Sensory Overload

[gister]

Do you ever have headache or feel pressure in the head when suffering from sensory overload ?

 

[Nolan1971]

Um Yeah I would say so. The things that get to me are high pitched noises like fire alarms, slamming doors (especially if done many times)
and even the beep at a cash register if it is too loud! The obvious one is if too many people try to talk at the same time! Ugh!

 

[Explosition_Rooster]

Yes I've gotten headaches from sensory overload before; it isn't nice to feel and they are very difficult to deal with, aside from simply hiding away in a dark room with the door shut.

 

[Arashi222]

Yes. I get migraines and my asthma kicks into overdrive. I also usually go into a meltdown if its too much for me to handle. Those two usually just alert me to one being imminent.

 

[Hadassah]

Do you ever have headache or feel pressure in the head when suffering from sensory overload ?

Yes! I get migraines too from being too long in an stressing environment! Before my AS-diagnosis they used to be blamed for psychosomatic issues, but now I know better and know that I can't help it :/

 

[Judge]

That may explain somewhat why sometimes in very crowded, noisy environments it becomes so hard for me to isolate a single person speaking and clearly understand them. My head starts to spin a bit....and I become a little disoriented. Of course at that point I just pretend I'm hearing every word the person is saying, until it passes...usually when the noise level subsides. I just thought I was somewhat intolerant- too sensitive to too many things.

 

[Wessicht]

I used to have difficulties with this. Sensory overload was an issue whenever I left the house. Although, I've gotten better at dealing with it. Earlier this year, I embarked on a plan of self improvement, actually. I essentially would shock my system through intense sensory stimulation throughout the week day, and then rest like a cripple during the three days of the weekend.

(My schedule at the time allowed me to do this, but I wouldn't reccommend it to anyone who is working.)

Eventually, I got to a point where I had a high enough tolerance for sensation that I could function acceptably in most environments. Some environments might still prove difficult for me, however. For example, going to comic-con might be troublesome.

 

[Garnet]

I do get a lot of headaches, and I suspect they might be from sensory overload. I have trouble knowing what symptoms were caused by what. It's hard to make that connection. For a while I thought I was cured of my sensory issues and I was freaking out (meltdowns) for no reason at all.

 

[gister]

I went for a coffee with my friend the other day, and all the noises, and lights and sounds just made me want to leave the place in a few minutes. I felt bad, because my friend was having fun. I asked her : ,,Can you really just talk to me without all this noises bothering you ? " she told me...when she is talking to people in a crowdy, noisy places..., all the noises just turn into background noises and then she can focus completely on the conversation shes having. I dont understand this, and I really have to say that I envy her. I wish that I could isolate the noises like normal people do. I hear all sounds almost equal.


[ ----sorry about my English, English is not my first language ---- ]

 

[Spinning Compass]

I don't get headaches, but I get very anxious and I tend to be very short and snippy around people--especially if I need to eat and/or I feel that I am being ignored. It's very hard to explain what your needs are when people are not listening and are doing their own little thing and you have no choice but to go along.

For example, I went with a group to see a very popular outdoor art exhibit in a nearby city. It was bad enough that it was crowded but we had one lady in our group who was deaf and insisted on going her own way without letting anyone know. We'd just finish discussing where to go next and we would turn around and she would be gone. Halfway down the block, the opposite direction of where we all agreed we would go next, not bothering to turn around to see if anyone was behind her--and furthermore, she walks bent over, so she is a real target. What made me extremely anxious is that the week before an elderly lady had been knocked down to the ground by a mugger at that very same event. Fortunately for her four guys came to her aid and tackled the thief and the video was all over the news. And here this lady seemed to be blissfully unconcerned that the same thing might happen to her and we might never know. That was stressing me out more than anything, because it just was not sinking in that you do not do this sort of thing, you stay with your group. We wasted so much time trying to keep track of her that I really started to get annoyed and it was hard for me to keep an even temper because I needed to stay with these people for the same reason, it's not safe alone.

 

[gister]

Why are you V.I.P. Member ?

 

[Spinning Compass]

It has to do with the number of posts, I think. The more you post the higher your rankings get.

 

[Eman]

Well I've been able to keep it relatively under control these days, but last July when I was in China volunteering to teach English to disadvantaged teens, Sunday was free, and we tried to decide as a group where to go for lunch. Everyone else was too busy conversing and chatting and we were soon walking in groups by class towards a "destination". We were told that we were going to a noodle place close by. Good. However, somewhere up or down the line, some girls from another class hit on the idea of going across the bridge to the other side of town (this being a hot and humid summer day: think of New Orleans in July and southern China is similar!) for some "mystery bbq" with "a view". Problem was, NO ONE TOLD ME, MY FELLOW TEACHERS, OR OUR CLASS. We just kind of followed them, followed and followed (on foot), and then we headed to a bridge and I was like "What the hell is this?! I thought we were going somewhere CLOSE BY?!' (This was after about 45 mins of walking when I thought we were going to walk for 10 mins max) Everyone else was kinda just following, some of the other Canadian and American teachers were laughing and joking, giving each other piggyback rides across this looooong bridge (they were both guys...) while my teaching partner and I were getting increasingly annoyed as no one in our class had any clue what the hell was going on.

