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What are Your Sensory Issues?

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Verdandi
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01 Jan 2011, 11:28 pm

anbuend wrote:
That idea confuses me too. Virtually all autistic people I have ever met have sensory differences, sometimes enormous ones. And these have even been verified in studies. For instance, overall, autistic people (even autistic people who need to wear glasses) perceive more visual detail overall than nonautistic people do.

As for noise, the ironic thing is that noise complaints are incredibly common among nonautistic people. Possibly more common than sensory complaints in other senses. That's why we have the entire idea of "noise pollution", and most people don't like living near freeways and airports and other noisy places. I certainly hear more people complaining about noise levels than light levels.


I love Existence is Wonderful (and Felines are Wonderful).

Yes to all that about sound. I have had this conversation with my mother repeatedly over the sound levels in the house. I tell her the sound is actually debilitating, and she says it's debilitating to everyone. But everyone is in the living room participating in making the noise, right? None of them are curled up in bed trying to shut it out until they shut down. Admittedly, I am not always like this, but it happened numerous times this past month, with the noise level having shot up and noisy days meaning I'm constantly overstimulated. When I pointed out once the noise had overstimulated me so badly it had affected other senses - normally I don't find touch painful, but I did then - she suggested I had fibromyalgia. Not really listening or understanding. To her noise might give you a headache and be chaotic, but she doesn't think that it fills you up and makes your brain short circuit, while it is routine for me now.

I do have other sensory issues (I am photosensitive and even sometimes end up wearing sunglasses in my dimly lit bedroom), and some video games are themselves overstimulating visually. I can't really tolerate the cleaning aisles in any grocery store, and even a little bit of perfume or cologne or cigarette smoke can leave me feeling like I can't breathe.

But this is what sensory issues are for me, and I find it passing strange to compare these to what NTs routinely experience. My reaction to that drop of cologne is more extreme than most NTs' reaction to smelly garbage, and I am pretty sure I have never met an NT who reacts the way I have been to noise.



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01 Jan 2011, 11:42 pm

Verdandi wrote:
anbuend wrote:
That idea confuses me too. Virtually all autistic people I have ever met have sensory differences, sometimes enormous ones. And these have even been verified in studies. For instance, overall, autistic people (even autistic people who need to wear glasses) perceive more visual detail overall than nonautistic people do.

As for noise, the ironic thing is that noise complaints are incredibly common among nonautistic people. Possibly more common than sensory complaints in other senses. That's why we have the entire idea of "noise pollution", and most people don't like living near freeways and airports and other noisy places. I certainly hear more people complaining about noise levels than light levels.


I love Existence is Wonderful (and Felines are Wonderful).

Yes to all that about sound. I have had this conversation with my mother repeatedly over the sound levels in the house. I tell her the sound is actually debilitating, and she says it's debilitating to everyone. But everyone is in the living room participating in making the noise, right? None of them are curled up in bed trying to shut it out until they shut down. Admittedly, I am not always like this, but it happened numerous times this past month, with the noise level having shot up and noisy days meaning I'm constantly overstimulated. When I pointed out once the noise had overstimulated me so badly it had affected other senses - normally I don't find touch painful, but I did then - she suggested I had fibromyalgia. Not really listening or understanding. To her noise might give you a headache and be chaotic, but she doesn't think that it fills you up and makes your brain short circuit, while it is routine for me now.

I do have other sensory issues (I am photosensitive and even sometimes end up wearing sunglasses in my dimly lit bedroom), and some video games are themselves overstimulating visually. I can't really tolerate the cleaning aisles in any grocery store, and even a little bit of perfume or cologne or cigarette smoke can leave me feeling like I can't breathe.

But this is what sensory issues are for me, and I find it passing strange to compare these to what NTs routinely experience. My reaction to that drop of cologne is more extreme than most NTs' reaction to smelly garbage, and I am pretty sure I have never met an NT who reacts the way I have been to noise.

I have always been hypersensitive to smells like perfume, incense, deodorant sprays, insect killers, etc.


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Verdandi
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01 Jan 2011, 11:47 pm

pensieve wrote:
I have always been hypersensitive to smells like perfume, incense, deodorant sprays, insect killers, etc.


