Can children have too sensitive hearing/ears?

[TracyK]

and if so should I get get ds (4.5yo) checked out by doc?

He sits with his hands over his ears in the cinema - which I also find too loud. But it seems to be a recurring theme where there is slightly too lound music etc. ie at the local play centre there's arcade type games - he won't even go in the room.
The school had a drama workshop with loud singing and he stood with his hands over his ears there too.

I am no expert but it's quite possible his ears are fine, but that he has a heightened sensitivity to noisy situations - this is really common in children.
What does ds himself say about how the noise makes him feel?

Probably is as Marina says though as a child I had very sensitive hearing. I could hear things like the lights on trains when the frequency was supposed to be out of human hearing.

maybe he's part dog!
I'll ask him how it makes him feel Marina - thanks.

Hi TracyK

Does your DS have any other problems? I only ask as my DS has a problem called "Sensory Integration Delay". One of the manifestations of this is a sensitivity to certain noises and, like your DS, he puts his hands over his ears to protect himself.

My DS has one or two other issues too, in that he's sensory seeking and so is very active. If sat still he often rocks after a while (to maintain his sense of balance).

He also has an immature palmer grip for writing.

Sensory Integration Delay manifests itself in different ways and some children can be very active and sensory seeking - others are the complete opposite.

It's diagnosed by an Occupational Therapist and their criteria is usually "does it interfere with his day to day functioning"? If it does then it's worth asking for an OT referral and asking them to do a sensory processing screen.

DS is currently having Sensory Integration Therapy to help him with some of his sensitivites. He is not delayed in intelligence - just in his experience of senses. Our OT describes it as a "normal experience of senses but a traffic jam in his brain while trying to process them.

Thanks fedup. I don't think he has any other problems that I've noticed.

I'm not sure about the writing - he is left handed and so in that respect is messy and awkward looking. Also writes his S's backwards.

I reckon it doesn't meet the criteria - it certainly doesn't interfere with his day to day functioning. I'll google SID and see if it rings any bells.

Hi, don't know if you'll still look at this thread after 6 months....

But my DS, who has just turned 4, developed a severe phobia of balloons at around 2 years old (from one banging). This has developed to a fear of the hoover, a fear of hand driers in toilets, and a fear of the noise of trains. (He also used to cry at muscic groups when the singing started!)

He does the same thing with his hands over his ears. There was a time when I was convinced he had over sensitive hearing, and I googled something like "loud noise children" and the first result was a site about the most common fears in children.

The most common fear for a 2-4 year old is loud noises. As children develop an awareness of the world, the most common fears change, so at some point I remember the most common fear is strangers.

So it might be that with your DS. But I do think children have better senses than us anyway (sensitive taste buds and better eye sight for example!) I remember there was a certain cafe my mum took me to as a child which I hated because the acoustics there made the knives and forks clatter so loudly!

I was actually looking for a chat on whether to take DS to cinema, I have been holding back because of the noise thing, but he really wants to see Bolt! Now I am thinking maybe wait a bit more if your DS has found it too loud.

Looking at my own message, I wonder if perhaps it would be better to have a check up and ask the Doc/Health Visitor about it. Let me know how it goes! x x

yes dd (5) suffers from this as I did as a child ( and still do).. I believe it's called
Hyperacusis

It is quite a common for childen with autism. It is an issue with auditory perception rather than actual hearing.

Maybe as we get older our brains learn to tune out these unwanted noises.