Swerving to avoid an audio hallucination that no one else can see, in front of a (very long) queue at the library cafeteria. Scundered.
Everyday Synaesthesia 