A ticker with autism anyone else?

Hi everyone, in times when I have been overwhemled like a ticker sound has come on for me and it will come on for me until I stop being overhwhelmed. It happened first for me in 2014 and it happened again in 2025. I want to know if that is a part of autism for any of you? I must say that I have had my autism concreasted and that is the only thing I have done by having it simply blessed at church.. That might not have anything to do with it, but I have not read of it in a single case anywhere else.

Is this common?

  • That’s great to hear! And you’re most welcome :)

  • I am now being referred to an ENT specialist, spoke the surgery today, thank you so much for your help Bunny.

  • Thank you Bunny it is good that you referred you onto the ENT, I will look into that as well and discuss it with my GP, thank you.

  • For good reasons, we’re not allowed to offer medical advice to each other here. I suggest being very careful not to jump to conclusions - that might be wrong - based on what we read about others’ experiences or opinions in online forums like this one.

    If you haven’t yet done so, I instead suggest talking to your GP about it - as I did recently in respect of my tinnitus, which sometimes becomes pulsatile.

    I’ve been referred to an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialist, so will hopefully soon learn more about what’s going on in my particular case.

  • Hi I stumbled on one of my scans and I have cropped it and uploaded it. I searched online for something and found an article and it seems it could be Pulsatile Tinnitus partially as well. What do you think. 

    https://neuroangio.org/sample-page/diagnosis-and-treatment-of-pulsatile-tinnitus/

  • Martin, thank you.This sounds like it is it and could likely be the reason. I hear it like a click and it comes on when I am very stressed and overwhelmed and have only heard it a handful of times or less in my life. It has come on recently. It is very good to know the reason.

    This is a grab from Google on the subject.

    "The tensor tympani muscle, a small muscle in the middle ear, has been linked to auditory hypersensitivity, a common feature in some individuals with autism. Studies suggest that this muscle might be overly reactive in some autistic individuals, potentially contributing to sound intolerance. The tensor tympani muscle's primary function is to dampen loud sounds, and its overactivity could lead to symptoms like ear pain, fluttering, or a sensation of fullness"

  • Stress can have odd effects on the body. I sometimes get a clicking sound that I believe is a tiny muscle in the ear, the tensor tympani, going into a form of twitching. The tensor tympani is a muscle that tenses to stop loud noises damaging the ear, so if it twitches you hear the twitch. It is attached to the malleus bone in the middle ear.

  • Yes, I do have a ticker come on when I get extremly overwhelmed. I may ask a former OT assessor who saw me for my sensory needs last year in the community if she has ever come across anyone like this.

    Thank you for your reply, it was helpful.

  • So you hear a ticking sound when you feel overwhelmed? That sounds horribly anxiety-inducing and I’m sorry you deal with that.

    I haven’t personally heard of anyone else with Autism having that particular issue, but of course, I don’t know everyone lol. I can’t give medical advice, but maybe this is something that you can bring up to your GP to see if they have advice?