Yes, that's likely hyperacusis. I have that myself, although I just recently found out there's a name for it .
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt135457.html
A lot of people at WP appear to have another auditory issue, called misophonia, which presents with feelings of sudden irritation or rage at certain noises. I see comments and threads about this far more often than about the kind of auditory sensitivities I experience. Hyperacusis appears to be what I have--certain sounds drain me and make me feel overwhelmed, or even cause me pain in my eardrum, like painful thumping sensation especially with low male voices and sharp pain with very high pitched sounds, like the whine of electronics.
This is one-A-N's comment from that other thread linked above which I found useful in understanding the difference:
Quote:
From the point of view of an audiologist, sound sensitivity can be either "hyperacusis" (sensitivity to loud or high-pitched sounds) or "misophonia" (sensitivity to particular - often soft - mouth and nose sounds, such as chewing, slurping, and all the sounds made by chewing-gum in the mouth). Some people call misophonia "selective sound sensitivity syndrome" (or "4S" for short). People with misophonia can also react to repetitive sights, such as a moving jaw (chewing motions) or a jiggling leg.
People with misophonia often have OCD or ADHD, rather less often ASD. People with ASD mostly seem to have "hyperacusis", not misophonia. My observations of several discussions on WP seem to back this up. However, a number of people here do have misophonia/4S - like me, for instance.
From the standpoint of occupational therapy, these types of sound sensitivity are probably both regarded as sub-types of sensory integration disorder, or sensory processing disorder. It is common for people with misophonia, for example, to report having other types of sensory sensitivity - such as touch or light sensitivity.
One difference I have experienced between misophonia and hyperacusis is that the reaction to chewing and slurping sounds is typically a sudden "spike" of anger, rage - the kind where you want to smash something. Hyperacusis, on the other hand, seems more like being overwhelmed or oppressed.
19 Jan 2011, 8:48 pm
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