Sound sensitivity is a fairly common problem for people with autism. Until relatively recently I had no idea that my experience was not everyone else’s experience.
Before my amputation, I owned a small personal training studio / massage clinic in town. When I first opened the premises I noticed that from my massage room the sound of the toilet flushing in the bathroom next door seemed really loud. I wondered how anyone could relax during a massage with that going on. I couldn’t deal with it so began closing off the adjacent bathroom to other customers and staff.
All this did was cause further friction and eventually things came to a head with an argument.
It wasn’t till this point that I realised that the only person who had a problem with this was me. This is when I learned that I had super sensitive hearing – multiple times more than your average normal person.
How does this impact me
The most frequent issue I have with this in public is cafe situations. I am unable to filter out all the other noises and people to focus on what I’m doing and who I’m talking to. I literally hear everyone’s conversation in detail, all the time all at once. It physically hurts my ears.
More recently what I have started to do instead of removing myself is use EarPods or loop earplugs.
These earplugs are so discreet that you can barely see them and they are sooooo good at background noise blocking.
And EarPods, well it’s so common to see people wearing them that no one really notices anyway. And in the absence of one, they do a decent job of blocking background noise even if you aren’t listening to anything through them.
I would also usually sit in the corner of a room, close to a door. The reason for this is the sound then is only coming at me from 2 rather than 4 sides, so slightly easier to tolerate (to a point). And by the door so I can make a quick exit if it becomes too overwhelming.
Some other common sounds that really bother me:
- Crinkly packets
- Ticking clocks
- Sound of people crunching / eating loudly
There are many many more but those are my top 3.
It can actually hurt my ears, make me feel anxious, give me a headache, nausea, even feel completely overwhelmed to the point of ASD total overload.
If I have to spend a long time in noisy busy social situations I find this very tiring and usually would need to follow it with a period in completely isolated silence.
Other problems it causes
- I really struggle to listen to someone talking to me if the TV or radio is on in the background for example
- Creates anxiety, hot flushes, stress, panic
Silence gives me energy, helps me recharge and recuperate.
