Auditory and Visual Overload

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Does anyone here deal with auditory and visual overload on a daily basis? I have trouble with certain lights such as fluorescents in stores and other lights that are too bright. I also have a problem with certain colored lights. LCDs monitors such as what my imac uses also gives me problems. LED lights also tend to be to bright. To add to this, auditory sounds can become too much after a while and certain sounds make me cringe and even startle me.

When I hit overload my heart races, my head feels tight and starts to hurt, I feel lightheaded, nauseous, and like I'll pass out. I also feel exhausted and like I can't handle anymore and have to lay down in a dark, quiet room to recover.

Does anyone here have problems with auditory and visual stimuli? If you do, have you found any products that help you cope with fluorescent lights in a store, library, doctor's office, etc., or with noises especially where there are a lot of people? Have you had any problems with monitor screens?

Any help anyone could offer would be great. I need to find something to help so I don't risk passing out in public when overload hits and a melt down is imminent.

Thanks for your time.

~MysticOcean~

Welcome to WP!

Yes! I cannot stand certain sounds, it physically hurts me. I cannot stand the sound of the dishwasher or the gardeners (or neighbors gardeners) It hurts so bad that I have had many a meltdown because of this.

I only have, on daily basis, one real problems with sensitivity issues. Light, even on cloudy days I usually can be found wearing sunglasses. A couple times a week I have problems with noise, I have hypersensitive hearing, but only to higher tones. Usually, they interrupt my ability to sleep, but otherwise, I think I function fairly close to normal. All my other sensory issues are rather sporadic and random in their happenings. Well, I have one other sensitivity issue. Its kind of weird. I dont have problems bathing, or rain, or water in general, but I hate washing my hands, or washing dishes, (I wear rubber gloves every time I wash dishes because of this very thing), because I dont like the feeling of being partially wet. I want to be 100% wet, or 100% dry. If I have to wash my hands, or step in a puddle and get one foot wet, or whatever, I can fell the difference often times for several hours and it annoys the hell out of me.

And welcome to WP, btw!! !

LCD monitors only bother me in the morning, when my eyes are most sensitive to light. if i get on my computer first thing in the morning, i have to turn the brightness down to 0. ironically, sometimes i'm really annoyed by dark areas. like, in my room, when i'm working on something, i want it to be much brighter than it is... but i want white light, so the yellow bulbs my dad buys annoy me.

i think the main audio issue i have is the timer on our stove. it's high pitched, and beeps 3 times, like our microwave, but if you don't turn it off, it keeps beeping every 10 seconds!! the worse part is that my dad will often not tend to it right away and just let it beep for a couple minutes... it drives me crazy!! sometimes, i go in and turn it off myself, but if i'm too busy i'll be like "the stoves beeping!!"... but, then he gets annoyed at me for pointing out the obvious.

when i was in 1st grade, i couldn't stand the sound of pencils on paper. i would write with one ear pressed against my shoulder, and the other being plugged by a finger on my free hand.

i have more of an issue with the sense of touch, now. my biggest enemy is cardboard... the feel, the sound.. everything. just thinking about cardboard makes my skin crawl and my ears hurt... it makes my hands feel gritty, and i have to wash them. but, it's strange that physically touching cardboard makes my ears hurt... (coated cardboard is fine, though, since it feels more like plastic.)

also, i've never been able to walk on grass barefooted. even when i was a baby, when someone tried to put me on the grass, i would curl my legs up under me and cry.

Big problems with noise. No problem with lights or visual stimuli at all so I can't help with that. For the noise I invested in a pair of Peltor Optime III ear defenders, which are brilliant, and which I would recommend to anyone.

Have you ever tried Irlen lenses? http://irlen.com/index.php?s=index I don't know if they help from my own personal experience, but I've heard that others have found great relief from them.

Thank you all for your feedback. I really appreciate it.

yup, everyday!! !

I get visually overstimulated. Petrol stations, shopping centres and art galleries are the worst. Unfortunately, I used to work in both a petrol station and a shopping centre, and I started a degree in visual arts. Bad ideas. Basically anyplace with flourescent lights and bright things. I get headaches, nausea. My brain just kind of implodes. And the roar of people echoing in shopping centres is pretty bad too. Unfortunately, sunglasses don't help, because I sometimes start to panic when my vision is affected in any way. Can't offer any tips, except try to stay away from the places that are the most stressful. I realise how hard that can be, though.

I'm experimenting with ear plugs , to 'take the edge off' noisy environemnts, e.g. train commuting and in the office at work - seems to make a real difference so far

I get overloaded quite often. My glasses are tinted 10% to ease some of the harshness of light. I also wear sunglasses quite often, even inside sometimes. I can't handle flourescent lights at all, I get physically ill. I turn the brightness down on my computer moniter. fast moving things are hard for my too. Sound can be really bad. I can't deal with more than one sound at a time. For example, the TV being on and someone talking, or having more than one person speak at the same time. Crowded places are torture. Ear plugs sometimes help with this. For the most part I make sure there is only the TV on, or the radio, or something.