Hypersensitivity to sound

[EricD]

I need help! My hypersensitivity to sound is off the charts! Especially bass! It produces an almost immediate and unpleasant response. Meltdowns are nearly instantaneous, and can be severe. High pitched sounds produce a similar response.

 

[David Larson]

You have two options and two options only:

1. Eliminate the source of the sound before it's even made. This is impractical if not impossible.

2. Block off the sounds on your end. Noise cancelling headphones/earbuds or even earplugs if this problem is frequent and severe enough to warrant such measures.

I'm also sensitive to sound. If anyone yells at me, I'll immediately have a meltdown and go apeshit on them. Can't stand loud music or even quiet music if it's a bad day. But that's literally the only two options, stop the noise at the source or stop it from even registering as sensory input. Hopefully I'm just unimaginative and others will have novel solutions, I'd like to hear them.

 

[wanderer03]

I have this issue too. I've found that anti-anxiety meds have helped lessen this hypersensitivity. Since I began taking BuSpar, these sounds are tolerable. High pitched grinding noises tend to bother me.

 

[EricD]

I also don't like any loud sounds. I can hear church bells and trains from miles away.

 

[s6driver]

I don't have an aversion to loud sound, and never did as far as I can recall, although I do have above-average hearing ability. In fact, my job is to make loud sound systems, and I enjoy shooting guns. My son is far more sensitive than I - he runs to another room when anything motorized gets turned on, or when the TV volume is "too loud" aka normal listening volume haha

 

[clg114]

I do not like loud, sudden sounds that I am not expecting. I have spent 45+ years working on equipment in warehouses. Forklift operators drag empty pallets around on their side and then drop them. This makes a very loud SMACK! I have heard that a million times and I still about jump out of my skin when that happens.

 

[Datura]

My auditory sensitivity has never been bad enough to cause meltdowns, but it has been pretty intolerable. It's especially bad when you play in a rock band and suddenly can't stand loud noises.

I will echo what has been said and suggest ear plugs as I found they helped. I have never tried noise canceling headphones, but they sound like they are also worth a try.

I am not sure if this is true for you, but I find that my sensitivity becomes much worse when I am feeling stressed. Is there anything other than the auditory sensitivity that is causing you unusual stress right now? Perhaps dealing with that will help the auditory issues.

Also; have you started or changed any medications recently? My worst sensory symptoms were a reaction to meds I was taking.

 

[s6driver]

They make active earmuffs for shooting sports that work great. It's the same idea as noise-cancelling headphones, except instead of cancelling ALL noise, they actually let through all sounds at or below a comfortable level, and only cancel out sounds over a certain threshold. They make them so that shooters can hold a normal conversation, listen for animals, etc, but not damage their hearing with gunfire.