how do you deal with noise sensitivity?

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When I'm home, I have a fan on, the constant humming blocks out other sounds, and I don't mind soft, continuous noise. I have noise cancelling headphones, but those only work for small noises. Sometimes, it makes noises worse.

Ear plugs + headphones on top of ear plugs + fan or air conditioner running in the background. If someone is being so loud that you can still hear him/her despite taking all of these steps, then he/she is being too noisy, in my opinion. If all else fails, wake up early and do things that are important to you while other people around you are still sleeping. That way, later in the day when things tend to be more noisy, you are not trying to do something that requires intense concentration.

It depends on what noises bother you. Most Aspies are bothered by loud, sudden or high-pitched sounds ("hyperacusis"). A smaller number are bothered by soft "mouth and nose sounds", like eating and drinking noises, slurping, gulping, sniffing, breathing, etc ("misophonia").

I use a combination of strategies:

* I spend lots of time alone - that keeps me away from unpleasant noises, and gives my nervous system plenty of time to recharge from the day's work.

* I eat away from the main table, sitting in the same room but on a sofa with the TV on, so that I cannot hear eating sounds.

* some lesser annoying sounds I handle by focussing on them exclusively, so that they are no longer interrupting my thought and annoying me.

* I wear an mp3 player and good in-ear earphones to block many sounds, including eating and drinking sounds, on the train when I am commuting, and in the elevator.

* I ask some people (friends only) not to drink near me when I am briefly "trapped" with their company

* at work I put on headphones when I want to block out offending sounds from colleagues. It helps that I have my own office and that my colleagues often wear headphones when they are trying to concentrate.

* sometimes I just block my ears with my fingers, especially if no one can see me. You can also do that subtly by resting your head on your hand - block the side that is closest to the sound source.

* I pinch myself - quite hard sometimes - to distract myself

* I scream inside my head when I am trapped and the sound is excruciating ... but this means I am going to be quite frazzled at the end of the experience

* I am seeing a psychologist about managing this problem with "mindfulness"

All in all, it varies.

Many thanks for all the ideas guys

I find that blocking one of my ears with my hand is a very effective trick for continuous loud noises. It at least lessens the discomfort. Hyperacusis is definitely my main problem, but I hate wearing earplugs or headphones because I generally like my super-sharp hearing. So I either cope, talk to myself in my head or do some extra stimming. I only walk away if there is too much input and I can't handle it anymore (multiple conversations and noises coming from multiple sides at the same time make me overload).

I have very acute hearing and find it impossible to shut out noises.

However, instead of trying to avoid exposure to noise, which tends to take over my behaviour,
I have chosen a very noisy occupation (mechanical engineering).

I find that being attentive to sound is very useful in this field, as the sounds generated by the machinery are dependent on how (and how well) it is operating.

I can wear grade 5 earmuffs or plugs all day at work, so my hearing is protected somewhat, especially from sudden noises which I do not like.

What remains annoying in the workplace is the radio, which repeats the same 7 songs all day.
And I cannot do anything while listening to anyone speak.
So long as my work environment is not too spatially chaotic and has few staff, this is manageable.

earplugs indeed; i always carry 3 different types, for different situations.

i have some dollar bin foam earplugs for basic cancelation, like if i'm trying to sleep or something.

second are more expencive special made ones, for situations i still need to hear;
these lower the sounds by a percentage of their power, meaning music, base, machines and the like are reduced up to 80, with voices nearly unaffected. perfect for a birthday or a meeting in a noisy place.

third are my ipods earbuds; but i usually wear these; i cannot really live without music.
as a bonus, music kills most of the very faint background noise by a means of drowning it in the sound of the music.
this works for anything up to a computer fan, generally.

A warning about earplugs - if you overdo them, your hearing will actually get more sensitive over time. Only use them when you absolutely can't cope any other way.

I never accept invitations to birthday parties and rarely go to any other gatherings with large amounts of people (5+ is large enough to qualify for this).

When I go outside, I always bring my mp3 player with in-ear plugs that are covered with rubber. They completely seal off the ear canal from the outside and by themselves, block much of the noise. The music takes care of the rest. This works well enough most of the time. But on some occasions, specially when it is warm outside and there is something like a market going on, even this is not enough. I have had a few incidents where this nearly caused me a panic attack. If I feel that coming on, I just get the hell away from there.

When I am inside, I often wear larger headphones if the noise becomes too unbearable. The reasons for this are noisy neigbbours who often fight with each other and I live in a street with a lot of car repair shops and a flower import/export company. They produce a large amount of very annoying noise during business hours. This is why I usually live during the night when it is quiet and sleep during the day. Fortunately I am a tight sleeper, so I do not often wake up from the sounds.

Can you move elsewhere?