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Contradictory Noise Sensitivity

AuBurney Tuckerson

AuBurney Tuckerson

~GigglesTheAutisticHyena~
Is this for everyone or just me?

My mother doesn't unsrstand how I'm able to tolerate music like rap (just to jam) and metal (used to block noise). I couldn't really explain it to my mother how I'm able to be okay with that but is tortured to agony by something like a paper ripping, banging, whistles, high noise, pencil tapping, etc.

Is it really just noises I like that don't torture me? Cause I've even had to turn down or mute some of the cartoons I watch. I don't go to fairs or parades much anymore because of the noise. So I tried to explain to her that the noise sensitivity even affects what I used to like to do. Heck, I used to want a motorcycle instead of a car until I got sensitive hearing. Now I hate motorcycles with passion because they're too loud. I hate trucks because of the same reason.

Does this have to do with the sensory disorder part of autism, or is it just me?
 
It's not just you. Music is intrinsically different from noise. Human brains (NT and ND both) respond differently to music than to noise. There can also be a bit of overlap. I love death metal, black metal, grindcore, etc, but I listen to them at relatively low volume (sensitive hearing). I can't listen to rap if I'm tired or need to read or write, because the speech processing is too much. You get the idea.

This Is Your Brain on Music - Wikipedia
^^
A musician turned neuroscientist wrote a book on how music affects the human brain. I don't recall anything specific to autism (it's been years since I read it), but it's fascinating stuff.
 
I'll put it this way: This even happens to NTs.

Consider: many NTs can easily handle things like the eardrum-popping volume of a concert... yet if you go to a chalkboard and rake your nails down it, they'll absolutely lose their composure and make a variety of distressed sound effects.

Not all sounds set off audio overload, regardless of volume. It's just that those on the spectrum seem to have a dramatically wider range of sounds that DO set it off.

It's certainly the case for me.
 
Music flows, it's why you can tolerate it. Squeeks, rattles, tapping, the sound of people chewing with their mouth open are triggers for me. By far the worst above all else, is the sharp edgy voice of women who report news or speak in advertisements.
 
Actually like strange noise music if it has some repetitive jam going on. Art of Noise is one group from the seventies that comes to mind. I have blasted music to drown out noises that aren't music. @Fade2black l agree certain pitches in female voices can be jarring.
 
The sound of someone laughing in a silent room because they're using headphones is a burning, torturous nightmare. :)
 
Not all sound is the same. Musical compositions are based on mathematical harmonies, sounds that do not correspond to these harmonies are dissonant and grate on the senses. Some sounds hit frequencies that are painful, both to NTs and those with increased sound sensitivity, such as running fingernails down a blackboard, but people with sound sensitivity have a lower threshold of tolerance and will overload quicker. No two people will experience the same event in exactly the same way.
 
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