Noise Sensitivity

[NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown]

Not sure how to word this as my brain isn't functioning at 100% right now but does anyone else suffer with this? I went Christmas shopping a few days ago and felt completely wiped out from all the awful loud music, chatter, hum of electric lights, DD asking questions etc. I used to love shopping!

I have 3 DC under 5 and sometimes when they're all making noise at once I feel like my head will explode, it's only recently I've realised I'm experiencing shutdowns/meltdowns and after researching endlessly about ASD for DS who will be assessed soon I am starting to feel fairly sure I'm on the spectrum too. It would explain so much.

So if you struggle with noise (and I've looked around when I'm struggling and other people seem completely unaffected!) - how do you cope?

My earplugs don't stop all the noise, music seems annoying, ditto white noise. I just want quiet sometimes! Probably doesn't help that I'm introverted and suffer badly with anxiety. Even at night when it's quiet I have songs repeating over and over in my head, even when I'm asleep, I feel tortured sometimes! Do you have this???

Hi Nicecup

Have you heard of Misophonia? I have a DD who suffers severely and it is linked to the autistic spectrum

Sometimes just knowing you're not going mad and there really is a condition with a name helps, hopefully it will help you

You can ask for a referral to an NHS audiologist for assessment and help, DD wears little white noise hearing aids when shes really suffering

Before the aids she listened to coloured noises on her ipod, apparently pink and brown are also very good

There is a support group called Misophonia uk that you can join too

Thank you for your reply. I have heard of misophonia but was under the impression this was a reaction caused by a particular 'trigger' sound. I think I am triggered by my baby's tired cry (DC1 cried a considerable amount as a baby) but if it is a trigger for it I think it's likely due to the PTSD (complex PTSD to be more precise) I experienced about 2 years ago. This makes me think perhaps it's hyperacusis but I also have problems tuning out background noise and really struggle with certain frequencies I think such as tumble dryer, extractor fan, fluorescent lights, microwave etc...and other sounds such as children shouting/repetitive noise/music either makes me feel stressed or I have a reduced tolerance for when stressed (I don't know which but DS has this too) so that makes me think it's hypersensitivity to noise related to my likely ASD. I'm so confused!!

I really feel like I need hearing aids that can adjust the volumes of individual sounds so I can concentrate on the ones I want to hear. I'm so tired of telling poor DD when pushing her in the pushchair along a busy road or when it's windy or DD2 is fussing that I can't hear her...she keeps asking why like I'm mad but I can't explain!

I find coloured noise quite irritating so I'm not sure it's for me. I can listen to ocean sounds or the sound of a storm or something if I'm trying to rest to block out neighbours sounds but I'm talking about when I've got the appliances on and 3 DC needing/asking for things/crying/shouting at once and I'm spinning plates or when I'm shopping and trying to think what I need and then DC are asking questions and the lights are humming and the music is so loud I feel like I'm going crazy and then I wonder is it just my shit childhood has left me with a low tolerance for stress??? I'm so confused! Don't know whether to see my GP or if I'll just be laughed out of the surgery

How was your daughter diagnosed? Was it obvious by her behaviour she was struggling?

I have terrible difficulty with noise and I was wondering if it's stress related too, but I'm in the process of being assessed for asd.

I use ear plugs and brown noise via headphones. The brown noise is the least intrusive. White noise and pink noise agitate me.

I often can't understand what people are saying on the phone even though I can hear them.

My hearing is very acute and I hate it. I can even hear bats and the noise that those teenage deterrent devices give out.

Try to investigate different ways of managing it, but it will never go away.

I have very acute hearing too..scares the shit out of me if I'm on my own in the house!

My sense of smell is very strong too...gets quite ridiculous when I am pregnant, I spend the first few months feeling horrendously sick and I'm sure that doesn't help

The more I read/think about it the more I think it is 'just' part of ASD. Once DS has his assessment I will make a decision whether to pursue one for myself

I use ear plugs quite a lot.
Noise sensitivity is much worse when I'm stressed.
I lost it in the car the other day trying (and failing) to get ds1 to school, he refused to do up his seatbelt so the alarm was bleeping and I ended up swearing at him .
I've never heard of pink noise or brown noise before, will look into that.

Hyperacusis is hell on earth!

One of the kickers with it is that it doesn't necessarily present in one discrete way. If it only showed up as a sensitivity to volume it would be easy to manage, but it doesn't (always).

I have:
Volume sensitivity
Pitch sensitivity (certain pitches of noise, irrespective of volume, cause extreme pain)
Inability to shut out background noise (mainly if I'm tired)

On the flip side, I have perfect pitch and when I'm not tired I can filter any sound I want out of the background.

Meditation helped with focus and filter abilities, nothing helps with the most painful noises - they even bypass top grade ear defenders. I've learnt to manage it better (normally by removing myself from the situation) but large chunks of life are still a pain endurance exercise.

Songs repeating in your head is something that relaxation/meditation/mindfulness techniques could help with.

Thank you andro I really need to start meditating again. Finding it hard to fit in at the moment, the only time I really get I'm so tired I fall asleep

Have you had a diagnosis of hyperacusis? If so how did that come about? Is there any treatment?

I was diagnosed when I was about 5, after a whole battery of tests (ENT, audiology, neurology etc) it was found that i have no diagnosable cause for it...as far as anyone can tell I was born this way. My diagnosis came about for 2 reasons; a baby's scream triggered my fight/flight reaction (I tried to stop the noise and when I was physically prevented from doing so I tried to run off of a 4th floor balcony), followed by the school fire alarm putting on the floor with pain. My father realised I had a problem and insisted on answers.

A lot of people can be helped with retraining therapy or audio integration therapy, it didn't work for me it was just torture. I've depended on management techniques for most of my life, music and meditation have saved my sanity.

