sensative hearing

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I was wondering how sensative hearing manifests in others with AD. I myself am always hearing things others are not like those very high pitch noises some cama security systems seem to give of, or things that others do not seem bothered with like the vacuum cleaner. I even can hear current running through charge-cables like the one for my mobile or laptop, so I can't chare anything during the night because it prevents me from sleeping.

On the other hand, I seem to miss sounds others do hear or are not bothered by stuff that bothers others like scratching a blackboard at school.

When I was a child I tested to have perfect hearing. Today, I can listen in on conversations from hundreds of feet away. But I cannot stand more than a normal volume for music. I have to manually plug my ears when I watch movies. The action scenes are always louder than I can tolerate.

I have super-sensitive hearing. I can easily hear those systems they put at some schools, a high pitched whine that only people under twenty years old are "supposed" to hear.

High pitch is the world telling you something is out of balance. Super sensitive hearing that doesn't go away represents an awareness of your environment that others filter out/give up on hearing. Hearing worsens over time for most people, because most people don't want to hear things that are upset/out of balance. Loud or high pitched noises, chaos.

Fluorescent bulbs drive me crazy, even when they're properly in-frequency. The strobing gives me a headache and destroys my concentration. I am aware of it not being a solid light. My brain operates at a high frequency.

I am also acutely aware of static electricity, and always have been since I was a young child. I can hear it being transfered, feel it building up in my body, see it in the dark sparking on things I touch. Static loves me, but I hate it! It collects on me more than anyone I've met, I'm always getting zapped by it while others aren't. Perhaps I am just aware of smaller amounts than other people, though that wouldn't explain my seeing it so often in the dark, e.g. when getting into bed or putting on a dry shirt.

I just wanted to add that there is no such thing as "perfect hearing" or "perfect eyesight". 20-20 eyesight means "average", there is no perfect. For hearing, it is a range or ranges of frequencies that your body and/or ears can perceive. There is no set upper or lower limit for this, only averages, therefore no "perfect score".

I know that I can hear much higher pitched sounds than my peers, and always have been able to. I am also above average at discerning what is going on around me using hearing alone. Far better than my seeing peers, though not as well as my blind peers.

For my vision, I have what is important to me: extremely detailed close-up vision, like a magnifying glass, better than my peers. Excellent colour vision, again, above my peers. Excellent night-vision, far above any of my peers in dim light. Absolutely horrible distance vision, anything over about 1.5 feet is totally blurry without my glasses, and with them it is still below average. I have never relied on detailed vision, because storing visual memories, and processing visual data, requires huge amounts of brain power, which I prefer to expend in other areas of my brain programming.

I can consciously increase my hearing and visual ability through concentration, quite substantially. I prefer blurry distance vision, as it is more relaxing.

After having several hearing tests, my hearing is evidentally just below average. But the reason why noises hurt my ears or distracts me so much is because I have a fear of loud sudden noises and also I'm too alert.

When I was tested I was in elementary school. I went in to a sound proof room and was instructed about the range of the test "you'll hear a sound in one ear. Raise the hand that corresponds to the ear you detected the sound." I get going. I score a 100%. The test taker is amazed. He says he's never had a perfect score before. I understand that there's no thing as "perfect hearing"(I should have rephrased what I said) but I scored the only perfect score in a school of more than 400 students.

I have thesame thing, although I cannot see it, I do feel it and can hear/feel it if electrical apliances are turned on.

I possess profoundly sensitive hearing to the extent of not only hypersensitivity, but misophonia.
It has been speculated that my severe ear infections since infancy have played a part, plus the sensory problems that tend to exist with AS.
A large reason why I am doing school at home, actually, is because of the intense anger and frustration that I would feel daily during school due to all of the sounds.
I tend to wear earplugs frequently, though it's difficult and painful to do so when I'm experiencing an ear infection (which is nearly always.)

That sounds awful.

Have you tried any alternative methods to deal with your ear infections? Antibiotics are very bad for ear infections, they just lead to resistance and don't solve the problem effectively. While I don't know if you've been using antibiotics, if you go to 95% of doctors out there, that is what they will prescribe to you.

Ear wax is the same function as mucous in the nasal passages -- it is simply the body dealing with foreign invaders. As particulate matter and bacteria and other matter enters the ears, the body wants to catch these items in order to prevent them attacking the inner ear and causing hearing loss. The problem is if they build up too much, infections and pain are inevitable.

I would strongly recommend using a semi-regular (as needed) method of first putting some olive oil in each ear, waiting a few minutes until it is warmed up, then rinsing thoroughly with lightly salted warm water. It will completely clean out all ear wax, in addition it will prevent ear infections from easily forming, and work toward killing any active ear infections. You can simply do it in the bathtub when you're ready to drain the water.

Another way to deal with the ear canal issue is to swim semi-regularly without using ear plugs, to again clear out the passages. Swimming in ocean water works, or in a swimming pool. Some people are sensitive to chlorine (myself included), so if that bothers you try a pool that uses ozone for cleaning the water instead.

@johnsmcjohn:
Now that's much more accurate, the only perfect score on a fixed test for 400 students. I would like to have a hearing test done, as I don't know what my specific Hz range is and am curious.

I read the rest of your post, but to make light of this thread, I had to point out this pun.

I've had this same issue too. Severe ear infections since infancy. I never had tubes put in my ears, but I think it was suggested to my parents. I don't often get ear infections anymore (dairy usually caused the infections & I do my best to avoid dairy like the plague), but I have still had/have them as an adult. Usually brought on by strong, cold winds.

My hearing has always been super sensitive & caused sensory issues too. I do not like to go to movies (volume is too high), don't like high pitched sounds, don't like the driving bass of any kind of music when it's too loud, & can't deal with too much noise hitting me all at once. It's just too overwhelming. I do not know how most people can deal with all the noise in society today. I am almost 50 years old & this is still a problem for me.

It bothers me so much when things are labeled ultrasonic. They're not ultrasonic. They're hearable, just not by everyone.

Yes I can relate to alot of this, I also scored 100% in my hearing test at primary school. It is mainly high pitched noises that bother me. I am often out with people and they see me wince and ask me what's the matter, and I'm like "that high pitched noise, it's doing my head in" and they can rarely hear it.

In the town centre where I live, they have these devices all over the place where they don't want people to congregate, and I see other people just casually walk past them. Where as I have to cover my ears and flinch as I walk past them, and everyone looks at me as if to say "what's wrong with him?"

I am tempted to do something about this, because I feel that I and probably others are being discriminated against.

It's even more of a problem when you are 49+. Most people my age have some hearing loss. Mine is well above average & certain sounds are excruciatingly painful. I've been tested just a couple of years ago, thinking my hearing was diminishing. I just can't process some sounds or too many sounds correctly.

What can you do? I even tried purposefully damaging my hearing when I was in my 20s. It hasn't solved a thing. I do wish I hadn't tried to ruin my hearing though.

I also had countless ear infections as a child... nearly constantly. I had tubes put in my ears 4 times as a kid. I still have fairly good hearing... though I think it might be slightly below average. I can usually still hear fluorescent lights, some small electrical appliances, etc. I have more of a problem with filtering noise than being extremely sensitive to any particular sound. For example, when someone is talking to me my brain might decide that the refrigerator is a more important sound the person asking me a question and I end up distracted from what someone was saying. When two or more people are talking at the same time I am almost always doomed. I think it is more of an attention thing than a sound thing though, as I tend to do the same thing with visually (get distracted by background objects).

I didn't notice it when I wrote it.