How do you with loud noises, smells and crowds?

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How do deal with it?

I do very well.

Tim

Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. Actually, smells aren't that bad, but crowds and noise are awful.

Badly. I have very sensitive senses, so noises cause me significant physical pain and also distress. I also get distressed in crowds, and strong smells trigger asthma attacks and can make me feel nauseous or even collapse!

I wear earplugs to help with the noise - although this only makes it a little less noisy, so not a huge difference really.

I try to avoid going to crowded places, or to avoid going into the centre of town at particularly busy times.

What bugs me is the fact that I often get bullied and yelled at for struggling with sounds and smells and crowds. It is odd that someone would look at a person who is obviously feeling, to say the least, 'uncomfortable' and think to themselves "I know, I'll go an be mean to that girl." Thanks a lot!

Not very well.

Crowds I can usually handle all right. In fact, sometimes I'd rather be in a large crowd, because it's easier to deflect attention away from myself when necessary. Loud noises are OK unless they are unexpected crashes, bangs, or alarm bells, which make me irritable and anxious. Fortunately I can usually avoid this kind of noise.

Smells are another matter. I have a real problem with these, to the point that even my parent's home (where I live) can become difficult to bear if they haven't taken out the kitchen trash in the last few hours. I really wish we had a garbage disposal! In public I can distract myself somewhat from the smell, or kind of mentally distance myself from the whole situation. At home, I just make sure that the trash is taken out regularly and I use plug-in air fresheners of scents I like in my room, so that I always have a retreat.

My sensory issues are very severe. Any sudden unexpected sound, even if it's not painfully loud, actually triggers an immediate gag reaction and increase in heart rate. Fortunately, I have very powerful control over my gagging and it never gets beyond that first initial clench of the throat and turn of the stomach. The heart rate thing lasts for several minutes afterwards, during which my hands shake severely.

My hyperacute sense of smell severely limits my life - I have to bathe *constantly* and I won't let anyone touch me or stand right next to me if I can smell them. Going to the bathroom is a nightmare because of the smell! And that's when *I'm* the one on the toilet. I also have an extremely vivid olfactory memory and system of associations, so that strong odors are broken down into their individual components in my head. My sense of taste is the same way. I've noticed that skunk smells like wild mint grass, Original style Pringles smell like B.O., and orange juice tastes a bit like vomit. For me, smells are kind of like those optical illusions of two people facing each other or a vase.

As for crowds... well, I actually become very very violent in them. I don't actually express this violence, but my mind spirals into these violent, feral fantasies and it's like I'm a cornered rattlesnake. Everyone around me becomes a threat that I have to defend myself from.

Crowds are a major difficulty for me, and as I work in a large city it's one I face every day. It never really becomes that much easier but sometimes having a person there can help as long as they stay within speaking distance. Things I can't stand about walking through crowded areas include the variations in walking pace, the meandering, illogical routes that people take and their tendency to stop dead regardless of their surroundings. I try my best to stay out of everyone's way but they seem to be simultaneously drawn to me and unable to see me, meaning I spend a good while avoiding head-on collisions with shoppers. Perhaps the worst aspect is the way people casually look around themselves in supermarkets whilst obstructing the aisles, meaning one has to either make eye contact or speak in order to pass them. It only takes this to happen once and I end up flapping my hand, looking at the floor and forgetting what I came for in the first place!

Like many others on here, I don't deal all that well with noise and crowds. Smells are not too bad, however.

Crowds: please kill me now
Smells: I cannot really smell much due to a constant sinus infection; I hate car fumes however (instant migraine)
Noise: people talking loud is what gets me; cars/trucks idling annoys me too (both will give me a migraine/tension headache in short-order); I don't mind thunder, gunshots and stuff

The city is the worst place for me.

Smells, hmm...Ever since I was a child I have always held my breath as other people walk by..Even now. I've always found people smells the hardest to take.

Crowds..I just mentally go somewhere else until I'm out of that situation. Doesn't always work though.

Noise! Unless it's sudden and surprising I actually find noise very interesting, even musical.

I find that my ability to deal with it increases greatly is my selfconfidence and general selfimage increase

I have a very difficult time w/ crowds, loud noises, smells, and even fabrics. I try to avid the Malls as much as possible. When I go shopping for clothes, furniture, etc... I usually try to hit the stores early in the morning. I tend to freak out and have panic attacks, when surrounded by a too many people. I also go food shopping late at night. I really dislike other people's loud noises. For exp: if I enter a person's car and there is loud music playing, I automatically reach for the volume control. I get unusually startled by sudden loud noises and it takes awhile for my heart rate to slow down from the trauma. As far as smell goes, I cannot deal w/ anything overwhelming...I loathe the smell of trash and cheap floral perfume, since it causes migraines and are just plain nasty. I also have a severe problem smell of any kid of body odor or any type of bodily discharge. It makes me want to vomit. I cannot even stand my own body smells. I shower several times a day and my personal hygiene is the center of and OCD-like mannerisms. I have to take the trash out every day, clean my cats litter boxes at least 4 times a day, and always have the sent of vanilla and lavender in my house (like candles and concentrated room fresheners from Bath and Body Works) and on my clothes (i.e. laundry detergent and fabric softener). When it comes to clothes, I am only capable of wearing 100 percent natural fabrics (i.e. cotton, silk, cashmere, etc...But not wool). I cannot sleep on sheets that have less than a 500-thread count either.

mostly well, but certain smells or feels will "drive me bonkers". And it's not even the common ones--- I work in a medical field, so the smell of pee or poop is common. but certain perfumes and the smell of old garbage can give me severe headaches and put me in a bad mood. And I don't know why, but certain fabrics rubbing against my legs bugs me--- I end up pulling my pants up above my calves and looking like an idiot getting ready for a flood. It's usually with loose fabrics that swish against my legs. Tight ones cling and don't give me that feeling.

I do very well I think, but I get rather flakey while it is all going on. At the time I never notice how much it is bothering me, but once I get home I'm often moody for an hour or 2.

I try to rarely leave my house so as not to have to deal with those things...because they're horrible for me.