Sensory issues and age

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How have your sensory issues changed as you've gotten older (if they have)? Why do you think they've changed?

Personally, mine have gotten worse. I think the primary thing is that the more exposure I've had to things I'm hypersensitive to, the more hypersensitive I've gotten.

Voted for "Done some of each, and no real difference in severity overall" - good lesson of the language for me

My sensory issues have definitely changed over the time. Some worsened, some got better. For example, I'm not that sensitive to loud noises and food textures I used to be, whereas I've become more sensitive to noises that I don't like in general (misophonia?) and smells.

Definitely worse. I think your reason Tuttle is a good one :

more exposure = more sensitivity => more problems

So maybe it's this feedback loop effect.

I think it's also related to coping mechanisms that start to not work as well, due to the inevitable rich tapestry of stress the world manages to impose as you step out into new or changing experiences. I would quite like life to stop hitting me over the head, then maybe I wouldn't be such a grouch about noise... (maybe)

I think that mine have gotten both better and worse. Some things that didn't bother me as a kid bother me now, but the opposite is also true. Overall, though, I think sensory stuff for me has gotten worse over time overall. Some of that may be that I'm just more aware of it, though. I didn't have a name before. I just knew I felt uncomfortable for whatever reason and that there were things that I avoided.

I selected ''done some of each but got worse'', but I'm not quite sure if that's the right answer or not. My only sensory issue is my hearing, but I've found I've got more distracted by noise as I've gotten older, whereas when I was a child I was able to block unwanted sounds out. And I've also figured out that the only reason why I don't like loud sudden noises is because I don't like jumping out of the skin. If my nerves weren't so sensitive I probably wouldn't mind loud sudden noises. It's the jumping that I don't like, not the actual noise itself. And lastly, my ears seem very sensitive to people walking in the room above me, and plates and cups clanging, and also loud paper bags rustling. It hurts so much that it stings my eyes, but it never used to do this to me. So, yeh, I suppose what I selected is about right then.

Mine have gotten better. I used to be extremely sensitive to sound. For example, I quit the violin almost immediately because of the awful noises it made when I played poorly, which was always. Other things (any sudden loudness, really) freaked me out. Now, I can use automatic toilets, slam doors, and listen to Nine Inch Nails without panicking over the noise. I still react to screaming children and other loud noises, but I'll cringe instead of melting down.

This is probably an area where I had most improvements. I no longer freak out in crowds, I no longer jump on every loud sound. I still don't like it but I can tolerate and I still need to have sunglasses at all costs.

In some ways better and some worse, but overall I think mine are worse. I feel more sensitive to sound and I limit my exposure to noise more than I used to. But when I do end up in a loud place I handle it better than I used to, probably because it's more of an isolated event, not an everyday occurance.

I used to listen to music all the time, all kinds of music. Now I find a lot of the music I used to listen to really grates on my nerves.

Worse, it seems.

I have no idea. I'm feel as about as self aware as a rock.

They got worse after I was put on anti-depressants.
They got so much worse on stimulants which for a short while decreased them.

Now they are horrible. I can't look at lightning or fireworks without getting so over excited I short circuit. Well, it's happened with video games.

The noise outside my door is unbearable,a s are the people. Shades, plugs, look at at wall - sorted. But I still get sensory overload.

Some songs make me feel like I'm on drugs, or what I imagine being on drugs is like.

It did get worse after I was exposed to strobe lights but this was while on medication and stimulants made me focus too much on my anxiety which made things so much worse.

I think mine have gotten worse, I mean I was only able to spend 10 minutes in a wal-mart today when me and my dad went in to get some food before I started feeling like I was suffering severe brain damage. So I had to get out of there as quick as i could.

I find it interesting that more of us have gotten worse because I've definitely read things by professionals that say that they get more mild (and was completely unable to relate to those statements).

Look at this shiit.

Most of us are getting worse.

I can't tune out anything now and I have very fragmented perception.

This used to be something that could be controlled with caffeine.

No surprise. I'm going to give you an answer that isn't up there. As hard as you tried to cover all possibilites, there is one that doesn't show up:

Some got worse, then better, then worse again. I think the reason that possibility didn't occur to the OP is the age difference between myself and Tuttle. I'm 51 years old. At her age (22), I would have said almost all were getting better but not by much. Several years later, in my early thirties, I would have said they were all better than they used to be.

That's because I learned to adjust over time, but it took a lot of energy to do so. After several more years of learning to "deal," dealing for so long started getting more and more tiring. For a lot of sensory issues, by my mid forties I was just sick and tired of "dealing," and just couldn't do it anymore like I used to.

One particular issue I never had when I was young was dealing with the calamity and noise of kids. I was an only child and only had to deal with that when visiting other families. It wasn't a big deal because it was never for very long and I always knew I would be going home eventually where I didn't have to deal with it at all. Between 36 and 39 though, my wife and I had three kids, all ADHD and Autistic. Suddenly home for me became a place of constant noise and calamity from which there was NO escape! It's 15 1/2 years later now and I still haven't completely adjusted to it. I'm better than I used to be, but it has added to all the rest of the sensory issues I had learned to deal with, but never with this added insanity.

It's been a bit of a long term up and down slow roller coaster for me. To tell you the truth, I love my kids to death, but I honestly can't wait for the quiet to return. I have a sneaking suspicion that when it does, I may once again be able to deal better with the other issues that have become harder to deal with again.

In the end it may result in a down-up-down-up pattern.

I wonder sometimes how well I'll deal with visits from them if they ever make us grandparents.

Mine seem to have gotten slightly better, but I'm still highly bothered by balloons popping or kids screaming around me.