Sensory Issues: Hearing

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Occasionally a sound goes right through my guts, yesterday it was the crunch of someone walking on gravel. I usually have to wince and do a long blink to shake off the feeling. The triggers are fairly random.

[quote="Trogluddite" I imagine it as ripples passing through my body [/quote]
I'm so glad that you can relate, I've not been able to explain those sensations to anyone. I experience them quite a lot, especially when people gesticulate, or point things in the direction of my face or eyes, it's quite an odd feeling, like an invisible force, sometimes triggered by sounds too.

I am sensitive to some things regarding sound. If the noise is constant, (like, loud music coming from ear buds inside of my ear..) then I like it, and it is fine. And I actually use those things to drown out what I am about to mention. It is when the loud noises are not constant in decibel, that it can drive me mad. Being in a loud, noisy restaurant, as someone else mentioned, the regular noises from a car passing by me on the street. Things that wouldn't bother people with these sensitivities, can drive me up the wall. When I'm passing a moving car whilst I am walking down the sidewalk, I often play my Pandora radio and hold my phone up to my ear, with loud music going, to drown out the terror noises coming from the street/wherever else I might be. I wish that more people understood how crazily this can affect some autistic people! I also do not do good with bright, fluorescent lighting, and that is pretty common amongst autistic people with sensory issues also. I also have to warn people, do not touch me very lightly, or you are liable to get smacked across the room, because it will either irritate me/cause me pain/tickle me to the point that I involuntarily, accidentally smack the s*** out of you. Or on purpose smack the s*** out of you if you caused me a lot of pain.

^ My main axe is a six-string bass, so I can hit a low B (about 30Hz) - but since having an extended-range instrument, I've rarely had the opportunity to play it through a decent rig to get the full "internal massage" effect. When I used to be a bit more daring socially, I used to really enjoy a boogie at the local Jamaican/Dominican club where they played a lot of dub reggae - without intending to, I'd always end up gravitating to the nearest sub-woofer. I wonder whether that's the difference with the bass throbs that I find uncomfortable - maybe my brain doesn't like them unless I can feel them physically as well as hearing them?

I was diagnosed with hyperacusis and pulsatile tinnitus before being diagnosed with autism - indeed, it was the rise in my sensory issues that led me down the autism pathway.
I'm also sure I have misophonia, although that doesn't appear in any diagnosis.
I have other sensory issues, mainly smell and light, but sound is by far the worst.
When I was diagnosed with hyperacusis I did some hearing tests and they showed I have abnormally good hearing for my ages, especially high frequencies.
Beeping/whistling sounds are bad for me (echo the previous poster who mentioned running to disconnect the microwave before it does its five beeps at the end!). I also (again like a previous poster) struggle with crinkly/rustly type noises - eg the plastic bag the bread is in etc. By far the worst sounds at the moment though are cutlery/crockery being banged.
Loud music is a definite no-no, and I really struggle with multiple people talking at once in meetings, as my hearing is acute enough for my brain to be trying to listen to all the conversations at once.
Hyperacusis can vary, and my version causes pain that can last for a substantial period after the "noise event" - eg being exposed to 10 mins of loud music caused me pain in my ears for 2 days, and just as I came out of that one, a metal serving spoon being banged in a dish then caused pain for 2 weeks.
I do believe, especially with the misophonia, there is a strong psychological element to it, and have also considered TTTS (tonic tympani tensor syndrome) whereby a small muscle in the ear becomes constantly contracted in like a "fight or flight" response to the fear of pain from noise. I get really great pressure in my ear along with the pain.
My hearing therapist fitted me with a sound generator that I wear for several hours a day, and is intended to desensitise my ear to sound. Jury is out on whether it's working, but i do find I actively listen to it when I am stressed, and doing that has averted a full blown meltdown for me. So I'll keep wearing it for that benefit!