Is there such a thing as the opposite of deafness? I am worried about DS does this sound familiar to you???

[eenybeeny]

DS (22 months) is obsessed with noise. He says the word noise at least once every 5 minutes. Often he says "loud noise". He often covers his ears up as if the noise bothers him but I have taken him to the GP and they have looked and said there is no infection. And he can hear things from very very far away and everything he hears he identifies.

Sometimes in loud places like soft play areas etc he gets upset and tears up a little and says "noise" and we have to take him somewhere quiet and reassure him its ok.

I assume this is just a toddler phase he is going through (one of several if you follow my posts ) but lately I am beginning to worry there is some other thing behind it. Dont get it. But he loves music and asks for it all the time. Dont know. Any thoughts?

I think lots of children are very sensitive to hearing, touch, taste and probably smell, too. Ds had very acute hearing as a baby/toddler and was sometimes freaked out by noisy environments or hand dryers in public loos and so on. He was also very sensitive to temperature and insisted on tepid baths - would not go into one that was even lukewarm. Wouldn't have hot food either - I had to cook it and then cool it down to a temperature that would have made it inedible for anyone else... ended up giving him tomato soup straight out of the tin was there was NO point heating it up at all!

Toddlers through to about 2yos are also much more sensitive to the compounds that make brussels sprouts taste like brussels sprouts - also found in broccoli and other green veg. That's why they go off green veg haven eaten it merrily as babies. Thought to be because in evolutionary terms it was an advantage not to gobble any berries that might be poisonous.

would help if I spelt it right

So glad this is on here, my ds is terrified of sudden or loud noises (except his daddy's motorbike of course!!!). As edam, hates hand driers, coffee maker, all sorts of stuff, holds his hands over his ears and gets very distressed. I was really starting to worry about him.

I would disagree with their listing hyperacusis as being caused by autism- personally think its the other way round (severe sensory processing disorders being able to trigger autism).

IN ds1's cases the noises he can't tolerate vary and depend on pitch. He's always been fine with loud jet planes/helicopters etc but a couple of years ago would freak if a teeny tiny plane flew overhead. He varies between loving and loathing the sounds of the microwave. He can hear things several rooms away, which can be annoying. But he's very good for alerting us when someone is at the front door (our bell is broken).

This has been very reassuring!

DD is also very sensitive to certain noises. In particular she doesn't like the shower, the hoover and she absolutely hates hand dryers.

Hairybiker, ds has grown out of it now he's 4. So there is hope - hand dryers hold no fears for him any more and he likes warm baths and hot food.

Oddly, although my ds has severe sensory issues, he can tolerate all the textbook noises that often cause distress in ASD kids/adults. For example, te thinks hoovering is a great game (I turn it on and quickly hoover a bit of carpet before he turns it off in a fit of hysterics - repeat game until carpet has been fully hoovered). My ds's sensory issues pertain to his need to be touched, tickled, chased, etc. He also has oral sensitivities.

ds1 loves hoovering too mann. It's quieter noises (high pitched) that he can't tolerate.

DD1 was very sensitive to noisy environments till she was four. She has learned to handle them better, now she is at school. Because it's noisy, but fun, I think!

We did get a hearing check because I thought her hearing was over-sensitive and because DH was acutely noise-sensitive as a boy and now has some unexplained hearing loss. But her hearing was normal for her age.