Sensitivity to perfumes and bass

I've posted before about sensitivity to perfumes, but it is driving me nuts. I can smell it on myself - even after I wash my hands. I use perfume-free soap, shampoo, and laundry detergent. I don't use deodorant or cologne. I smell it on myself. I smell it on the paperwork I handle. It makes me so angry.

So I'm wondering if it is psychological?

Also I am very sensitive to bass frequencies. I woke up last night and it seemed like I was inside a kettle drum or somebody's heart. I traced the source to the central heating, so I turned down the heat. But I know that the central heating couldn't have possibly sounded as loud as it seemed to me.

This seems to be a new problem for me that has developed in the past year. I had a little bit of psychosis in 2009, and I remember sounds and odors were magnified. The hallucinations were mostly visual though.

I love when my friend mark comes to my house and plays hard rythems on his bass guitar.its so relaxing and therapuetic for me...excuse the spelling errors:d:d

Mine is allergic reaction to some perfumes... actually gives me a migraine. Some good aromas so to speak, bring back very good memories I think it could be both.

Thanks, I'm glad I don't get an allergic reaction. I think it makes me angry to be forced to smell a perfume that somebody else chose. They didn't ask me if I wanted to smell their favorite perfume or cologne, they simply forced it on me.

I need to see a therapist to make me more tolerant of other people. My mother said that the suspicions I have sound insane. (I told her I thought somebody might have sprayed perfume on my desk as a prank. It is weird because sometimes I smell the perfume on the weekends when nobody else is there all day.

I know it's stupid to let these things get to me.

I have Bipolar and I have found that if I'm heading towards a hypo... smells drive me insane, It's like everything annoying smells a million times more annoying.

I don't have any answers, but wouldn't it be interesting to know? I think it is rooted in a real hypersensitivity. Sometimes lightbulbs make noises that drive me crazy. If other people listen, they can hear them too, but for some reason, it registers more strongly for me. I think there is a word for that, like when someone drumming their fingers drives you nuts even though it's not a loud noise.

Not sure where you are, but in cold areas this time of year, everyone is wearing hand lotion. Could that be what you smell on the papers? I hope it becomes less bothersome for you.

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Up until a couple of days ago, I assumed that my problem is just allowing myself to be annoyed by small things, but now I'm wondering if some of these might be olfactory hallucinations. I'm not psychotic, but I feel very burned-out and hopeless.

Thanks. I bought unscented hand lotion for the secretary in hopes that would help. Everything is scented now. My mother mentioned that her trash bags are scented. Part of the frustration is not knowing where the smell is coming from.

I've thought about wearing my own cologne so I can't smell anything else. Or maybe I can buy a scented candle that I can control.

Just a quick thing to think about - I deal with sensitivity to certain smells (some pleasant to most, others not so much) and ANY low pitched noise (base). These things can (and do) case nauseia, dizziness, headache. There is also a loss of hearing in one ear, NOT specific to those things, just there all the time since age 25)
The base of it apparently has to with the ear. It seems to come down to a condition known as Menieres (named after the French doctor that first discovered it). But it takes a lot to get to that Dx - basically after tests have not found anything else that could produce those symptoms, that is what you end up with.

Hi X123... Just another possibility to consider is medication side effects. Changes in scent perception is a side effect of some drugs. Also, apparently, I have a sensitivity to lavender. I couldn't understand how people could find lavender pleasant until my sister-in-law told me that it could be a sensitivity.

I have bass sensitivity, too. I don't like being around alot of noise at all.

Hope you get relief soon.

Thanks, that is interesting. I suspect my problem is psychological, but I seem to be able to hear and smell things that most people can't. Sometimes I think I could work at the airport sniffing the luggage for bombs.

I think for me it might be related to feelings of being dragged-down by things I can't control?

Thanks. I don't take any medications, but what you say makes sense. I never thought of that possibility.

I need to get started on psychotherapy again. I keep procrastinating. I am such a pathetic person, and I hate revealing that to a therapist. It's humiliating.

The scented trash bags can be really strong! Using your own preferred scent sounds like a good idea to me.

I also wonder if scents are more pervasive when it is cold and dry?

Hi. When my body is physiologically stressed then I become hyper-sensitive to stimuli. Sounds like hypersensitivity might be what is going on for you.

Just because a product says it is 'perfume free' or 'unscented' doesn't mean that it doesn't have a smell... It just means that they haven't added perfume or scent to it. E.g., soap has a smell that they typically try and mask by adding perfume or scent to it. Just like how you can buy orange juice with 'no added sugar' but already contains loads of sugar in the form of fruit sugars that are naturally present in juice. Most things do have a smell...

The idea of attempting to gain some control over the scent sounds like a good one. Have you thought about checking out essential oils? They come in a variety of scents. You could put a couple of drops of that on your sleeve or on a handkerchief or something. Alternatively, do you have some equivalent of vicks vaporub? It is menthol. People sometimes smear it over their upper lip when they have a cold because the menthol vapors help keep their nose clear... It would help numb your sense of smell.

