Fear of sudden loud noises?

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Balloons, gunshots (went to shooting ranges as a kid), car alarms, or people sneaking up on me. When my ex-girlfriend attacks me, it's hard to be ready.

The last time I heard a car alarm in a parking lot, I had a meltdown (2 months ago). I hate cars to this very day.

I hate loud and sudden noises. Absolutely detest them. Apparently my tolerance for loudness is much lower than the typical NT as well, because I am always covering my ears to things others around me tend to be fine with. Seeing as I live in the city and ride a bicycle or walk everywhere, this can be dangerous sometimes as there are a LOT of these kind of noises on the streets.

The popping of helium balloons is absolutely the worst. I have got into a bit of a phobia of helium balloons simply because of the expectation that they will pop.

Being around children is awful as well because they are just FACTORIES of loud, sudden noises.

I am seriously considering wearing earplugs every time I go outside and do not have to talk to someone directly, as sometimes my startlement gets to a dangerous level.

I'm with you guys on the balloon thing - they still terrify me in my 40s. I look really stupid at kids' parties with my hands hovering over my ears ready to clamp 'em down at a moment's notice (which of course is always too late!)

Also I find those modern high-powered hand-dryers in supermarkets a bit of a nightmare, particularly when someone else in the washroom sets one off unexpectedly.

Sudden noises are the bane of my existence. I get very anxious around balloons because of the uncertainty. We were doing experiments with them in my high school anatomy lab once, and my partner kept teasing me because every time anyone made a sudden move or walked past me with a balloon I'd flinch, afraid of it popping. My chem teacher loved blowing stuff up too, and one day he had some chemical soda bottle bomb in a trash can in the corner of the room, and I couldn't concentrate in class at all; I was terrified of it suddenly going off. Eventually the stress got so bad that I just walked out and stood in the hall until I heard it go off. There have been many instances where teachers have shown films or video clips in class and didn't check the volume before starting them, resulting in a tremendous noise. That happened in my college abnormal psych class once, and I screamed, ducked, and covered my ears. Everyone in class was staring at me. Fortunately, that teacher knew I had AS and apologised for startling me later. My friends all love to exploit this fear and make sudden noises behind me trying to spook me. There was a boy I worked at a fast food place with once, who would chuck ice cubes at my washing up sink, causing me to jump every time they whizzed past and clanged on the metal. I was high on adrenaline and shaking like a leaf after he'd done that three or four times. Every time I yelled at him to stop, he'd just laugh and do it again, like my anger was encouraging him. This is one of the things I really hate about having AS, and there have been times when I wished I were deaf just so I wouldn't have to deal with it.

Speaking of bursting balloons does anybody remember this song.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ePjGK9vNWU[/youtube]

I hate it when they describe me as reacting to "sudden loud noises"

I'm going to sneak up behind them and blow an airhorn see how they react.

OMG YES

I swear I hate clapping, people mumbling, shouting and sometimes babies crying especially in restaurants.

Ever since I can remember, I've hated balloons popping, fireworks shooting off, and gunshots. If I don't know someone's going to pop a balloon, I'm okay. But if I see balloons, I become apprehensive. I usually try to avoid being in the same room with them. I have a cousin who lives next door and he likes to go hunting and does a lot of target practice outside (we live in a rural area). I become tense after the first shot). It doesn't bother me as bad as it used to, but I still don't like to go outside when he's shooting his gun. And I only like fireworks on TV. If I'm outside when they're being shot off, I cover my ears.

I hate metal clanging or toys being thrown in a box. Most sudden noises that are not immediately identifiable make me a little panicky, but motors or motorcycles I like. I love the sound of my motorcycle, like a symphony of cylinders love the smell of uncatalyzed emmisions but flowers in blown makes me feel like I am suffocating as the air has turned to oil. The clang of the dock plate at work is something I hate even when I am the one operating it. It is the sharpness of these sounds I think.

Yes, sensitivity to sudden loud noises is definitely a trait of Asperger's. I have it, too, and I also HATE the sound of popping balloons. It's come to the point where I don't even want to be around balloons at all, like I scared of them. I'm just afraid they're going to pop at any time. And whenever I see someone playing with a balloon, rubbing it and making that squeaking noise, that's the worst. I can't help but wince and cringe. I remember one time I saw my niece playing with a balloon and I got so nervous that my palms were sweaty and I was short of breath. I couldn't hold still, either. So now I guess I have a fear of balloons. Sounds pathetic, I know. Something else I don't like is big noisy crowds of people, and trying to talk to someone in that kind of situation is damn near impossible.

I startle very easily, with both auditory and visual stimuli. Even if I know I will hear a noise or see something suddenly, I still am nearly as startled as if I'm not expecting it. Sometimes my legs fold and I find that I have fallen on the ground, which is embarrassing.

Dogs barking, phones ringing

Loud noises have actually physically made me sick before. I remember as a kid hearing that we were going to have a fire drill and I got so nervous that I threw up! I really Hate loud noises!

Yes, but that depends on what you mean by "loud". Loud noises themselves (i.e. chainsaws, lawn mowers, etc) don't bother me at all.
People clapping, sneezing, or shouting doesn't do it either. You've got to notch it up to something pretty loud before I get nervous at all, usually that means either 1) an explosion at close range or 2) standing right next to an airhorn. Even that won't do anything if 1) I have no idea that it's coming at all or 2) if I'm the one making the noise.
The only situation where I will get nervous without fail, is a situation like this. You're standing right next to me with an airhorn/gun, with your hand on the trigger, about to blow it, but I don't know when. When the sound comes though, it doesn't hurt or anything.