noise sensitivity examples

I think mine's worse too as I've got older, or maybe it's because I'm not masking so much in everyday life anymore that I notice it more.

I'd love to live somewhere remote again, where the sounds are mostly natural ones, like birdsong and sheep.

I had my hearing tested when I was in my 20's and I scored almost off the chart, the audiologist said he'd love to have tested me under clinical conditions rather than in the back room of the local opticians. I wonder if very good hearing is an autistic thing? Maybe it's not us being picky, that we can hear a lamp buzzing, but a very real biological thing. The second time I had my hearing tested was when I was in my 30's and thought I had a problem as my hearing was far less accute than it had been, and then the audiologist said that I had very good hearing and that if I'd noticed a loss, then it must have previously been exceptional, now I just have normal age related hearing loss, although I don't need hearing aids or anything.

I wonder if it's worth autists especially younger ones having hearing tests to see if they too have exceptionally good hearing? It might lead to a study and more recognition of our needs?

Quick note: I don’t have a diagnosis, so I’m not sure if I’m autistic, but I have figured out that I‘m definitely perceiving sensory input differently than most of the people in my life.

For me it’s depending a bit on how I feel in general. If I’m stressed, I’m pain or bothered by anything I’m much more likely to not be able to cope well when being exposed to certain sounds. My biggest problem are several sounds at the same time. In those situations I tend to get very irritated and withdrawn. If I’m forced to continue a conversation, I’ll likely start to raise my voice in order to get through the noises raining down on me (even when most of the time others will say things like “you can talk normally” or “I can understand you, you don’t have to get loud”). I’ll also snap at people (sometimes intended because of my irritation, sometimes not intended due to me being no longer able to analyse my “tone”).

However, this response could also be triggered by singular sounds (e.g. chewing, cluttering dishes or the irregular humming of a failing lamp).

It upsets me emotionally and can also lead to intense feelings of panic or even physical pain in my ears and head.

I went out for dinner with my partner and two friends on Friday. I expected it to be fairly quiet but I was wrong. As I walked in it hit me…. 20 conversations going off at the same time and to top it off a singer. The singer was very good but it was too much for my ears to handle. I managed this for just over 3 hours and desperately wanted to go home, my head felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible force and the more I tried to focus the more I struggled. We moved on and went into a pub which was not my suggestion, thankfully it was much quieter in there but my brain was finished for the night. When I’m overloaded I become very quiet and that’s when people start asking if I’m okay. I had very little to drink that evening as I don’t handle alcohol very well as it makes me very poorly. 
The next morning I felt worse than ever my head was still buzzing and I felt so sad. I managed to hold it together but in the evening I took myself away and cried. 

Sorry about the long winded story but I always thought that I was sort of okay with noise but clearly it has more of an effect on me than I realised. 

My son who is diagnosed sufferers with exactly the same busy places and multiple conversations. 

Hi nicm

I feel like my sound sensitivity has become worse as I have grown up (now 38).

Noises like cars, motorbikes, trains etc. seems to have increased in decibels 10 fold to what they used to be. I usually wear my Loop Earplugs when I am outside the house - especially when I am walking to and from my car at work as it's on a busy retail site near a dual carriageway - taking them off when I get inside the car and then cranking up my music loud enough to dull out the other engines, but still able to listen to my own car.

Fireworks and gunfire - fireworks especially as I feel like the sound is going right through my body and I either completely freeze up or I completely panic to the point of being sick. Once when some really loud fireworks went off from a neighbour's house - I actually tried to run to my safe space (my bedroom), but ended up knocking myself out on the living room door (but could still hear the fireworks going off - strangely) and giving myself mild concussion in the process. If I hear gunfire on the TV - I usually just mute it (if I know when to) or just freeze in my chair until I feel more comfortable - or wear my Loops again if I have them nearby (which I normally just keep a set on the arm of the chair so I can just pop them in when needbe.

But I also can really hear things like clocks ticking, pencils being used on paper etc. and other 'quiet' things that most NT's can't hear.

