#auditory sensitivity

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Autim and Sensitivity to Sound

The Autistic Teacher

[enbyorge]

Pro tip!

Shower with earplugs

Not even kidding;

Don't like water in your ears?

Earplugs.

Sounds (derogatory)?

Earplugs.

Showers are so much better when ears are plugged.

I can't speak for those foam plugs, but my loop earplugs are plenty effective for me

[unshrimp]

Hot tip; if you have auditory sensitivities and it's washing day, fully recommend investing in some noise dampening over-ear headphones (or in ear if you have a preference), and a couple of good audiobooks.

Sometimes the noise can leak through and clash with the book, so I have to turn it off, but the noise cancelling will still reduce the overwhelm from the washing machine.

The audiobook can help distract your mind from the irregular or loud sounds.

Also recommend white noise/ambient soundtracks if that works better.

[7-ratsinatrenchcoat]

i forget how nice noise cancelling headphones are until I get them back

[whispers-into-the-void]

noise is so noisy my brain just cannot

[irbcallmefynn]

i already have auditory sensory issues of varying levels but they get like. way worse past midnight. especially when it comes to people talking like some nights i physically flinch when someone talks in vc. quite unfortunate

[imgae-insertshockedgasps-16]

you guys i hate hate hate having auditory processing problems

it's never (afaik) caused me irreversible problems, but it could

the other day someone needed help, and kept calling to me, but i was in the other room and had a fan on and was reading so i didn't process anything other than "continuous unimportant noise"

and this time it was okay, they came and got me, it wasn't anything super serious

but next time it could be that they chopped their finger off or smth and i would never know bc my brain just processed "continuous unimportant noise" when it should have processed "fan noises AND SOMEONE YELLING FOR YOU HEY EMERGENCY"

[misspermitted]

Me: If I have to listen to that fan in the other room for one more second I’m going to lose my SHIT

Also me: Techno music 100% volume 2x speed let’s fucking GO I want to feel that shit in my BONES

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Experiencing Auditory Processing Disorder

The Autistic Teacher

[enbyorge]

Finding out I had hypermobile eardrums was crazy

Like, mom took me to the ENT because my ears hate me, and dude's just like "yeah, you got hypermobile eardrums" and we were just????????? What even is that??? I was about 15ish, I think, and this was before we found out what EDS was and that I probably have it, but the regular hypermobility was diagnosed when I was a very small child

ENT dude just told us "yeah, your eardrums move more than they're supposed to, that's why you hear everything so loud" and we had to just add that to my List of Oddities like it wasn't totally insane to find out

This does not mix well with the Sensory Processing Disorder I got free with the Autism, but I can locate exactly where very quiet sounds are coming from, including Bluetooth earbuds when they get lost in the couch

[liubal-realness]

Chronic illnesses & similar disorders need less whimsical names. call that shit OWWW OWWW IT HURTS disease. not flinching at some liberal soft flower name like misophonia.

[theeepy]

Microdosing concerts by playing music out loud in the shower

[diaryoftimeslongpastandyettocome]

Randomly sketching words w doodles and what do you know, my brain decides to produce this:

Very proud of my subconscious, that's a pretty accurate depiction of hearing four people yell over each other and call it a "conversation".

The sketches that came before:

[prettybbychim]

me: needs at least 1-2 hours of quiet time in the morning (including but not limited to: no talking, no tv, and little to no commotion created from my or someone else’s morning routine) or else i will be either 1) a bitch or 2) an anxious mess for the rest of the day

pair that with

my dad: speed-walking heavy footsteps, nonstop chatter, tv on, doors slamming shut behind him, a cough that shakes the floorboards (which he can’t help i know 😭)

i feel bad if i ask him to quiet down bc he’s just doing his thing, living his life. i’ll work myself up into a panic attack if i try to ask

so i’ll just put my headphones on to muffle the sounds (though it’s not very successful), and i’ll give minimal responses (which is normal for me anyway) and i’ll just book it out of there the first chance i get

it’s only really an issue on the weekends bc he’s off work, but he’s taken multiple days off bc he’s been sick these past two weeks so he’s up and about when i wake up (he won’t fucking rest to save his life) and i can’t just not be where he is bc i have my own shit to get ready for

anyway this would probably be solved if i just spoke up but i make myself sick every time i try so i’m stuck in a limbo of my own making

[demonanastasi]

Silly testament to the power of the zoomy 'tism (audhd): I consistently have the best hearing of everyone in the kitchen at work despite handicapping my hearing with Loop Earplugs because everything is so noisy.

[whispers-into-the-void]

so this is going to sound like it builds up to an ad (it does not) but one of my major fears about one day becoming a parent was my sensitivity to sound. as someone who keeps the fan at a lower speed because it's too noisy at full speed during what has been declared a heatwave week in my district, i had serious reservations about my capacity to keep my shit together when my kid is crying or yelling or in any other way being noisy, as children invariably are.

and well. i saw this advert for earplugs which had a quiz to find out the right earplug for you. and it asked you, hey what is the kind of noise cancellation you're looking at. and the entire parenting thing was an option. like "i want to hear enough to know what's going on but while protecting my eardrums" or smth to that effect was an option.

and the sheer relief that washed through me. that. earplugs. reusable earplugs that don't noise cancel to the extent of cutting you off from the world exists. because honestly absolute quietness is not smth i can afford in my daily life. i have roads to cross lmao. but !! even though these earplugs are hella expensive, one day i will gift thwm to meself (cause i'm the only person other than my psychiatrist who recognizes that I'm autistic). i will save up and i will reduce my misery. one day.

and i say this as someone who routinely uses their earphones as earplugs by just not playing any music. it is...a good makeshift but it drains battery and sometimes i click it accidentally and it starts playing smth or opens up google assistant(god assistant is SUCH a nuisance) and also just. it cancels so much that i speak in a whisper and the people around me get exasperated because my sound processing is completely thrown off and yes.

i have spent the last hour staring longingly at earplugs on the internet and I can't say i have any regrets i want it rlly badly.