Sudden noise aversion

[Cityzen74]

My 6 year old has suddenly started being very upset in some situations which he says are too noisy - for example cafes. He looks down and just wants to cuddle me and cries that he wants to go home. When I ask him about it he says it is too noisy. He is happy in other noisy environments such as soft play and is fine at school.

Some people say he is just acting up for attention but I can see that he is genuinely upset. I wonder if it is a phase that he will grow out of or whether I should be doing something else to help him. I am going to get him ear defenders to see if that helps.

Has anyone else's child suddenly started disliking noise like this?

Thank you

My daughter is only 3 but goes through periods of being more sensitive to noises than other times. They usually pass. Maybe keep an eye/ear on it and maybe see if you can get a hearing test?

Thanks @Superscientist - yes hopefully it will pass in time. Good idea to investigate a hearing test - if it goes on for a lot longer then I think I will see the GP.

I'm hypersentitive to sound and light. Not all circumstances are the same; I can be comfortable in a loud, bright environment when I'm in the appropriate mood. Like soft play for instance; his excitement is probably overpowering the other feelings because he's focused on playing.

Unfortunately I haven't grown out of my sensitivity, and it wasn't even a thing anyone recognized when I was a child so I had to put up with it. Though fortunately I no longer feel like I can't bear certain situations without dark glasses and ear plugs. I would recommend quiet time after the loud environment to let him recover from the overstimulation.

@UnravellingTheWorld thank you that is so helpful and I'm glad that this has improved slightly for you. Now you have said that I can see that not all situations are the same and so he probably feels different depending on the situation he is in. I will ensure to plan in quiet time for him.