Sound is harder... Little bones in the ear that move... Even earplugs... When I'm very stressed out I lie in bed at night and the smallest sound sounds like the dripping tap for chinese water torture. Have you heard of that? They keep a person in sensory deprivation conditions (no sounds or smells or anything). Then they pin them down and have a single drop of water intermittently drop onto the exact same place on their forehead. Drip... Drip... Drip... Apparently it is excruciating. Well... Sometimes when sound is driving me nuts I do my best to put myself in a sensory deprivation chamber... Only things are never completely still... Any little thing... Is like that drip... Drip... Drip...

Sometimes the solution is the reverse... Like the vaporub thing... Extending... Going to a loud rock concert? Not sure...

Anyway... I hope you feel better soon.

Uh... It could be psychological... But it could also be neurological. Odors... Sounds... It might be worth mentioning to a neurologist...

I used to be highly sensitive to certain perfumes/colognes, especially Chanel No. 5, and I would get raging migraines from being around most scents. I later learned during therapy that perfume was a trigger for me because my abuser always wore it. Eventually, my sensitivity got better.

I am definitely sensitive to low frequencies, but that's because in my left ear, I have a piece of titanium where those little bones used to be.

Oh, and when I first saw this thread, I thought you were referring to fish.

I think the personal scent may be a good stop-gap solution. I really don't understand why it upsets me to smell perfume, but I can fight fire with fire.

Thanks, hypersensitivity is a good description. I will read-up on essential oils. I put some icy-hot on my neck, so I won't have any problem smelling things today.

That is interesting that the perfumes could trigger a migraine psychologically. The mind is very powerful.

Just curious about the titanium in your ear. And sorry about the fish confusion LOL. If I went fishing more often, I might not have psychological issues.

Yeah, I kinda freaked out when I finally made the connection between my sensitivity and the abuse/abuser.

In 2007, I went deaf in my left ear. It turned out (after seeing, oh, I don't know, at least half a dozen doctors ) I had a benign tumor called a cholesteatoma (sp?) in my inner ear that grew around the little bones, so when they removed it, they replaced the bones with a piece of titanium that looks like a ladder with the corners cut off at a 45 degree angle. I saw the pictures and it's super cool. It works pretty well. Now it sounds like I have an earful of water all the time, but I CAN HEAR!

Oh, and I fish a lot and still have psychological issues, for what it's worth.

That is really cool to hear about the titanium ear bone

Olfaction is one of the most primative senses in a very deep part of the brain. It is very linked to emotional memory. More than any of our other senses. It is also one of the least understood senses. Still learning a lot about the effect of pheremones on hormonal cycles etc...

Sometimes people report smelling a particular smell just before they have a seizure... That's how come I wondered about it possibly having a neurological trigger.

I just remembered last night that one of my friends really loves perfume. She used to take me to department stores in the US and she'd spray the perfume on the card and wave the card in front of her face so she could smell a woft of the perfume that way. If you really are hypersensitive to smells in your environment then... You might actually get some enjoyment out of something like that. A flower shop might be too much / too overwhelming. A botanical garden in the spring might be nice. A herb garden. Anyway... Just a thought. Like art for your nose.

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That's great that they were able to restore some hearing.

Wouldn't it be great if your brain can learn to compensate for the distortions of the titanium so that it sounds more natural? If some frequencies are coming through too strong and others too weak, then maybe your brain can adjust with practice?

When I watch a movie, and somebody lights a cigarette or pipe, I often smell the smoke. I am very prone to imagination and suggestion, so sometimes I wonder if I am imagining the smells. I was mildly psychotic for a short time, and had some olfactory hallucinations along with visual and audio.

I suspect that I've allowed small psychological problems to pile-up until I'm upset by small things. I have lots of weird problems besides the perfume. For example, if somebody seems to want a friendship with me, I instinctively panic and push him/her away. I don't like to be patted on the back or hugged. I'm a germaphobe. I don't like sunshine or nice weather. I wear jackets in the summer, because I don't want to feel a pleasant breeze touch my skin. I avoid going outside during the day when it is nice weather. I don't know what is wrong with me.

Have you tried wearing compression clothing? Or firm fitting lycra stuff? I find it calming for the senses. Like menthol for the nose / muscles...

It sounds like you're hyper-hyper-sensitive to any sensory stimulation. That would explain why you don't like nice weather or to feel a breeze on your skin. Too much stimulation. As for sensitivity to certain sounds, there is a condition called hyperacusis.

Hyperacusis (also spelled hyperacousis) is a health condition characterized by an over-sensitivity to certain frequency and volume ranges of sound (a collapsed tolerance to usual environmental sound). A person with severe hyperacusis has difficulty tolerating everyday sounds, some of which may seem unpleasantly or painfully loud to that person but not to others. (Wikipedia)

This can feel like someone is stabbing your brain over and over. The sounds really hurt. I have hyperacusis at various frequencies. When the hyperacusis is triggered, I rush to turn down my hearing aids before my head explodes. The hyperacusis can make me unreasonably irritable and give me migraines. My only suggestion is to avoid situations that produce the painful sounds or wear earplugs to take the edge off of the sound when you can't avoid it.