Who has unusual sensory issues?

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I have really unusual sensory issues. They are not the common ones that you hear about people with autism having such as dislike of noisy places and dislike of being touched.

Here they are:

-I cannot STAND the feeling of animal paws on me. If my cat comes on the bed, I will put my legs up so she can't walk on the them.

-The feeling of having long nails drives me crazy, I literally can't grow my fingernails past my finger pad.

Does anyone else have any unusual sensory issues?

Those aren't all that unusual, and mine aren't "unusual" for people with sensory problems, but they are unusual in severity and greatly impact my daily life. (I can no longer attend public school because it wears down my system completely by about 2nd period; it's exceedingly hard to be around people; the smallest noises or tactile sensations (particularly the former, however) throw me into immense anger and frustration; I have an extremely limited diet of about 9 or 10 foods; etc.)

I have sensory issues aplenty...but one of my most irritating (and probably weirdest) would be my inability to withstand any hair touching my face. This is easy to handle at home where I will usually just wear it up and clip any stray hairs away from my face. It becomes a problem when I have to go out in public somewhere and am expected to "do" my hair...say for a dinner with family, a meeting, appointment, etc. If it is down and touching my face, I typically start stimming by constantly running my fingers through my hair at the root and picking at my scalp. It didn't help that my most recent haircut (the first in 6 months at least) has layers in it and now even more touches me. I need to just quit trying to fit in and leave it in a bun.
I also have a lot of trouble driving at night because oncoming headlights are so bright to me, I am nearly blinded. And I can't stand the sound of someone sitting next to me eating chips. I will actually cover my ears. There are so many more, but those the the hardest for me to deal with on a regular basis.

I don't like to have my nails grow out either

I don't like the touch of some "dry" fabrics and materials, including my own skin sometimes. Can be a problem if I don't have lotion handy.

I am also not a fan of hair, particularly when it digs into my skin or how it feels on my skin (hands particularly). Also, y'know when you go to the hairdresser and they cut your hair? Afterwards, there are those little hair bits that go everywhere. They hurt! It drives me nuts so I usually have to race home and shower right away. I can't wear those clothes again until I wash them, too.

And don't forget clothing tags... But I guess I'm getting off topic and those issues aren't as unusual as some.

Yep. A number of people here, like me, have "misophonia", which means we cannot stand various mouth or nose sounds, even when soft rather than loud. Eg. eating and drinking sounds. I also cannot look at people making repetitive movements like jiggling their leg, or chewing (i.e. just the jaw movements alone annoy me). This is different to "hyperacusis", which is the more common hypersensitivity to loud, high-pitched, or sudden sounds.

Yep... and hyperacusis! I got the double whammy! I can't stand the feel of wool against my skin! It's just yucky!

Earlier today, while I was in the bath, a soda can was sitting on my air vent making a quiet racket and triggering my misophonia something fierce. I wasn't even able to tell where the sound was coming from because I was in the bath on the other side of the wall, and the source wasn't obvious.

Also, one that really gets me are people whose voices sound "wet" when they're talking, like they're chewing on something really chewy and talking at the same time. That makes me want to commit violence.

Anyway, one of my weirder persistent sensory things isn't really all that uncommon: I have visual pixellation/snow. It's more obvious when I'm overloaded or of it's dark, although pretty visible over a light or white surface (like reading a book). I only found out in the past few months that there are many many people who don't see this.

Last edited by Verdandi on 05 Jul 2011, 4:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

My dad has fingernails trimmed back to what looks to me like painful levels. My best friend at school was the same. Both have anxiety which I think is related to this habit.

I can't stand sweaty skin. It feels all sticky. It even effects sex too so I can't have it normally. I even dread touching my own baby when he gets hot because his skin gets sticky too and I don't want to touch it.

I also can't stand snoring. I wonder how many people can't put up with it?

Sometimes my clothes will start to feel itchy or scratchy on me for no reason.

I also can't stand touching this microfiber cloths at work with my bare hands whatever those are called. It feels weird but unless it is wet, it feels like any wet towel. Plus when it's dry, it makes my hands feel dry.

Winter hats have always made my head itch where my skin is. I don't know why but I used to scratch my head and reach up into my hat.

I also can't stand those type of head lights some cars have. They hurt my eyes and give me a head ache sometimes. I can't imagine seeing lot of those on the road. I am not sure what they are called but they seem bright and they are different head lights than the norm.

Make up, that makes my skin itch so I don't like wearing it. Same as lip stick. I could never understand as a child how people could tolerate wearing make up without rubbing their skin or licking their lips or curling their lips when wearing lipstick.

I also can't stand getting my hair dried. it itches my head and I can't stand the heat. But I put up with it as a child because mom would get mad at me and slap me if I moved and she pull my hair. So I stood still and I hated it and my body get numbed. I can remember mom slapping me for things I couldn't stand after I kept saying it kept hurting or whatever. She also go "oh stop" and then finally hit me and it would make me stop because I deal with it all of a sudden. Getting hit was worse than what I was going through probably. She maybe thought I was being a wuss.

I guess can't stand a little bit of cold in the water is abnormal because mom get mad at me for that too. She make me take a shower and the water not be warm enough and she force me in there and it was torture so I keep squirming in there and not cooperate and she finally slapped me and it made me deal with the cold. She was even calling me a baby too. Even when I was eleven she forced me in a cold shower and would have slapped me if I didn't go in there. She had already pushed me in there and yelled at me to take one. I guess that doesn't bother people. Sometimes I wished I had ODD because then I would have stood up for myself and use violence against the crap my mother did to me.

I can't stand bell peppers, it feels like I'm chewing on rubber (and it's sad because I actually like the taste of bell pepper).
The sound of opening a bag of potato chips makes me unsettled.
Loud yelling in an echo-y room is earsplitting to me.
I actually can't stand having my hair up, I have to have some of it still touching my neck.
Whatever I wear is itchy, except silk.
I can't be dry, or I start scratching my skin. I have to bring lotion with me wherever I go.
I hate it when pomegranite seeds burst in my mouth ( I only tolerate it because I like pomegranites). (and I think I spelled pomegranite wrong too)
The smell of rusty metal makes me gag.
I can go into a football stadium and feel fine (try going to a Seahawks game if you don't know what I'm talking about), but a regular sized classroom with twenty-five students in it makes me uncomfortable.
LED lights should have never been invented.

Maybe your peers make you uncomfortable, but a mix of different ages doesn't. I'm the same way, sort of.

I get this too, I never knew what it was but as its never held me back I never worried about it. When I was younger I was convinced I could see germs lol Is this common in autism then?

My worst sensory thing though is the cold. I can get quite distressed if I get too cold, which is a lot in uk

I absolutely cannot stand to have anything on my face. Not even soap. I haven't washed my face in years and I've only shaved with foam once.

I thought I was the only person with this problem.

I cut my fingernails and toenails really really short(often until they bleed) because I hate the feeling when they are even slightly beyond the quick. I wish that I didn't have to have them because I hate the feeling when they are longer.

Also I have a terrible reaction to static cling. It makes me feel like my throat is closed and I can't breathe.

My aspie traits are without a doubt tied-up to my menstrual cycles, before menstruation my sensory issues go mental - my issues are mostly with touch, anything and everything can cause me issues at this time, it makes life a little difficult. I can't think of any specific examples right now, but I can guarantee I've had some strange ones.