You may just be a Highly Sensitive Person, like 20% of the population. See Elaine Aaron's book, same title. With a history of PTSD it's very likely your entire Central Nervous System
Has been upregulated (it is by definition with PTSD) and is sensitised, causing your noise sensitivity. I've found change of lifestyle the only answer. Good luck

Thank you for your reply coolcat now we are a few months on I am 99% sure I'm on the autistic spectrum but have considered the sensitive person theory, it would also make a lot of sense. I don't remember noise being an issue previous to the PTSD but I'm a lot more aware of lots of things these days and I also think I'm suffering autistic burnout - having been trying to be neurotypical my whole life my brain can't take any more! You speak of lifestyle change..could you elaborate on that please?

Don't consider yourself autistic until you have had a professional assessment and told them your PTSD history, and a hearing assessment. It sounds like your hearing has become what those with hearing aids experience: no differential between sounds. Get this checked first, it may be treatable. Speculating is getting you nowhere except worried. The noise overwhelm could also be a PTSD symptom (I am trained in Psych. Med.) so get that reassessed too. If it comes to lifestyle change, or just coping at the moment I recommend mindfulness as a way of focussing on one thing at a time. Planning as many quiet periods into your day and really resting or meditating in silence will support you a lot. Ask your partner for help. It seems like you are permanently overwhelmed. Is there any way you can make your life more silent in other ways? No background noise at home? Your baby's cries are supposed to trigger you, that is normal. Can you avoid busy town centres, shopping malls and stores? Shop online instead and take your baby out to parks. I moved to the country, and I mean the country. A very quiet place.
Please stop speculating and get professional help. It's a sign of courage, not shame. Good luck.

Thank you for your reply coolcat it's very hard to find quiet in my life right now but I do try and sit for a few minutes here and there and do meditate periodically. Yes I am getting overloaded frequently. It's not just from noises though, my eyes seem to be over sensitive to movement too and I can't take in a lot of information without breaking it into bitesized chunks. How would I go about getting myself assessed? And what for? I'm planning on going to my GP and/or going privately to ask for assessment for ASD. Are you saying I should be thinking of something else first? I have no clue about PTSD really, the psychiatric nurse I saw just pointed me towards hypnotherapy that seemed to rid me of it, I had no idea it could have lasting effects or whether it might be lifelong, I assumed it was a short term thing

I am qualified in Psych. Med. I have never known hypnotherapy to be a treatment for PTSD and it's definitely nor recommended by the NHS. I think you should go back to your GP, describe your symptoms and see if s/he thinks a PTSD treatment is appropriate. It does not usually go away without treatment. You are showing symptoms but I'm not in a position to diagnose you. It could be other things too. Leave it to the medics and stop speculating, please.

coolcat! The fact that nice has come on here and said that she thinks she has Asd, probably means that she has been thinking about it and researching it, going over and over in her head about why she is different and doesnt fit in!

Asd is seriously under recognised in women and to feel brave enough to talk about it on here is a massive thing!

I get that ptsd can cause some symptoms to stand out but if nice is thinking that she has Asd I dont think its helpful to try to suggest that her issues are all down to ptsd!

You said yourself you are not in a position to dx on here and yet you have suggested that she shouldnt think of her self as autistic! I find that insulting as I identify with having Asd and have done for sometime but am unlikely to be formally diagnosed in the near future! Identifying as being autistic has enabled me to make changes to my life which have benefitted me hugely and nice could well be like me and thousands of other females with Asd who have been missed by the system!

nice fwiw, I have sensory issues around noise, smell, touch, taste and vision! Good luck with your assessment if you decide to go for it!

Ladies, why are you lynching me? I did not address either of you and have every respect for your diagnoses but you are not the Poster. She clearly has a highly unregulated Central Nervous System, a symptom of PTSD, and mentioned that as recent medical history with no proper treatment. Yes it could be ASD but if you had read my previous post I was strenuously encouraging her NOT to seek a diagnosis on here and to STOP SPECULATING. She needs to see a doctor and get assessed. I am qualified to talk about PTSD and have stayed off what I'm not without, if you read my previous post ruling out anything else. This thread is not about you two and manners cost nothing. Have said all I am going to.

Unregulated above should read "upregulated central nervous system"

Hello Nice. I realised after reading up that I was probably autistic. I chose to go via the NHS. I asked my GP to refer me for assessment. It took a long time but I completed a screening questionnaire which went to panel. Based on that, they agreed to assess me. I had a DISCO assessment with an LD nurse which confirmed my diagnosis. It took 18 months from requesting it to getting my assessment! However I knew it would take time. There are private assessors, some in the UK or I believe Tania Marshall does they via Skype? Generally they cost around £300-500. Hope that helps.

Thank you all for your comments. Coolcat I am not offended by anything you've said as you clearly know more about the nervous system than I do. However the other posters are right, there are many reasons I suspect I am autistic and I have indeed done a lot of research to come to this realisation. Over sensitivity to noise is just one aspect of that. I will stop speculating and seek medical advice, but I will do this when I am ready. Thank you all for being so lovely and supportive. I do plan on going to my GP and seeking private assessment as well while I wait. That's probably overkill but it's what works for me and I want to be sure. In the meantime I am learning how to be kind to myself. These boards are a great help and comfort

No "lynching" coolcat, simply making a point that undiagnosed females with Asd are out there!

To make another point, many of them have endured yrs of mis diagnosis and even drug therapy for conditions that they didnt have!

This is not just me saying this, there are many books on the subject and articles written by the experts eg the women themselves!!

nice I wish you the best of luck and hope you find the right proff to assess you!

nice I wish you the best of luck and hope you find the right proff to assess you

Oops! Wifi overload