[Beatnik62]

The first thought that readers might have is Asperger's and I have read about that. I don't think I have all of the qualifying symptoms. However, as a teenager and young adult, one sound that drove me into rage was the sound of rain on our tin roof. I would roll and tumble, put my hands over my ears, and sometimes fly into rage and beat on the bed. I would run a fan to try to drown out the sound. That was the only thing that caused a reaction that extreme. It seemed to pass at some point in time when I got older. Though I don't have that sort of reaction anymore, some noises still bother me. I can't sleep without the white noise of a fan running. I often feel that my symptoms include small parts of many different disorders. I have never told my psych about this because there just isn't time to go into the past. At this point, I'm trying to understand some of the things that made my younger life difficult. Any similar experiences or ideas?

[cool09]

I'm very sensitive to noise. Originally, I thought it was bipolar disorder. Last year I was diagnosed Asberger's, too. I can't take noise in apartments, I've moved 7x over the last 15 years.

[Beatnik62]

Originally Posted by cool09

I'm very sensitive to noise. Originally, I thought it was bipolar disorder. Last year I was diagnosed Asberger's, too. I can't take noise in apartments, I've moved 7x over the last 15 years.

May I ask if any noises bother you more than others? Now, I'm very agitated by the sound of doors shutting. If someone closes a cabinet door in the kitchen, I've very sensitive to it. I'm fortunate to live in a fairly quiet environment. My fan is running at the moment as it usually is. That' how I cope with outdoor noises.

[WalterShannon]

I am very sensitive too. I can`t sleep without earplugs, but with them, everything is pretty simple) I can recommend "speedy" earplugs for swimming, they work great!

[cool09]

I'm very agitated by the sound of doors shutting. If someone closes a cabinet door in the kitchen, I've very sensitive to it.

Exactly. Pots and pans, someone pacing upstairs. During my hospital stay last month I was very irritable. The manic people were very noisy and I stayed in my room because it was unbearable. I had problems taking tests one semester because I was distracted so easily by people sneezing, books shutting, pages turning, etc. I failed two classes and got two D's. The following semester I had a nervous breakdown and left school.

[Beatnik62]

Originally Posted by cool09

Exactly. Pots and pans, someone pacing upstairs. During my hospital stay last month I was very irritable. The manic people were very noisy and I stayed in my room because it was unbearable. I had problems taking tests one semester because I was distracted so easily by people sneezing, books shutting, pages turning, etc. I failed two classes and got two D's. The following semester I had a nervous breakdown and left school.

I fully understand that. Another thing that annoys me is hearing one side of a phone conversation. Before cell phones, I'd just leave the room if someone were talking. Now, it's everywhere and going to stores can be agitating. When I'm having lunch and the person next to me is having a loud phone conversation, I get really jittery. That's why I'm the most relaxed at home where I have more control over my environment.

There is a name for extreme sensitivity to a particular noise. Most people who have this feel immense disgust at the sound of swallowing I think.

I looked it up for you; it's called misophonia.

A while ago there was a lot about it in the news because the AMC hospital in Amsterdam had developed a working treatment - the first/only in the world I think.

Misophonia is of course a disorder, and only a professional can diagnose you. According to the AMC 5-7% of the population has significant symptoms, but only 0.5% qualify for the disorder.

[eskielover]

Growing up I & I was studying in my bedroom with ALL (2) doors shut inbetween I could still hear the TV & it distracted my reading & studying. It was like the TV overpowerd the silent words I was trying to read our of the book. I still have that problem at 65. If I need to focus on what I am reading, my room has to be completely silent.

Though normal noises in life don't bother me

[Wild Coyote]

I am very sensitive to all noises. They seem very amplified and can cause agitation. I have lived with this for a lifetime. I've learned to use earplugs at times. My neurologist believes my noise sensitivity comes from my chronic proclivity for migraine activity. I am a migraineur.


WC

[PerryJeffJoeJimBob]

Abrupt noise are a problem for me. A phone ringing, a doorbell, alarm clock, horn, etc. I am not scared of these sounds, but it feels like my heart stops and is preparing for something horrible. Some sounds like a loud television or screaming kid send me straight into an angry state. These things never really concerned me before I became severely depressed.

[eskielover]

Originally Posted by Wild Coyote

I am very sensitive to all noises. They seem very amplified and can cause agitation. I have lived with this for a lifetime. I've learned to use earplugs at times. My neurologist believes my noise sensitivity comes from my chronic proclivity for migraine activity. I am a migraineur.


