Hi Igby! I'm glad you're here.
So much of what you said I could say, or have said, about myself. The difficulty in school. I had a high IQ but never did will in school. I dropped out of college 30 years ago. But it worked out okay in the long run. One friend with a masters degree calls me the "most educated person she ever met." I am an infovour. I would rather explore interesting venues of information than do just about anything else. Although I do love jumping on trampoline, scuba diving, swimming, dancing (need lots of time to learn the steps though), roller blading. that kind of activity even "feels" good for my brain.
I can't "hear" people talk, either. I watch all the movies I rent from Netflix with subtitles for the hearing impared. It's the only way I can hear what the characters are saying. And I can be having a conversation with someone, if they turn their head and I can't see their mouth, I can't understand what they say. But the one time, ten years ago I had my hearing tested, I had perfect hearing. That totally didn't make sense to me until I discovered SPD.
Anyway, I'm glad you found us. This is a great place to be.