My favourite sounds though are music, birds singing, hearing my cat purring from the other end of the room, or even in a different room lol (and close up too) and gentle noises like water from a river/stream/sea etc. 

I haven't officially been diagnosed as autistic yet - but everything I've ever questioned about myself fits, so waiting for my first appointment now I've done the AQ10 and AQ50 test - hopefully next year.

Hope that helps.

Mweekie xx

That’s very interesting. Control is something I don’t tend to have a lot of in my life at the moment so this is quite possibly why I’m suffering. 

Thank you for the reply 

Take5 said:

’m in control of the noise

I raised this very issue during my assessment. If my neighbour plays loud music, or there's a car outside playing music it is absolutely unbearable for me. But if I put my headphones on or sit in my car, I love blasting loud music.  And it is because I'm in control.

My assessors said this is a classic autism trait - it is about control.

Yes!! And conversely, I don't recognise when the noises I'm making are annoying others (tapping, whistling, humming etc) ... I guess that's me stimming 

I am a tradesman and work in a noisy environment but I’m mostly on my own so I’m in control of the noise and that’s ok. When I do work with other people I cannot stand those same noises as they are made by someone else. I guess it’s the unpredictable nature of it. Multiple noises affect me and in particular lots of people talking at the same time which I find very difficult to handle. Sometimes I can all of a sudden jump because I have heard a small noise that’s unpredictable.

Personally, I can't deal with trains zooming past when standing on a platform, I have to tense myself up in preparation when I see one coming. I also had a weird sensory response to playing with one of those big parachutes with a group of kids, you know where they all hold on to a section and wave their arms up and down to create the sensation of wind rushing past. Come to think of it, I don't even like the sound when it's really windy outside and I can hear it smashing into the house. 

This is me, fireworks, motorbikes, sirens, balloons popping... horrendous. But I absolutely love loud trance music in a club, I can get high on it!

Yes! I know which one you mean, excruciating is the word. There are people sat there reading books who don't even seem to notice it.

Some of the London Tube lines/sections - Excruciating!!

There I am, screwing up my face and trying my best not to cover my ears (so as not to 'look odd'), yet everyone else seems unaffected, carrying on and staring at the floor 

I moved few years ago to Germany, here in the small town fireworks are not as colorful as they were in my city, that noise indeed is painful. But here it’s a third word war I call it. Three and two years ago I cried and begged them to stop (I was alone in the kitchen so no one heard my cries) I couldn’t understand why I was crying. Now it makes sense. This year I plan to plug my ears properly and not suffer finally. 

I don’t have tinnitus, but unwanted loud noises have always been a problem to me. As a child I struggled with fireworks - loved watching them, but the sound was painful. Loud motorbikes going past is also painful to the point that it makes me angry as it hurts my mind (if that makes sense) and not just my ears. Was fine going to clubs as a young person as the loud music was what I wanted to experience, but when forced to listen to music at times that I haven’t chosen it hurts and I can’t really think and become angry inside. I’ve always hidden those feelings though and just remained silent, hoping it would stop soon or that I would be able to leave. Silence is certainly deafening to me - I can’t stand absolute silence and I hate working environments where you could hear a pin drop.

I have tinnitus, it sounds like a dentist's drill, it is constant. I developed it during the first Covid lockdown, just woke up one morning and it was there. I find dogs barking to be just about the worst sound for me. I always jump when a dog barks, even when I am expecting it.

I hate the bell to my own flat. It always makes me jump out of my skin. I got into a not Very good frame of mind in my last year at uni, too much navel gazing amongst a few other things, and I became horribly sensitive to noise as a result. 

Maybe not having great hearing helps me then? Mine is human noise in general, particually screaming, shouting ,cheering etc. I can't deal with inane tv shows with lots of this sort of thing. I particually hate noisey children. I like quiet, for instance when I am using my pc or phone I only ever have the sound on when its a video I need to watch, hate sound in games.

Hi, 

Thanks everyone for all these replies. It's really interesting to hear about other people's experiences. 

Nic

I don’t like babies or kid# crying in a shop 

I was like "err, no"

Then I was like "YES"

Now im like "I'm not sure, I think I have no idea".