Hearing issues.

Not hearing loss, mind you. But sensitivity to sound along with the inability to distinguish direction of certain sounds.

When I awoke, my hearing was simply gone, which was easy to explain. I couldn’t hear. People understood that.

Yes, it was problem enough. And in a few weeks it became manageable for a time while the problem evolved.

Somewhat later–a few days or weeks–it shifted to the point that I could perceive sounds. I think I then likened it to sounds being somewhat overdriven. The perception was that certain frequencies might be overdriven and yet others were normal, yet difficult to perceive because they’re bracketed by things overdriven.  This, of course, increases difficulty in consciously (subconsciously?) separating sounds for comprehension.

I still lack the ability to readily discern the origin of sounds. Yes, I know the birds are chirping. Yes, I know it’s in the direction of outside. Yes, I know there are loads of them.

But nearby voices, that I know to be at conversational distances, aren’t clear –  drowned out entirely by by background sounds of hundreds of birds, or loads of neighbor dogs barking, or passing trucks and machinery.

This isn’t a problem with my ears.

Not at all – the problem started, both left and right, as I recall – simultaneously. And I was effectively unconscious at the time.

This is a brain problem with interpretation of input data; it’s absolutely not an issue with the inner, middle, or outer ear.