WC

I never got migraines (or one continual migraine) until I was 42. Never even had headaches before that but I understand. Sounds, SMELLS (the worst) & light were horrible to deal with. Normal migraine meds didn't work but pain meds did. It was strange not having the pain but still having the symptoms. It still happens but not as often & am using other treatments to control it now.

[Blueberrybook]

My daughter has an issue with noise as well. So much so that the teachers at her elementary school send her to the nurse’s restroom because of her intense dislike of the noise of the hand blow dryers and other toilets flushing in the restroom (the nurse’s restroom only has paper towels). They have been doing it since she was in kindergarten, and she is in 4th grade now. She hates vacuum cleaners, bouncy houses, even said the noise kids were encouraged to make for a upcoming fundraiser made her feel “sick”. She has many sensory issues, won’t wear pants because they are too tight (the only pants that are loose enough fall off her hips; thank goodness we live in a part of Texas with mild winters), won’t eat mixed foods, hates certain textures, etc. I often wonder if she falls on the autism spectrum or very near it, with other behaviors that nearly put her on the autism spectrum. She is very smart, making parenting her a challenge. However, there is another disorder called sensory processing disorder, and I haven’t ruled out that she could have that instead. I want to get her tested, but my husband (her father), insists these are either quirks of her personality and/or things she will outgrow and doesn’t want her tested or “labeled”. Sigh. My take on it is she is 10 years old; she is not outgrowing it. I am 99% sure my father has undiagnosed Aspergers; talking with and being around him just isn’t normal, but it is very obvious in him. So there is the possibility genes play some role with my daughter’s issues.

So I don’t know. Could it maybe be sensory processing disorder? Hard to know where that one stops and where autism such as Aspergers begins.

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by cln1812

My daughter has an issue with noise as well. So much so that the teachers at her elementary school send her to the nurse’s restroom because of her intense dislike of the noise of the hand blow dryers and other toilets flushing in the restroom (the nurse’s restroom only has paper towels). They have been doing it since she was in kindergarten, and she is in 4th grade now. She hates vacuum cleaners, bouncy houses, even said the noise kids were encouraged to make for a upcoming fundraiser made her feel “sick”. She has many sensory issues, won’t wear pants because they are too tight (the only pants that are loose enough fall off her hips; thank goodness we live in a part of Texas with mild winters), won’t eat mixed foods, hates certain textures, etc. I often wonder if she falls on the autism spectrum or very near it, with other behaviors that nearly put her on the autism spectrum. She is very smart, making parenting her a challenge. However, there is another disorder called sensory processing disorder, and I haven’t ruled out that she could have that instead. I want to get her tested, but my husband (her father), insists these are either quirks of her personality and/or things she will outgrow and doesn’t want her tested or “labeled”. Sigh. My take on it is she is 10 years old; she is not outgrowing it. I am 99% sure my father has undiagnosed Aspergers; talking with and being around him just isn’t normal, but it is very obvious in him. So there is the possibility genes play some role with my daughter’s issues.

So I don’t know. Could it maybe be sensory processing disorder? Hard to know where that one stops and where autism such as Aspergers begins.

My nephew was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. He had an IEP (individualized Educational Plan) set up at school. He was in the same classes with his friends. In addition, he'd had some specialized treatment which helped to desensitize his hearing. Sometimes, it's helpful to catch these things early, especially if the schools can help out. My nephew had this help in his elementary school years. He is now 23 and can tolerate all kinds of noise. Of course, it's impossible to tell if the training offered by the school is to be credited, or if he has just grown out of it.

In contrast, my sensory issues have never been "treated" and they stay with me into middle age.

it's so hard to be sure as to how to handle these issues as a parent. It's obvious you truly care. My heart goes out to you.

WC

[Blueberrybook]

We have had a couple IEP meetings at the elementary school, especially when my daughter was in kindergarten and first grade. They promised they would set up some type of occupational therapy at the school to help my daughter with issues that affected her daily life in regards to the school system, but they never did a thing about it.

Unfortunately, her school has a high turnover of counselors and staff such as assistant principals. The main principal is wonderful to have if you are a parent, but it is obvious she is a workaholic. I think this stresses a lot of her staff and causes the high turnover rates.

This year, there is yet again a new counselor. Now, the teachers seem to take it in stride that my daughter is quirky and hates loud noises, the kids too. As it happens, that school has a dual language program (Spanish/English). They only have 2 sections of dual classes per grade, so those kids are kept together grades K-5. The section composition will change slightly each school year, but it is always the same kids, unless a native Spanish speaker moves into the school district; the district puts all elementary native Spanish speakers in the one dual language program it has, which is at my daughters' school. So now, not only are the teachers used to her, but so are her classmates because they don't change much over the years and the dual classes usually share specials like P.E., music, computers, recess. This year, her math & science teacher was her old math & science teacher from 2nd grade.

