Family Questions & Dismisses My Sensitive Hearing..

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

Here is one of the main reasons I wish to have been born deaf: My mother STILL doesn't understand. It's like she's too busy trying to prove me to be wrong all the time. She always questions my sensitive hearing because I seem to tolerate noises that are loud enough for hee to hear in her room from mine or loud music from the headphones I use to block out the car's loud engine. She claims that's louder than anything else, but I can hear through that music, too, depending on how loud the noise is. Then she questions how I can't "get used" to everything else that hurts my ears. She, once again, blamed the earplugs I constantly have to wear for not understanding what she says and claims that I can't hear. I keep trying to explain to her that there's a difference between hearing and understanding. But hell.. No one ever listens to me. They just question, thinking that I can only tolerate my own noise and can't hear what people are saying. That's not true. I can hear their voices perfectly fine. It's just that I can't understand people because they often talk too fast or ramble their words together. She just won't listen to me. She thinks I won't listen to her, but it's vice versa. When I was setting disunities accommodations, the lady said that it's just the way our brains perceive certain words and often causes us to miss what the person has said. I tried to tell my mother that, but she doesn't care as she only intends to point out the earplugs in my ears in which I can clearly hear through. Something's wrong with me. I can tolerate some noises that seem louder to others like my headphonesq or my own voice would be louder to other people, but I can't tolerate any outside noises. I wish I can just rewire my brain to make me live a normal life without being tortured by the loud, noisy world. Loud noises causes me agony and overstimulation.

 

[Graphin]

Similar situation here with a good amount of people

One teacher is really getting at me for wearing earplugs

My parents - I could write a little book about it.

Earplugs also reduce the volume of most interference so I can still clearly understand you

 

[Judge]

Perhaps it's time for you to put a name to this to explain to your mother:

HYPERACUSIS

What Is Sound Sensitivity (Hyperacusis)?

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

Perhaps it's time for you to put a name to this to explain to your mother:

HYPERACUSIS

What Is Sound Sensitivity (Hyperacusis)?

We already looked into that, but hyperacusis wouldn't discriminate between sounds.

 

[Progster]

We already looked into that, but hyperacusis wouldn't discriminate between sounds.

What do you mean by this? Hyperacusis affects the way you hear certain frequencies of sound - it can be very specific, one sound can really bother you, but another is ok. I have hyperacusis, and it's an absolute nightmare. Hyperacusis + sensitive hearing + misophonia is a common combination for people on the spectrum I think, and very difficult to deal with. Unfortunately there isn't a cure for this except to try to get some relief from it sometimes by going for a walk in the country, or something like that.

 

[Fino]

My brother got that new Smash Bros. game and it has some online chatting thing apparently cause he never stops talking and laughing and now my life is over. I have to listen to music at all times, I guess, until the game gets boring.

Do they have hearing aids that reduce noise? Maybe you can see an Otolaryngologist or whoever someone sees about hearing devices? Or something along those lines?

 

[SusanLR]

Hyperacusis affects the way you hear certain frequencies of sound - it can be very specific, one sound can really bother you, but another is ok.

This is the sounds of life for me too.
The frequency level of different sounds.
I have had audiology tests and the mid-range frequency, (the ones most easily heard by the majority)
are the ones I have the most difficulty with.
He printed out a graph of my tests and thought it interesting.
Most would hear mid range frequencies with the higher and lower frequencies gradually fading out.

This could explain why you have more difficulty with human voices in the middle frequency, but,
loud music doesn't bother you.
I can enjoy a rock concert, but, just today an example was in a room with 10 people talking.
As I lay on the massage table getting physical therapy on my legs, I heard all the different sounds of
speech in the room around me. One particular man's voice bothered my ears.
His speech was not deeper, higher or more loud than the others, but, something about it bothered my
sensitivity. It was different somehow when he spoke.
I also have severe tinnitus, but, that shouldn't cause the mid range hearing difficulties.

 

[Moomin]

Sounds like your mom is either in denial of all of this (are you officially dx’d by the way? If yes, she might be doing the blaming herself) or has always been like this and nothing really can be done to improve that.

Have you been to a hearing specialist about this?

 

[Graphin]

Sounds like your mom is either in denial of all of this (are you officially dx’d by the way? If yes, she might be doing the blaming herself) or has always been like this and nothing really can be done to improve that.

Have you been to a hearing specialist about this?

