Asperger's and extreme noise sensitivity at university

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Lindsayxx
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01 Mar 2013, 4:01 pm

I'm in my first year of university and I absolutely HATE the noise of everyone around me. It bothers me most when I'm in my room and I can hear everyone in the rooms either side of me. Even just the sounds of normal conversations drives me insane and I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack. I can't stand hearing people talking/shouting etc and it especially annoys me when they have other people come into their rooms and they do it too! I don't know how to explain it, it just stresses me so much to the point where I'm sitting in my room crying because it makes me feel so distressed, panicked and extremely anxious. I've spoken to the university about it and they've sent out generalised emails about noise levels but it hasn't made a difference. Everyone in the rooms near me are well aware of my condition yet they're not considerate at all. I'm worried the university is going to start getting on at me for causing so much disruption and end up kicking me out?! Surely they can't do this considering it's just the way my disability affects me. The manager of the disabilities department for my uni is having a meeting with the university to try and come to a resolution.

It bothers me so much I'm constantly having 'meltdowns' at university and with the staff etc. I can't study or focus on anything so I'm getting behind and have to keep getting extensions.

Oh and it's important to mention my room is one of the rooms specifically designated to people with medical conditions so it's not like the people around me aren't aware!

It makes me so upset that it makes me feel like leaving (I don't think I would because my degree is the most important thing to me) and I don't think it's fair that I'm feeling like this just because people can't be considerate of me.

Has anyone here dealt with anything like this? Or just any general advice would be much appreciated. Please don't tell me to wear ear plugs because they're so irritating and I can still hear through them anyway.

Thanks! :)



Ichinin
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01 Mar 2013, 4:12 pm

Talk to a councillor. The uni should fix the needs for people with diagnosed autism spectrum disorders. This is very important if you are in the Us and have to pay a crapload of money for tuition and stuff.

Until then:
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LizNY
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01 Mar 2013, 4:21 pm

From my experience dorms were often really noisy if you're with other first year students. I know some colleges hav dorms with 24hr quiet sections or ones with grad students or other people who are typically quiet. you could escape to quiet sections of the library on occasion. Some dorms hav lounges on the top floor or in the basement that are removed from the conversations and overall noise of the dorm. Unbelievably quiet in my experience. The other option is to move off campus asap and be careful to not live near people with dogs or kids. I survived 4 semesters in dorms through seeking quiet spaces, going for walks, and acting like a nasty b***h when sound levels were unreasonable. But it was awful tough I gotta tell ya.


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ghoti
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01 Mar 2013, 4:34 pm

The worst part was the loud stereos. They would go on at all hours and i would have meltdowns with them. Was more the "freedom" they had without the parents around. Yes i spent a lot of time in the library trying to get some sort of sanity back. And the university had a policy of required dorm living for the first 2 years with the exceptions of those living with parents or those over 25.



EstherJ
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01 Mar 2013, 6:15 pm

I'm dealing with it right now.

Seriously. I've had shutdowns and meltdowns and have gotten extensions on my work, and have had health issues. It's been a really really bad situation.

My advice from going through that? Use earbuds, listen to calming music a lot. Find a quiet place to retreat to daily, even if it's off campus. And by all means bring it up with the disability services at your school. It's their job to help. Don't give up, there are answers.



ianorlin
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01 Mar 2013, 6:42 pm

I am glad I can commute from home for this reason.