I was just recently reading about conversion disorder. And think that is what I had. I had it until I was 28.
See, I couldn't hear people or see people right. Like I couldn't hear conversation, but if people spoke directly to me, I could. Also, people were like shadows to me. For example, if it was a stranger, I couldn't see what they were wearing or their body language... I just saw an random entity.
I couldn't tell that it was a somatic condition, until I broke out of it. I broke out of it because my feelings suddenly changed for the better about who I was. It was like Tommy in the Who's Rock Opera, when the mirror smashed!
I remember saying to my T when I first met her, that I wasn't very visually aware. I didn't notice things that other people seemed to, about my surroundings. I never had any idea about furnishings or colours, what anyone was wearing unless there was something very unusual about it, for example. I never noticed that this unawareness was just when I was indoors. Outdoors I took lots in, especially if I was by myself.
Like you, I notice so much now, partly because I look around more, partly because I'm not so trapped inside my own head and obsessed with my own fears. It's hard to say exactly. There were things I hyper-focused on and other things I was sort of oblivious to. For me it was more visual than auditory, I remembered lots of detail of what people said. It seems strange to me now. When I think back, I remember all sorts of fears when I was around other people and a horrible self-consciousness.
I don't know if this relates to your experience, but recently, I noticed how much it has changed. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I felt so afraid all the time, that I was looking for danger in facial expressions and words, and also trying to avoid being overwhelmed by looking down to block it out.
I was seeing her for PTSD. I thought this was just how I was, visually unaware. I didn't think it had anything to do with the reason I was there.