The sensory side of things -replies welcomed

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firemonkey
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09 Jun 2022, 7:20 am

I've always felt I don't have sensory symptoms. For sure repetitive sounds like the stop-starting of hammers and drills etc really f*****g annoy me, but is that really a sensory issue? Ditto the leaking wash basin tap Water was hitting the plug and the noise was really stressing me out . It took me a while to work out why the noise was happening. I've moved the plug.



SpiralingCrow
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09 Jun 2022, 8:11 am

I think it's possible to only have one sense affected or different senses affected disproportionately, mild vs strong. Like you, there are certain sounds that drive me nuts, for example, vertical blinds banging together. All my senses are affected to some degree or another but sound and scent tend to elicit anger in me where the others are more uncomfortable.



firemonkey
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09 Jun 2022, 9:49 am

Cotton wool. Just thinking about it makes me shudder! The mouth feel of bananas,though I like the flavour.



Nades
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09 Jun 2022, 9:53 am

I never have any problems with sounds unless they're repetitive and completely unnecessary. I feel some in the autisitc community wrongly attribute noises everyone find extremely annoying, including NT's as sensory issues.

A noise driving me nuts right now is a dripping downpipe outside my bedroom but I'm sure I'm not alone in how annoying it is.



Joe90
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09 Jun 2022, 12:20 pm

You're right, NTs do get irritated by certain sounds too. I've met NTs that cannot stand a ticking clock in their bedroom, but I find them very soothing. I've also met NTs who get annoyed when their neighbours put on their lawn mower even in the middle of the day. That sound doesn't seem to bother me either.

It also isn't uncommon for NTs who live in apartment buildings to get easily annoyed by noise from neighbours, like if the neighbours above stomp around all day or the neighbours next door often slams doors or has a loud TV on or something - and I'm not talking about at night.

I know that the difference between me and most NTs is that most NTs don't revolve their lives around avoiding sudden loud noises, even though it isn't uncommon for NTs to jump at sudden loud noises. But usually when an NT knows a sudden loud noise may occur they can easily forget about it and distract their mind on to more important things, while me when I know a sudden loud noise may occur I obsess over it, like anticipate it and I can't distract myself away from the anticipation. I just hate sudden loud noises, it can feel painful on my nerves, like when a hard ball hits you. It's like I feel the sound hit me.


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kraftiekortie
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09 Jun 2022, 1:22 pm

I tend to be affected in a sensory sense by "two or events happening at once."

This is related to be me being pretty bad at multitasking.

I don't like high-pitched sounds. Dripping faucets. 1970s car alarms were the worst! And even today, if they go on and on, I get irritated.



Edna3362
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09 Jun 2022, 2:04 pm

It seems that...

My quantity and processing speed is so bad, I could just focus on writing this post and that ticking noise, along with the hum of my fan and other background noise disappears.

That I just have to pause or 'loosen' something in my head just to hear it again consciously, regardless of how painful it should be.
By painful, I also meant power tool levels of noise that will indeed hurt my head but loss conscious sense of hearing it even if I'm technically hearing it.


So that's one, subtle but very much a glaring problem of mine -- it's not the intensity, not the filters, but the conscious and unconscious processing unreliable.


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naturalplastic
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09 Jun 2022, 6:12 pm

Well...you GOTTA have sensory issues ...to be one of the cool kids here on WP.

Since you dont have any sensory issues beyond what an NT would have....then you just dont fit in!

you're just an L 7. Squaresville daddy-O.

Just kidding.

I am hard put to think of any "sensory issues" that I have today. I had some when I was a child.

About the only thing that comes to mind is:I cant stand -the look, the feel, or the sound, of styrofoam. Love to watch it burn though. But that squeaky sound stryrofoam containers make when bouncing around in the back of person's van ...chalk on a chalkboard is MUSIC compared to THAT! Shudder. But I dont know if that is aspergers related or not.



ToughDiamond
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10 Jun 2022, 9:07 am

Right, I suspect many of my "sensory issues" might not be significantly worse than those of the general population. I don't like hearing the neighbours through the walls, or those horrible bassy sound systems that some motorists inflict on everybody their cars are near. I would think most people would agree those noises can be annoying.

But my sensitivity to air temperature seems unusual, and so does my reaction to minor aches, pains, and itching - at least I think it's unusual. I can easily feel too hot at one temperature and then a reduction of a degree makes me feel too cold.

Mind you, if I take enough CBD then it seems to ease out the temperature and aches and pains issues, and luckily I found a supplier of legal hemp with a high CBD content, so for the time being I'm comfortable, though it's not cheap.



Fnord
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10 Jun 2022, 9:25 am

My sensory issues involve sensitivity to light, sound, and certain smells.

I have a single light source over my desk, the shades are drawn, and I wear those ugly wrap-around goggles the optometrist provides whenever I go outside.

I can hear conversations from across the room that other people standing next to me do not even notice.

I like the smell of kimchi, garlic, and certain types of seafood, but cheap perfume triggers my gag reflex.