I feel like the school has forgotten about the promises the old counselor made at that IEP years ago, but I don't want to be confrontational about it, a helicopter problematic parent, and some of my daughter's behaviors have improved, such as she no longer has meltdowns in the library when she cannot just go to the same section, find a book in the same series on her reading level, and check it out.

I could be more pro-active and have the state on my side if my husband would just let me get her pediatrician to give her a 504 label. The 504 label can stand for a lot of things, not all of them with a positive association such as learning disorders, ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, mood disorders, autism, sensory disorders, etc. It's a long list. A teacher gets a child with a 504 label, they have to go through the files and find the exact issue. In contrast, when the school wanted to give my daughter a GT label (gifted & talented), my husband was all for that. I feel like if I had his support, I could just do more for my daughter.

[eskielover]

Sadly your daughters treatment is the most important. Sounds like your H may have some of his own personal embarrassment knowing what is really going on with your daughter. Better to know & deal with helpung her cope at a young age.

Oh yes, after researching all the issues I had im my own marriage it ALL pointed to the fact that my x- H has undiagnosed ASD (He is 66) & it became obvious with that research that my dad did also. He died way back in 1989 before Aspergers was even known in the US.

[Frazzled Kat]

Originally Posted by Beatnik62

The first thought that readers might have is Asperger's and I have read about that. I don't think I have all of the qualifying symptoms. However, as a teenager and young adult, one sound that drove me into rage was the sound of rain on our tin roof. I would roll and tumble, put my hands over my ears, and sometimes fly into rage and beat on the bed. I would run a fan to try to drown out the sound. That was the only thing that caused a reaction that extreme. It seemed to pass at some point in time when I got older. Though I don't have that sort of reaction anymore, some noises still bother me. I can't sleep without the white noise of a fan running. I often feel that my symptoms include small parts of many different disorders. I have never told my psych about this because there just isn't time to go into the past. At this point, I'm trying to understand some of the things that made my younger life difficult. Any similar experiences or ideas?

I have a similar problem but for me the trouble is loud voices and speaker phone conversations. I loathe both those things, I think There?m..na special place in hell for people who use those lol.

[LadyShadow]

Great thread!

You know, I NEVER had a problem with noise in my life before until I finally had a breakthrough a few months ago and started REALLY feeling better with my new medication, (I am on Seroquel now and I used to be on Haldol).

I have bipolar disorder, and I saw someone else mention that, so I don't know if its related or not.

I have a HARD time lately. My parents talk loud in the kitchen sometimes and it bothers me a lot. Even when I am trying to relax while listening to my favorite music I get agitated too. I mean I could LOVE the song, but its like when I am trying to concentrate, I squint my eyes in frustration and turn it down. It's really funny because I JUST did that with my music as I am typing out this post, haha.

But yeah, people talking on their cellphone in public REALLY bother me. And they talk SO LOUD too, I mean when I am out and about and I get a call, I kinda keep it down as best I can, (sometimes it IS hard to do that, I admit it), but I try my best to be respectful to other people. Its REALLY sad that I don't get the same kind of respect or courtesy in return in today's society.

But what can you do right? We HAVE to be around people, because we NEED certain services you know? For example: the last incident happened while I was waiting to see my therapist and this OBNOXIOUS person was just walking back and forth and yapping away at a decibel of like 1000. I even told my therapist about it in session.

[Mountaindewed]

I almost lose it when I hear sirens or someone reving their engines. I also hate hand dryers. I use them for like 5 seconds and then finish drying my hands on my pants. I get relieved when I see there are paper towels.

I cover my ears when I flush a toilet.

The worst noise for me is nails on a chalkboard. I plug my ears when they do it on TV. I close my eyes too.

I can’t file my nails because I just hate that feeling too.

I have autism as well.

[MuseumGhost]

I deduced that I suffer from a moderate case of hyperacusis (resulting in a bit of misophonia, for sure), and probably have for most of my life. I did go through a number of earaches and ear infections as a child (a possible contributor to the syndrome). I have always been sensitive to all kinds of noise. I believe it has gotten worse since I experienced a damaged ear drum about 27 years ago. It is definitely worse since Major Depressive Disorder and GAD took over everything in 2007.

