Are you on the autistic spectrum and have super sensitive hearing?
I was in Mcdonalds this morning having coffee. I could hear every tiny sound so intensely that I could not think straight or relax. The constant jumble of sounds made me feel very agitated.
I could hear the sound of people talking, food wrappers being opened and mobile phones ringing.
It wasn’t that anyone was making anything than the usual level of noise. Most people would not have noticed anything unusual. Its just that for me, the barrage of low level sound was making me feel very uncomfortable.
I have been aware of this aversion to background noise as I travel around on buses and trains. At these times I feel stressed and get angry when someone is turning the pages on their newspaper five seats away, or someone is speaking on their phone at the other end of the carriage. The noise gets in my head and I can’t get rid of it.
Sometimes I switch seats or even train carriages to escape the noise.
When travelling on public transport, I always wear headphones and listen to music, to help drown out the external noise. Even with headphones the noise sneaks in to my ears and stresses me out.
My question to you is: Are you on the autistic spectrum, and do you also have super sensitive hearing?
If so, how do you cope with this? What do you do to ease the anxiety of dealing with noise in public places?
Thanks for reading- Steve
I 100% agree with all of these comments. I am a late diagnosed asd and adhd individual and my sound sensitivities drive me nuts, sometimes to the point of self destruction.
Sadly, most “normal” people do not understand what it’s like and often say “oh you should go to therapy” or other dumb stuff. Well, in my view, no amount, or type, of therapy is going to convince my brain that black is white! If the noise is annoying the noise is annoying, end of!
The noises in the building I live in are so exhausting that I genuinely wish
I was dead 🙁
I use noise cancelling headphones while I sleep. In a certain way they
are my salvation though it feels unnatural.
I have what I call a trifecta of ailments, those being Autism, PTSD and Bipolar Disorder. Live everyone else here, when I hear a constant barrage of noise from my neighbors, I grit my teeth and curl my toes like I’m about to explode. Exacerbated by my other diagnoses, I feel like a volcano about to erupt. I have ear foams (irritating after an hour) and active noise canceling headphones which i use all day. Those really help a lot. Also, since I recently started Buspar for anxiety, that seems to help, too.
I have Aspergers and the noise sensitivity is awful. I can listen to loud music with earphones and that doesn’t bother me, in fact I use music on full volume to drown out other sounds when I have to go out. However I live in a block of flats and the barrage of noises which really shouldn’t affect me, really do. It gets to the point that I cannot concentrate on my own life, and as another person mentioned, it’s like being underwater and disoriented. Right now my downstairs neighbour is ‘weeding’ by scraping a hoe against the paving stones outside my window and its driving me insane. I’ve tried to explain to her that I have autism and it makes my senses go into overload, but she then tries to outdo me by talking about her husband leaving her. I’m at the end of my tether because there is no escaping noise even at home.
Hi James
I really get what you’re saying. I am exactly the same. It’s something to do with external noise that we can’t control. Non autistic people struggle to understand this. In fact, for me noise is probably the biggest cause of anxiety. I would love to move to the quiet countryside, but I’m not in a position to at the moment.
Steve
I’m the same way. I hear just about every sound within a 2-block radius. From my experience, nothing helps. Not headphones, earmuffs, anything. My best suggestion would be to take some time and learn to accept that its just a part of you, and maybe that’s the best way to cope with it.
Hi Seth
I am going to try some ear defenders that builders use. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Steve
hi where can you buy adult sound proof ear headphones for people who have autism in the UK? please. thank you.
HLD
I’d like to know myself. I have bought some Bose QuietComfort 25 noise cancellation headphones (£249) from Curry/PC World, They hadn’t got that type in stock so had to order it from a warehouse. I have them on now and they effectively shut out the chatter, radio and television from the flat below. Noises they don’t shut out include car engines, motor bikes, wood pigeons (rather a surprise to hear them). These headphones do not shut out sounds outright. A boiling kettle, for example, can be heard but the sound is reduced quite a lot. These headphones work with Duracell AAA battery (rechargeable). I had to buy a recharging unit from Curry/ PC World and have them charging now. Also takes an ordinary Alkaline AAA battery that has a life of about 35 hours. To have the noise cancellation work 100% effectively, the batteries should not be winking green. At that stage, they should be recharged and a fully charged battery inserted in the headphone. Sorry this doesn’t really answer your question but hope it helps.
I relate to all the above comments. I have Asperger’s (for life), diagnosed as an adult. Currently trying to get over a panic attack brought on by my landlady (and neighbour) grandson switching a very noisy extractor fan on in the flat below. These are supposed to be self-contained, purpose-built flats. Well, the noise isn’t contained. I hear all sorts from the below flat in the past three years but my neighbour is quiet. The problem is non-existent sound-proofing.
All kinds of noise from loud to soft, or resonating continual humming noises like extractor fans, generators, running car engines, hoovers, washing machines, etc., are a great trial when they’re coming from the neighbouring flat or from the street. It’s not easy to move – I have no job – not employed now since being fired in 2005 – and local landlords generally do not take “DSS” and will not even allow DLA as a qualifying benefit to apply for tenancies. I could throw myself off a high cliff if I had to endure this sort of problem long-term. Panic attacks due to noise have the effect of causing loss of appetite as well as general stress and mental health decline. S
Hello Steve, Hello David
I totally empathise with this because me and my son are similar but each, I think, a little different to each and maybe a conundrum too.
My son is HFA (possibly aspergers). He has really sensitive hearing. He becomes very distressed my machine noises especially and finds these absolutely intolerable (fans, extractors, hoovers, blenders, etc). He clamps his ears and escapes. Besides this, he gets very irritated by other noises around him and claims he cannot concentrate with them. He needs absolute silence (from others) to be able to have a chance to focus. Anyone talking is ‘shouting’ and so on. However, strangely, he is always making noise himself (which doesn’t trouble him): constant humming, tapping, noise, talking (sense or not), etc and can be so loud himself!
I also have HFA/Aspergers. I get disturbed by noise too. I can’t concentrate easily when it’s noisy, and I hate ‘cacophony’. Shopping malls are pretty bad too as it’s like being underwater on a turkey farm – being bombarded by lots of noise from all angles. Sirens really affect me too – they make my eyes water and run. The strange thing about me though is I have a hearing loss but still have sensitive hearing (to that I hear), thus, I think that my family don’t believe that my hearing could ever be sensitive.
I don’t use ear plugs as I need to hear my children, or I need my hearing to feel safe, but it does affect me. I try to chant in my head. My son clamps his ears over the loudest, and I think hums or gets cross at the rest.
Do you have sensitivities to the other senses too?
Yes (Aspie), and yes (especially high-frequency sounds).
On public transport and when walking I usually use in ear headphones and listen to podcasts.
I also carry some ear plugs, but don’t use them that often. Although they dampen the sounds I can still hear sounds (too) well, e.g., recently I was in a music club sitting in a sofa and could/did listen to part of a conversation held across a table. (I usually avoid such noisy places.)
Alarms of all sort and sirens affect me deeply. I usually just cover my ears and move away if I can, or try to stay that way until they stop.
Hi David
I guess there’s not a lot we can do other than cover our ears with headphones, or to avoid noisy places.
Steve