How do sensory issues affect you

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My hearing is quite sensitive too, and is well into the 16 kilohertz range, which is about the frequency of a television set...I can hear that high-pitched ringing coming from a tube TV miles away! Usually what disturbs me however is the upper midrange tones, like in the 5K to 8K range....like about the tone of Whitney Houston's voice in the song "I will always Love You". Usually though, if the noise is random and chaotic, it will bother me no matter what the frequency it is, like a noisey crowd at a party or something, or clashing sounds from different sources (a TV, radio, and PA systems all competing in a room against conversations) Random, intermittant sounds will drive me crazy too, like barking dogs and starting/stopping machinery.

On the "good" side, my sensory perceptions have been good for me in my job. I have always been good at hearing distortion and noise in a sound system. I have always been good at accurately equalizing a room without even using test equipment. Audio engineers will do what is called a "pink noise" test, where a sound is sent through a system that sounds sort of like a radio that's not on a station. The equalizers and tone controls on the system are then adjusted until the sound is as "flat" or all frequencies from bass to trebles are of the same loudness. This allows the most accurate sound out of a system. A spectrum analyzer is typically used to see if all the sound frequencies are the same level, but I have been able to do it by "ear" without using this expensive piece of test equipment. Others have come behind me and checked my work with one, and have dropped their jaw at how accurately adjusted the system is without using the test equipment!

I can do the same with video equipment. I have color balanced cameras and projection equipment by looking at the picture, and then adjusting the balance between red, green, and blue to yield a good "white" picture. Again, this is frequently done with a probe that is placed on the video screen, but I have performed this operation by just using my own eyes.

Generally loud noises can disrupt my concentration and I think I also have a constant ringing in my ear that becomes bothersome sometimes but very rarely. I also have a very hard time falling asleep unless it feels just right. Other than that, I don't think I have any other responses besides a slight irritation to any sensory issues. I can manage without any problems in most environments.

I dont really have any sensory issues that I can think of which is one reason why I question if I have AS or not.

I dont know if it's AS related but I can't sleep unless I have white noise in the background going. If I hear people talking outside or people playing music I get really angry even if its really low and I should have no problem falling asleep.

I tend to have a staring problem when I see lights blinking or hear certain sounds like wind blowing or water falling.

Distant noises like the sound of cars on the freeway or construction can cause me to space out and my mind to shut off.

My senses have always been extremely sensitive since I was young. When my grandpa used to turn on his electric saw, my brain could feel the vibrations because my hearing was so clear. My eyes are extremely sensitive to light, and I basically sit in warm, semi-darkness all day and night to cope. My skin can feel the slightest changes in temperature.

It's either too bright or too dim-depending.
I can't sleep in the silence-it is too loud.
I can't sleep in the dark-it is too animated.
I have to see with my ears when I'm out-I have a visual impairment.
I have to look away from what I am looking at to 'see it' correctly.
The sound of my own voice bothers me-often.
I have to touch EVERYTHING. Sometimes to place it in a memory bank of texture and substance and geometry for *spatial/distance ie: sight. Mostly to just 'feel' it. And feel its relation to me.
I am pain insensitive and pain over sensitive: depending.
I am heat/cold insensitive/sensitive: depending.
I will bumble into a wall while walking; yet sidestep something falling upon me.
I am hyper and hypo. again; depending.
I see and hear so much of a visual symphony in the world; a blank wall a portrait; telephone lines a song.
I think I was meant to be a German Shepard in the yard.

oh yeah. and I sniff EVERYBODY too! Some of my memories come back as smells. Smells linger; even outdoors.


I am TOTALLY embarrassed. Because I wouldn't change these behaviors for anything; they are how I manuever through every moment of my life. (or death depending on how morbid ones sense of what this nonsense is)

Sensory overload is very hard for me, I've gotten physically sick, and also sometimes I'm unable to speak. It is the awfullest feeling.