Sudden, percussive noises are the worst. Revving engines and souped up motors actually hurt my ears. I have developed terrible stress headaches from repetitive loud noises. Scratchy, beat-up speakers blaring annoying radio (also usually too loud) in retail stores are also up there on my list of most-hated things. I have the usual fight or flight reaction...it's horrible to suddenly want to grab people and shake them and impress on them forcibly that their rudeness and thoughtless noise-making is harmful at times.

Naturally, I end up avoiding an awful lot of socializing. I use earplugs (the soft foamy kind) regularly, even when I'm not trying to read or sleep.

I seek quiet in most situations. I go to great lengths for it. It's only rarely I listen to music anymore; and even then it's turned way down.

As far as I know, no one else in my family suffers from any of these issues.

[YoucancallmeFlower]

I totally understand! The worst one for me is that binging noise cars make when the door is opened. After three or four bings I am fighting to get out of the car. Basketball's slapping on concrete is another one. Anything rhythmic that hits a certain pitch.
And it's funny but I had a lot of problems with my ears as a child and suffered a broken eardrum as an adult. Rap music and screaming babies make me crazy and I have had to leave public buildings because an alarm went off.
I also have sensory overload. It's a visual version, where colors and shape's become so bright and sharp that they are overwhelming and
lead to panic attacks. I had to stop driving because of it.
Have you ever had a problem with the visual side of it? I also have Complex PTSD. Is that a contributing factor for you?
But the very worst is the tinnitus. It seems to get worse with stress.
Has that ever been a problem for you?
It seems the ear issues in childhood might be the original cause. What do you think?
I also had encephalitis as a child and epilepsy as a young adult, and have often wondered what permanent damage these afflictions may have left behind.
I am quite interested in your opinions as I have seldom come across others who deal with these conditions.

Flower

[~Christina]

The entire world is too loud for me today

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by YoucancallmeFlower

I totally understand! The worst one for me is that binging noise cars make when the door is opened. After three or four bings I am fighting to get out of the car. Basketball's slapping on concrete is another one. Anything rhythmic that hits a certain pitch.
And it's funny but I had a lot of problems with my ears as a child and suffered a broken eardrum as an adult. Rap music and screaming babies make me crazy and I have had to leave public buildings because an alarm went off.
I also have sensory overload. It's a visual version, where colors and shape's become so bright and sharp that they are overwhelming and
lead to panic attacks. I had to stop driving because of it.
Have you ever had a problem with the visual side of it? I also have Complex PTSD. Is that a contributing factor for you?
But the very worst is the tinnitus. It seems to get worse with stress.
Has that ever been a problem for you?
It seems the ear issues in childhood might be the original cause. What do you think?
I also had encephalitis as a child and epilepsy as a young adult, and have often wondered what permanent damage these afflictions may have left behind.
I am quite interested in your opinions as I have seldom come across others who deal with these conditions.

Flower

I also live with C-PTSD and have similar symptoms. My pdoc attributes these symptoms to the PTSD.


WC

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

The entire world is too loud for me today

I am sorry.
I am in a similar boat. The world is too loud for me most days.
I took my mom out to lunch a couple of days ago; what a nightmare! The restaurant was so loud! The loud music in addition to he crowd was very unsettling. I was a wreck and wanted t run out of the place. I did not enjoy it at all.


WC

[Gingerale]

Ok google, now I know the name of this syndrome! I’m sensitive to different sounds too. I can’t sleep without earplugs because I hear whispers in every corner of my home( I used to love to listen to loud music in headphones but now, I can't take it anymore..

[LaraR4444]

I have two noise-related problems.

#1, one of my stress reactions has become being very sensitive to noise. A slightly loud, sudden, or irritating sound when my stress is high sends my stress through the roof and it's like I would do anything to make it stop. This started sometime last year, a really bad year, and some of the noises remind me of past things that bothered me. Thankfully it doesn't happen very often.

#2, I have misophonia, but it's not the chewing sound that bothers me, it's that wet, smacking noise. I've even lately gotten to where I hear myself do it and I have the same reaction! I have varying degrees of bad responses to it, but I usually always want to cover my ears and sometimes like I said above I'd do just about anything to make it stop. Again, I fear this had specific inspiration.

I have wondered if I had a touch of asperger's, for other reasons. Mainly, I tend to have unusual thought processes, like the story I read once about asperger's where this person was like, "what if it's a zebra?". But I don't really think I have it because I don't really have the other symptoms and there are people who should have told me.

I probably have some form of PTSD.