Do people with ADHD struggle with “listening fatigue”?

Yes, this is very common, and it’s not talked about enough. For many adults with ADHD, listening in long meetings isn’t passive at all. It’s active regulation. You’re trying to stay present, resist checking out, hold multiple threads of information in working memory, filter background noise, and manage the impulse to interrupt or drift. That takes real effort. By the end of a long meeting, your brain can feel completely depleted. There’s also the stimulation factor. If the pace is slow or the content isn’t engaging, your brain has to work even harder to stay online. And if you’re masking, monitoring how you’re coming across, that adds another layer of strain. It makes sense that you’d feel drained afterward. A few practical adjustments can help. Taking brief movement breaks between meetings, summarizing key points in writing rather than holding them in your head, or using a quiet fidget to stay anchored can reduce fatigue. If possible, scheduling lighter tasks after long listening blocks can protect your energy. If listening fatigue is affecting your workday or confidence, it’s worth exploring more closely. Often there are simple structural or treatment adjustments that can make a noticeable difference. Many people are relieved when they realize the exhaustion isn’t a personal weakness but a predictable pattern we can work with. If you’re curious about how your brain handles attention and energy, that’s exactly the kind of thing we unpack in an intake. You don’t have to keep white-knuckling your way through long meetings alone.