Some parents (mine for example) tend to ignore specialists if something doesn't fit into their view of things

 

[Autistamatic]

I have a sensitivity to voices myself - both human and some animals. I can work in a noisy environment such as a building site or a manufacturing lab/workshop with no difficulty, but in an open plan office full of people talking it can be at best difficult to tune out, at worst torturous. In particular I find women shouting or screeching painful and babytalk can finish me off - please don't think me misogynistic - it's just the frequency that to me is like the old cliche of nails down a blackboard.
I also find it difficult because I find myself following several conversations at once or hearing things people would prefer me not to, like what they REALLY think about the person they were telling was such a good friend a moment ago.
Auditory sensitivity does not always mean we are oversensitive to all sound, but certain types of sound. It may not be all music, for instance, but certain instruments or rhythms may be deeply upsetting or painful. I've heard of people being specifically affected by violins or flutes and a common one seems to be the powerful sub-bass of much modern niche dance music.
The problem seems to be as much your mother not accepting or being willing to understand your recent diagnosis as it does your hearing. Perhaps if we can find a way to help you open her mind it may ease your anxiety over your hearing and make it easier to cope. I know we haven't yet, but there must be a way of communicating to her that you are not alone in this and it ties in with your autism.

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

I have sensitivity to stuff like the washer clacking when drying clothes, cabinet or fridge doors, microwave doors, doors period, whistles especially, many high noises, clapping, popping staplers, rumbling engines (driving that torture car), loud kids, maybe snapping, stomping, people screaming (unless it's myself screaming from the noise which my mother questions), but I can tolerate loud music (burning desire by Jon six) played in my ear. I only tolerate it now because I played it in my headphones for so long to try to block out the loud car engine, and I seem to have gotten used to it. Her question was how come I can't get used to any other noise? Then she says the music is louder than all the other noises and is played directly in my ears. I can't explain that to her because I can't word things, but that's not making me suffer any less from noise. If any, it just let's me know that there is no help.for oversensitive hearing like mine. I see a lot of autistic people on YouTube with ear defenders, and they seem to work. Reviews for ones online seem to work perfectly for kids in the spectrum. Why can't any of them work for me?

 

[Graphin]

Reviews for ones online seem to work perfectly for kids in the spectrum. Why can't any of them work for me?

Considered the combination of at least less stimulation, and the "shut up you brat you already got your ear defenders" factor?

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

Considered the combination of at least less stimulation, and the "shut up you brat you already got your ear defenders" factor?

The two I have don't even reduce the loud noises. It barely muffles anything.

 

[TheFreeCat]

You need to find an expert in misphonia. It is a new phenomena that is being studied and has perhaps developed because of the world we live in. An expert in Misphonia will test you and determine what kind of sensitivities you have and will help you to cope. There is no cure, but there are skills. Please look into that. Take your mom along.

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

You need to find an expert in misphonia. It is a new phenomena that is being studied and has perhaps developed because of the world we live in. An expert in Misphonia will test you and determine what kind of sensitivities you have and will help you to cope. There is no cure, but there are skills. Please look into that. Take your mom along.

I thought misphonia was just a dislike of certain sounds like chewing or tapping and stuff like that. What I get is overstimulation from noises like cabinets closing, car engines, etc.

 

[TheFreeCat]

People with miso get very overly stimulated and often many different hearing issues are linked. It is neuro. Have you seen a specialist?

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

People with miso get very overly stimulated and often many different hearing issues are linked. It is neuro. Have you seen a specialist?

ENTs and Audiologists, and even CAT scans say my ears are fine and blame the fact that I constantly wear earplugs. I've been to them twice and not the same people.

 

[Decameron]

A lot of people with Autism have a hard time separating sound boundaries. For example, a lot of people with Autism will have trouble understanding song lyrics because we can't distinguish word boundaries. When there is a lot of background noise or if the volume is too high this effects is amplified and all we hear is words blurred together. I would if you would be helped with noise canceling headphones? They take away background noise while preserving things like speech.

 

[TheFreeCat]

ENTs and Audiologists, and even CAT scans say my ears are fine and blame the fact that I constantly wear earplugs. I've been to them twice and not the same people.

No, I mean a specialist who understands the neuro behind it. It usually takes a multi-speciality approach.

Here is a good vid I saw that explains it from the stand of misophonia , but it can pertain to any extreme sensory processing reaction....

 

[Decameron]

I don't think what is described here qualifies as Misophonia. It's more something like central processing disorder (CPD) or another high level sound or signal processing disorder. To me the key in the original description is the smudged perception of speech when background or environmental sound gets too intrusive. (I'm not an expert though, but I do know a few who I just spoke with about this)