I swore that I would never be like this. My mom was very sensitive to sounds. I couldn't eat crispbread with her in the same room. All eating had to be done without a sound. No slurping or you got yelling in your ear. Oddly enough, my mom was never bothered by her own yelling......

I realized I also was sensitive. Moved away and I lived in a dorm and people were up chatting at all times. It bothered me but I didn't want to be like my mom, so I decided sure I hear the sounds, but they don't bother me. So I learned never work up irritation around the sounds.

Ticking alarm clocks always been an issue though, from when I was little.

Screaming babies drove me completely crazy.

But now I have learned to zone out the sounds. When my friend's yappy dog starts her high pitched barking, I need to be told to tell her to shut up, because she can bark her head off and I don't hear it because I zoned it out.

I can with babies as well, if I'm not in a bad mood, then everything will annoy me.

My laptop fan is very noisy. I don't hear it anymore.

I think zoning out and also early on deciding not to care helped me a lot.

If a musical instrument is out of tune... o man, it hurts my soul.

But I'm more sensitive to the visual. Busy patterns and when it is a lot of visual input. Visual changes are hard. I see them so clearly. A new made pavement was really difficult to accept because it stuck out so bad before I finally got used to it.

Lack of filters can cause sensitivity, so called low latent inhibition. It can be a state of mind for some, and for some it more happens as an effect, like from mental illness. There was some research people with schizophrenia heard the same noise coming back and back the same every time like it was the first, while other people got used to it and their brains stopped reacting to it. Interestingly, this effect can also be reached through meditation.