I love it when someone decides the house needs to be sprayed down with Lysol. It's like walking into a wall.

I think someone on this forum mentioned being able to smell Febreze...and yeah, it totally has a scent. I don't know if it's really odorless to NTs or not, but it does have a definite - and unpleasant - odor to my nose.



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02 Jan 2011, 12:46 am

Verdandi wrote:
pensieve wrote:
I have always been hypersensitive to smells like perfume, incense, deodorant sprays, insect killers, etc.


I love it when someone decides the house needs to be sprayed down with Lysol. It's like walking into a wall.

I think someone on this forum mentioned being able to smell Febreze...and yeah, it totally has a scent. I don't know if it's really odorless to NTs or not, but it does have a definite - and unpleasant - odor to my nose.

Yeah mine too. I could tell when it had been sprayed on our couches.
Once my mum cleaned something with bleach and I almost choked on it. Had to leave until it was safe to come out. I told her I found it unbearable by demanding she clean it all up when she was done.
The other day when I wanted a shower there was this cleaning stuff all over the tiles, so I ran for it.

Talking about this stuff makes me smell it.


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02 Jan 2011, 2:27 am

I have an extremely sensitive nose. I can smell EVERYTHING. To an extreme. I will start feeling sick from any smell that smells anything less than good to me. I can't wear scented deodorant, and I effing hate people who put on truckloads of perfume/body spray. With strong smells, if I'm feeling particularly weak that day, I will faint. If not, I will have an extremely painful headache the rest of the day.

I'm also very sensitive to sound. But not affected as much by it as my sense of smell.

Oh, God forbid if you make me touch a cat/dusty surface while my hands are wet. I will kill you.



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02 Jan 2011, 4:59 am

Mosh wrote:
I can't stand certain textures and sounds. For instance I can't stand using chalk or being around chalk being used on a blackboard.


Oh god me too! *shudders* I hate chalkboards, i'm always so thankful when they have a whiteboard with markers.

I can't stand food textures and I get picked on a lot for it.

I love the smell and taste of oranges, but I cannot eat them, I can only drink Orange juice. Same goes for tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions (I hate most everything about onions anyway but ugh the texture).

I can always tell when a TV is on by the noise I hear from it even if its muted. I have had to turn the tv off sometimes because it will emit this high pitched sound that no one else can ever hear, but drives me up a wall.

I cant stand the bass sound when its turned up. Thats really the only one that can hurt.

I don't really like to be touched. I like hugs and such but other than that please don't touch me.



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02 Jan 2011, 5:12 am

amusedviews wrote:
I can always tell when a TV is on by the noise I hear from it even if its muted. I have had to turn the tv off sometimes because it will emit this high pitched sound that no one else can ever hear, but drives me up a wall.


Oh wait, this isn't my imagination? Other people can hear it?



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02 Jan 2011, 5:15 am

Yeah it's real.


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02 Jan 2011, 8:28 am

Quote:
Everyone can experience sensory overstimulation, I imagine, but not everyone has the same thresholds. I am sure many NTs complain about bright lights but how many find themselves wearing sunglasses everywhere? Or overwhelmed and choking on the smell of a small amount of cologne? Or finds soft touches painful?

NTs are always wearing sunglasses. Even on a dull winter's day I see people in sunglasses.

I am more like NTs with light, touch, taste and smell (maybe smell is a under average for me because of my sinus problem).
The only thing I hate is sounds. Loud sudden noise is an enemy to me, also people moving and walking right outside my room. It's so distracting, and often I wish I was deaf enough to not hear background noise, but OK enough to hear what I want to hear.


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02 Jan 2011, 11:13 am

Verdandi wrote:
amusedviews wrote:
I can always tell when a TV is on by the noise I hear from it even if its muted. I have had to turn the tv off sometimes because it will emit this high pitched sound that no one else can ever hear, but drives me up a wall.


Oh wait, this isn't my imagination? Other people can hear it?

I can't sleep with the TV on because of this sound. It's not just you.



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02 Jan 2011, 11:19 am

amusedviews wrote:
I can always tell when a TV is on by the noise I hear from it even if its muted. I have had to turn the tv off sometimes because it will emit this high pitched sound that no one else can ever hear, but drives me up a wall.

