Ear defenders or headphones for sound sensitivity

I have had this most of my life. If it's a dampening you want there is ear putty

Mack's silicone ear putty.

it will dampen and muffle sounds and you can use a lot or a little depending on the amount of dampening you want.  great for going to a movie.

Natale:/ I am looking to get two sets, one that just muffles sound so that I can still hear my husband when we are out and another set that completely blocks out everything (possibly music headphones because I find my own music soothing) for when I need to brave the shops alone. I know the best option is to try them out in a shop but I really hate shops!:/ Natale [end quote]

I would really love, myself,  to have the newer Bose quiet comfort. I have the Bose quiet comfort 45s and they are great too and a bit cheaper now.

I saved up for them and the first time I put them on it was like a great burden had been lifted. I am also losing my hearing slowly, which had been acute. I missed the full range of frequencies  so now I have in ear hearing aids too. so I have best of all worlds.

I use the head phones in the gym. Some people there use in-ear noise canceling buds. Great for noisy cafes and the like. great for airplanes, busses, loud PA systems, trains, the audio quality is also great so one can leave the word behind and be immersed in an audio book, music or podcast.

if Bose a re too dear there are others here's a comparative

https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-noise-canceling-headphones/

I just used my loops for the first time last night for sleeping, I slept on my side and when I woke I was worried that it was stuck in my ear. 

I like over the head noise cancelling headphones. Noise sensitivity is an overwhelming thing to experience and pretty much every environment outside of my home triggers this, with a few odd exceptions. But for me it has to be certain noise cancelling headphones as some can make sounds of footsteps, breathing and heart beats overwhelmingly loud and booming, which when you're autistic and suffer from sound sensitivity, you definitely don't need this.

When in sensory overload from sound I get out of there ASAP. If I'm in a shop I abandon the trolley and go outside, or to the toilet, anywhere where the sound is quieter and I can breathe and come back down to earth. I've realised if I stay where I'm being overloaded I generally won't cope and it will get worse and worse until I'm hit with a meltdown, which just makes the entire situation all the worse. Frequent meltdowns is why I bought noise cancelling headphones in the first place and they really do help. They have made a positive difference in my life and allow me to go out and shop, something I really struggled with before. They don't stop me getting sensory overload but it definitely has helped it happen a lot less than it used to.

I also found a trigger for me when out and about is light sensitivity so now no matter what, or how many looks I might get from people I always wear sunglasses, even when it's not sunny. Light of all kinds affect me in such a way that this is completely necessary. Since being diagnosed last year I've found so many things can trigger me and slowly but surely I'm working them all out and taking action to make it easier for me.

I have loop ear plugs but the smallest feels too big for my ear. I do wear them occasionally such as when Im on the bus tomorrow. I get a bit panicked they will get stuck in my ears!

You could try some from Amazon and then return them if returns are accepted, if they aren't good. I know Amazon do a try before you buy on some items.

Sound sensitivity is a huge problem for many of us here and headphones can be a big reliever from this problem.

Hi

I don’t appear to suffer too badly with day to day noises, I’m in construction so maybe I have been doing it that long it’s ok. 
Since my discovery though I do notice I have ringing in my ears which before I realised I never noticed (strange)

I also struggle to concentrate with multiple sounds/voices going on so have ordered some Loop Switch plugs. They arrive tomorrow so hopefully I’ll get on with them ok.

I do wear ear defenders at work (so big cans essentially) which are great but walking with them on is horrendous, it feels like your teeth are going to rattle out !

Hope you find something that’s right for you and I will keep checking back as after tomorrow I might need to start looking for something else 

good luck

I wear loop earplugs but I agree they have an echoy effect (one of the things I use them for is extended family gatherings, and eating with them is an interesting and not always plesant experience.

I also use andrea active noise cancelling headphones. I wouldn't say they're the best out there, if your budget will stretch for it BOSE and Sony produce amazing ones. But I find they largely work quite. 

I wear Loops a lot but when I’m out and about I like to wear Bose over-ear noise cancelling headphones as they don’t have the heart beat or ear noise issue and block more sound.

Thanks  That's what I was thinking but I thought it was worth asking in case I could avoid the dreaded shops. If the shops just turned off the music it would help, I'm sure no one else would notice anyway! 

Thanks Autonomistic It was a mood stabiliser called lamotrigine. I didn't take it for noise sensitivity but it reduced my general anxiety levels and I didn't get as distressed by sounds as I do now. I have also taken several SSRIs before that but those just numbed everything so I felt like a zombie and couldn't tell whether I was OK or not, it wasn't very pleasant! If I could go back on lamotrigine I would but it's not going to work for everyone and can have some bad side effects, it wasn't perfect but I was better on them than I am now.

Sound sensitivity has always been a major issue for me and seems to be getting worse as I get older. That actually does happen apparently as our resilience naturally declines as we age.

It does make life extremely difficult to manage and so many environments are inaccessible. I have spent a fortune on all kinds of solutions over the years. I have an armoury containing various types of earplugs, ear defenders, noise cancelling earbuds, noise cancelling over ear headphones.

It is really just trial and error as to what you are able to tolerate and what works best for different situations and noise. For example noise cancelling will work fairly well against general background noise but anything short sharp and sudden (like a dog barking) they don't seem to have any effect.

I also get overwhelmed by the internal noise from my heart beating and blood rushing when I wear them. Sometimes if I get anxious I find that so overwhelming in itself that I have to take them off. Walking while wearing them is difficult too, as every footstep seems to vibrate and reverberate through my whole body. Therefore I prefer to put them on just before I go into a shop to minimise the amount I'm walking in them

I do find the noise cancelling solutions somewhat easier to walk in than the earplugs and ear defenders. I have Bose noise cancelling earbuds and over ear headphones. I believe that are one of the best along with Sony but they are quite expensive. They just muffle the sound and make it seem further away than it actually is. I find I can still hear everything while wearing them but more distant. So for example I can still hear what shop assistants are saying without taking them off. 

If you want to try earplugs or ear defenders there are loads available online fairly cheaply, so you don't have to go into shops to try them. When buying look at the ratings for how much they reduce the decibels by and go for the highest reduction for maximum effect. Again it's trial and error about what works and what you are able to tolerate. I don't like having anything inside my ear for too long and over ear defenders are tight on the head, so I can't tolerate them for long either.

I'm interested that this appears to be something new for you that you didn't experience while on medication. I wasn't aware that there was any medication that could help with sound sensitivity. I have been prescribed various types of antidepressants in the past for anxiety but none of them had any impact on sound and they caused horrendous side effects for me. If you don't mind sharing what was the medication? Sometimes I get so desperate about living with this that I would try anything, even giving up my hearing completely.

Little Owl said:

I know the best option is to try them out in a shop but I really hate shops!

I think most of us here will have this issue, it's a big part of autism. It impacts on my daily life when out and about. I always just use those small button like earphones I jam in to cancel out external noises. 

Your best option is to go into a shop and try some out.

I know you hate shops, but consider it a 20 minute ordeal that'll result in the right choice of headphones and, whoop, you're sorted in the long-term.