Sensory Issues: Sound

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I'd like to share another blog I worte; today's blog ( http://lifeontheothersideofthewall.blog ... -like.html ) is about my issues with sound. It's not so much the volume that I don't like, but it is the fact that certain sounds, such as those with any amount of bass, can be felt. This feeling wreaks havoc on my body and it is something I try to avoid.

I know how I feel, but of course each person on the spectrum is different so I was wondering how others who don't like sound feel in the presence of such noise?

First thing that comes to mind is those Quietus commercials that ran on the radio and TV. As soon as I heard one start I'd turn the radio down. Or if on someone else's TV I'd plug my ears. I thought it was an extremely rude audio assault on people.

I came close to writing complaint letters to XM Radio to make them stop.

I can relate. I've tried to explain to people that sounds don't necessarily have to be loud to make me intensely uncomfortable.

Yes, certain sounds have not to be loud to make me uncomfortable or outright annoyed by them. I don't like weak-sounding cheap radio units, their sound is so poor and harsh I refer to them as having a metallic sound. My colleagues listen to one all the time, they don't realize how distracting and sometimes even annoying it can be to me, even at low volumes. I have to use ear-plugs or headphones. I don't like the sound of commercials either, it's a dynamically highly compressed and bass-boosted sound. Certain pop music of todays is so alien to my ears I can only hear a couple of notes repeated over and over again that drive me nuts, they tend to linger in my ears well after they ended, like unwanted garbage.

I don't like low-frequency noises, almost independently of their loudness. They are most annoying when I try to rest or sleep. Car-door slamming, for example. A loud motorbike or special car exhaust system noise is totally superfluous on the street in my opinion, although I can bear them for a while if I have the mood.

There are noises like a sudden nearby dog barking or the sound of a train horn that can make me startle, despite all my efforts to prevent showing such surprises.

Ticking clocks were the type of noises I could bear when I was younger (I felt relaxed by them occasionally), but now I can't stand them when I want to sleep. I hate mouth-sounds, except mine, which is strange (misophonia). Hissing tubes and coughing in the adjacent apartment are also somewhat uncomfortable.

For me, it's pitch that bothers me. I hate anything that's ultra low frequency. It's not just the sound but the fact that it gets inside my head & causes me intense pain. Same reaction to anything high pitched. My dog's bark is a good example...his bark is very sharp & it hurts my ears & my head. The high pitched sound of alarms, sirens, some jets have the same affect. Also too many sounds from too many sources at once cause me discomfort. I love melodic music, but there are times when I've wished I was profoundly deaf. Then maybe sound wouldn't be such a problem for me.

Tomboy

I guess I am the "other aspie" cause low pitched sounds dont bother me and I actually like the vibrations of base moving through me. I like to stand next to the washer and chant to its rhythm. However high pitched sounds are lethal to me....really high pitched sounds that are loud cause me to lose my humanity as I want to kill whatever is making that noise cause I feel as if it is attacking me. thus, I am not having kids for a good reason. To me it feels like someone is sticking an icepick through my ear into my brain. One time, mom bought a molican cockatoo and that thing screached so loud for hours on end and I really ended up decompensating rapidly. Eventually mom saw what I was saying was true and she sold him to a breeder. She traded him in on anouther bird who was much quieter and became a lovable family pet....until my dog sat on her, and she died about 6 months ago. I still miss her sometimes.

yeah, bass frequencies are the worst because earplugs cannot block them. They are felt as much as heard, and they travel long distances through walls and floors. I risked my life more than once by going outside to ask gangstas or wannabe gangstas to turn their rap music down in their cars when in the apartment complex parking lot. Later I moved to a place with many Mexican workers who saw nothing wrong with holding long loud parties in the parking lot. Their music was also very offensive to me, and they got mad at me for complaining.

Little things that other people seem able to ignore bother the hell out of me. I cannot live in an apartment complex (I've tried,, three times) because to me the bit in the lease contract about not playing your stereo or television loud enough to bother your neighbors is not enforced by managers. My position is if i can hear it, it's too loud.

How can I rest, enjoy reading a book or watch my own choice of programming on TV if I can hear the neighbor's TV or stereo through the wall? I complained to the managers, the neighbors themselves, and the police until I was probably the most hated person in the complex. Neighbors' dogs barking incessantly also bothered me a lot. Some people are so rude! Granted, I may be more sensitive than most people, but it still seems rude to me to play music or television loud enough to disturb your neighbors, and to let your dogs bark all day at everything too.