I hate that sound too. The same applies for DVD players/video players. I can hear that they are on even if the TV is off, mute or nothing is playing.

I hear when the light is on in another room, even if I close my eyes or put something over my head and can't see the light.

Those sounds drive me nuts!



Verdandi
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02 Jan 2011, 1:27 pm

Joe90 wrote:
Quote:
Everyone can experience sensory overstimulation, I imagine, but not everyone has the same thresholds. I am sure many NTs complain about bright lights but how many find themselves wearing sunglasses everywhere? Or overwhelmed and choking on the smell of a small amount of cologne? Or finds soft touches painful?

NTs are always wearing sunglasses. Even on a dull winter's day I see people in sunglasses.


I didn't mean "wearing them on any kind of day." I mean "wearing them everywhere." I literally meant everywhere. I wear sunglasses everywhere, although I do not wear them all the time. I do not see many NTs wearing sunglasses indoors, for example. But that was simply one example of many.

Quote:
I am more like NTs with light, touch, taste and smell (maybe smell is a under average for me because of my sinus problem).
The only thing I hate is sounds. Loud sudden noise is an enemy to me, also people moving and walking right outside my room. It's so distracting, and often I wish I was deaf enough to not hear background noise, but OK enough to hear what I want to hear.


I run two fans in my room all the time, which creates a certain level of white noise and washes out a lot of the really annoying quieter sounds that keep me from concentrating or sleeping. I am not sure those are the best for everyone, but the idea might be worth something.



evalyn
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03 Jan 2011, 10:52 pm

Verdandi wrote:
amusedviews wrote:
I can always tell when a TV is on by the noise I hear from it even if its muted. I have had to turn the tv off sometimes because it will emit this high pitched sound that no one else can ever hear, but drives me up a wall.


Oh wait, this isn't my imagination? Other people can hear it?


I can (even now at age 32, when a lot of people have apparently lost much of their sensitivity to higher sound frequencies). Growing up it was just normal to me to do things like walk down the street and be able to tell *from outside* which houses had TVs on in their living rooms. I had no clue most people didn't perceive that kind of thing until I was in my 20s (seeing as before then I had almost no vocabulary to even begin to describe how my senses worked).

Also, on a tangential but related note, I'm definitely happy that LCD displays are becoming more and more common. Places like school computer labs used to drive me bonkers when they had a lot of CRT screens on at once, but now I can be in a room full of computers with LCD monitors and feel okay.


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Verdandi
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03 Jan 2011, 11:02 pm

evalyn wrote:
I can (even now at age 32, when a lot of people have apparently lost much of their sensitivity to higher sound frequencies). Growing up it was just normal to me to do things like walk down the street and be able to tell *from outside* which houses had TVs on in their living rooms. I had no clue most people didn't perceive that kind of thing until I was in my 20s (seeing as before then I had almost no vocabulary to even begin to describe how my senses worked).


I'm 41 and I can still hear it.



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03 Jan 2011, 11:04 pm

Verdandi wrote:
I run two fans in my room all the time, which creates a certain level of white noise and washes out a lot of the really annoying quieter sounds that keep me from concentrating or sleeping. I am not sure those are the best for everyone, but the idea might be worth something.


I keep my laptop nearby most of the time, and when I had a roommate, I found that it helped to keep the chill pad fans running at night so that it would drown out some of the noises they made when I was trying to sleep. Even though I no longer have a roommate, I still keep it running because the white noise does help me ignore the little stuff too.


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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
RAADS-R: 187.0
Language: 15.0 • Social Relatedness: 81.0 • Sensory/Motor: 52.0 • Circumscribed Interests: 40.0

Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 165 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 47 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


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05 Jan 2011, 2:20 pm

quesonrias wrote:
Taste:
* Spicy foods. I am extremely sensitive to pepper of any sort. Black pepper is hot to me, and I won't eat it.


I figured there must be someone else in the world (and probably someone else on here) who found black pepper unpleasantly hot, but I think you're the first one I've heard of besides myself.

Sometimes it seems like there's black pepper in everything, doesn't it?


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