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noise sensitivity examples

nicm

Hi!

I'd be really grateful if readers would reply with examples of noises that have an effect on them, and what the effect is/feels like.

I have tinnitus and have had it since I was very young. I'm 54 and remember, as a child of something like 8/9/10 (which is the limit of my memory rather than the point at which it began), experiencing snaps and pops etc that would wake me at the point of nodding off. Of course, I didn't know what this was at the time. For many years, I thought silence had a sound - that in the absense of attributable noises, silence manifested itself as, in my case, modulating sine waves with a touch of distortion produced by two or more oscillators (this description is based on synthesiser sound generation).

I am awaiting an autism diagnostic assessment, so may not be autistic, and have been curious about an auditory experience I experience, which I don't believe is a manifestation of tinnitus since it is triggered by external sounds.

For example, one of our cats climbs up the ladder to get onto my son's bed and the ladder shifts slightly. I hear the sound of the wood shifting and experience it as I imagine everyone might. Then, the tiniest split second later, the sound cracks as though it has been amplified five times its actual volume and I experience a jolt in my head that rapidly decreases in amplitude. I experience this effect frequently, following fairly quiet audible events such as light switches being flipped. I think it is usually click based sounds that trigger it and the effect is always the same, more or less pronounced. That is, sometimes the jolt is fairly mild and other times it is quite disconcerting. In all cases the effect is momentary.

I can't determine, from what I've read here and there, if this is what is meant by noise sensitivity and I'm interested to hear others' experiences of being disturbed by sound.

Nic

Parents

  • 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 In those situations I tend to get very irritated and withdrawn.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.

Reply

  • 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.

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