Published on 12, July, 2020
Up until now, noise did not appear to bother me. Now, I am becoming more upset/triggered/bothered by noise. At work (teacher) I am fine, but at home, with two young and often noisy children, I am constantly on edge with noise. Today the noise almost pushed me into meltdown, but lying flat on the floor helped.
What makes this more baffling for me is I love spending spending time listening to loud music through headphones, which I am doing as I type!
Noises I actively dislike are motorbikes passing by, cars backfiring, high pitched noises, multiple conversations happing at once, to name but a few.
I never used to be like this. I am contemplating some earplugs, like Loops, to shut out the sound.
It can be normal for our various sensitivities - including to noises - to vary over time and by context, so please don't worry about that having changed for you recently :) I'm a big fan of Loops, and I also use noise-cancelling in-ear and over-ear headphones, depending on the situation.
AwkwardKid said:What makes this more baffling for me is I love spending spending time listening to loud music through headphones
This can also be perfectly normal, even though it does seem counter-intuitive in the context of our noise sensitivities.
Listening to music (including loud music) can actually be a form of stimming for us, along with humming, singing, whistling, etc - helping to provide sensory feedback, enjoyment, and to help regulate / calm us.
For example: I wear my Loops Experience to dampen crashing sounds from crockery and cutlery when loading or unloading the dishwasher, whilst also listening to loud music through nearby speakers at the same time, and sometimes also singing along!
This article (for example) explains more:
Autism Understood - Stimming