Basically, I ragequit.

we finally walked allt he way across the damn bridge, then saw that YOU HAD TO SCURRY DOWN A STEEP STAIRCASE just to get there! And that was the last straw! I shouted at the other class' students, "well, we're not joining you guys. We're going our own way!" So we walked all the way back across the bridge while I was absolutely pitiless and merciless to the monitor of the other class who suggested this and then didn't tell anyone. I verbally ripped her to shreds, in Chinese. After I had my way, I asked my own class monitor every 30 seconds or every block if we were absolutely, 100% going in the right direction to the noodle shop, until we got there and ate lunch. It was very unpleasant not knowing where we were going in the heat, and as an aspie I was definitely overloaded that day.

Best part of this: on the last day of class the school had a cake fight: I didn't want to participate, I was adamant about not participating but other classes invaded our room so I had to fight back. This was my chance for revenge, at least. I smacked the class monitor of the other class real good with a piece of cake. As the other class' kids pelted me with cake I slapped their cakes out of their hands and even grabbed several of them and spun them around ExTRA HARD and slapped the boys on the back ExTRA HARD so they would think twice about throwing cake at my class again. I was a monster. Once the switch to aggresion is turned on, for me, there is no going back. I pushed and shoved my way and crushed some of them against the wall so they didn't dare attack my classroom again.

Yeah, I get angry and pissed when overloaded. I start snapping at people in languages they don't understand as well. (I snap in English in China and I snap in Chiense in Canada)

 

[gister]

it has to do with the number of posts, i think. The more you post the higher your rankings get.

ok

 

[Dynamic]

That may explain somewhat why sometimes in very crowded, noisy environments it becomes so hard for me to isolate a single person speaking and clearly understand them. My head starts to spin a bit....and I become a little disoriented. Of course at that point I just pretend I'm hearing every word the person is saying, until it passes...usually when the noise level subsides. I just thought I was somewhat intolerant- too sensitive to too many things.

That reminded me of something I read about awhile back, so I thought I'd mention it. I wonder if there might be some sort of correlation to Auditory Processing Disorders? I believe I have some form of an APD. For me, any kind of background noise or other noises like you described can make it incredibly difficult for me to hear and understand speech. It gets rather annoying, for myself and I'm sure others, as I'm constantly asking "What?", and asking people what did they just say. Sometimes I'm able to compensate by lip reading or guessing what they actually said based on the perceived sound of what they said. Anyways, not sure if there is some similarity with what you experience, but it might be worth looking into.

 

[Judge]

That reminded me of something I read about awhile back, so I thought I'd mention it. I wonder if there might be some sort of correlation to Auditory Processing Disorders? I believe I have some form of an APD. For me, any kind of background noise or other noises like you described can make it incredibly difficult for me to hear and understand speech. It gets rather annoying, for myself and I'm sure others, as I'm constantly asking "What?", and asking people what did they just say. Sometimes I'm able to compensate by lip reading or guessing what they actually said based on the perceived sound of what they said. Anyways, not sure if there is some similarity with what you experience, but it might be worth looking into.

Thanks. Looks like another worthwhile thing to investigate. Low frequencies continue to drive me nuts...not to mention I feel them as much as I hear them. Would APD constitute a form of comorbidity with A/S ?

 

[Dynamic]

Thanks. Looks like another worthwhile thing to investigate. Low frequencies continue to drive me nuts...not to mention I feel them as much as I hear them. Would APD constitute a form of comorbidity with A/S ?

That, I'm not sure about. I learned about APD's months ago, before I had come to a conclusion that I have AS, and I have yet to do any research on APD's with AS. It could be comorbidity, though my gut instinct is that some of the potential physiological differences with AS could influence or result in APD's, or at least characteristics similar to them. That's just a guess. If I'm way off base, anyone please feel free to correct me.

 

[Spinning Compass]

That reminded me of something I read about awhile back, so I thought I'd mention it. I wonder if there might be some sort of correlation to Auditory Processing Disorders? I believe I have some form of an APD. For me, any kind of background noise or other noises like you described can make it incredibly difficult for me to hear and understand speech. It gets rather annoying, for myself and I'm sure others, as I'm constantly asking "What?", and asking people what did they just say. Sometimes I'm able to compensate by lip reading or guessing what they actually said based on the perceived sound of what they said. Anyways, not sure if there is some similarity with what you experience, but it might be worth looking into.

I have that same problem too and I thought it might be due to APD, so a few years ago I participated in a hearing study through a local university. I don't know what experience they have with APD's, but I was very surprised to find out that I do have mild hearing loss in both ears. However, the investigator said that compared to many people my age, my hearing is still pretty good. So maybe part of what you are experiencing is slight hearing loss combined with APD.

 

[Dynamic]

I have that same problem too and I thought it might be due to APD, so a few years ago I participated in a hearing study through a local university. I don't know what experience they have with APD's, but I was very surprised to find out that I do have mild hearing loss in both ears. However, the investigator said that compared to many people my age, my hearing is still pretty good. So maybe part of what you are experiencing is slight hearing loss combined with APD.

I definitely have hearing loss, that's for sure. Though, I remember even since I was a kid, always feeling like I had to guess what people were saying based on the sound of what they were saying, lip reading, the few words I could pick out, etc. This was well before any hearing loss.

 

[fredvizsla]

Anyone who suspects they, or someone else, is Asperger, ought to have a THOROUGH physical and sensory exam BEFORE being diagnosed with any ASD or mental health problem.