#auditory defensiveness

[sensorysurvival]

most people with sensory issues towards noise (i’m sure there’s a word for it) can’t stand loud noises, and can melt down in loud environments. but for me, if i’m in a really really loud room then i just disassociate. is that still the same type of thing? is there a word for that? maybe neurotypical people do this too?

Hi anon,

It is still the same type of thing!

What you’re experiencing is a sensory shutdown; when your body is so overwhelmed by stimuli that it ‘shuts down’ (in your case, dissociates) so it can regulate itself and stop the stimuli from coming in.

Hope that helps!

-Rowan

[kristen-reads-blog]

You guys, this is cool! This means that people that have auditory defensiveness (people that dislike or cannot tolerate excessive or loud noise), may be able to decrease that defensiveness by chewing gum! So in a situation like an assembly, concert, crowded store, party, etc., chewing gum may help a person tolerate that noise. 

Read the full article here: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0057111

[sensorysurvival]

ayooo same anon yet again. so sorry to keep bothering you. so like what happens when i’m in a loud room is that i zone out, feel disconnected from my body, and i have great difficulty understanding what i’m seeing and hearing. that still sounds like a shutdown right?

Hi there!

Yep, sounds like a shutdown to me! P similar to what happens to me when I have a shutdown, actually :)

Hope that helps,

Rowan

[sensorysurvival]

Any tips for very discreet inner ear headphones that block noise? My school formal/ prom thing is coming up and the music is always unbearably loud, so I want to block some sound, but I still want to look nice tbh

In terms of actual inner ear headphones, I’m not sure because I’ve never tried them. Sorry :s followers, if you have any recs, please let anon know!!

If I can be of any help, I would say: I do usually use ear-plugs when I go to public events, and I always go for small-sized, flesh-tone ear plugs and find those are pretty discreet? They do stick out a little bit, but most people aren’t really looking at my ears so I find people still don’t notice (or at least don’t seem to). 

Hope that helps!

Rowan

[vermilioncollective]

shout out to that time the roblox game "GRACE" gave me an actual SPD induced panic attack, this relates to absolutely nothing and i dont even hate the game i just remembered the it out of nowhere

huge fan of the creators other works

[sensorysurvival]

i'm so glad I found this blog. I'm in desperate need of noise cancelling headphones but they're way too expensive to ship to my country, so i found a pair of industrial ear muffs online that are way cheaper but i'm not sure if i should get them.. 1/2

.. i know they don't have all the fancy tech stuff that blocks all the noises,  but i was wondering if you or any of your followers know if they'll at least help. 2/2

Hi! To be honest I can’t afford noise cancelling headphones either, so I’ve always tried to make due with other stuff. A good pair of ear muffs or (non noise-cancelling) headphones can go a long way. Tips for buying noise-cancelling substitutes include:

-Go for something thick (Industrial should do the trick)

-Make sure they fit over your ears well; I find it’s better if it goes over your entire ear rather than just parts of it

-If you can stand it, go for a tight fit instead of a looser one (blocks out noise better imo)

-If it’s still not doing the job, or hard from a sensory point of view, try putting tissues as a bit of a ‘barrier’ on your ear first; this might add an extra layer of noise-blocking, but even if you don’t find it does that, it might make ear muffs more bearable if they’ve got fuzz or a texture you don’t like

Hope these tips help! Followers, if you have any other advice, feel free to add!

-Rowan

[sensorysurvival]

Any tips for dealing with extreme sensitivity to noise? It's at a point where my ears are almost hurting even though there isn't noise and all noise sounds super loud right now

Hmm actually now that I'm writing that out I may just be having a physical issue, ought to ask my doctor. (Tho I do have issues with noise anyway so tips would still be nice if you do that sort of thing :P) (2/2)

I’m glad you have a doctor you feel comfortable consulting about this, that’s often the best thing you can do.

In terms of general issues and solutions, sometimes I find it helps to relax a bit in any way I can; drinking a cup of tea or going under a warm shower to get some light pressure on my scalp sometimes helps me a lot, maybe coupled with lying down with my door closed & lights off for a bit. White noise (like the ones found at mynoise.net) can also be helpful because it drowns out the hurt-y noises. But generally, if I’m in a space where I’m so sensitive even white noise hurts, relaxing a bit first can help.

Hope you find that helpful as a reference, and good luck with your doctor! :)

[sensorysurvival]

hi so I have spd and I'm really really sensitive to noise so if I'm trying to focus/read/write and someone does the smallest thing like talks in the background or blows their nose or something my concentration will be completely shattered. I love love reading and writing but it's so hard to do that because my house is small and I have 2 dogs who bark all the time. my mom got me these noise canceling headphones but they don't work too well for me because all they do is dim noise, not cancel (1/2)

(2/2) and I need noise to be completely gone to focus. just dimming doesn't do anything because I still hear it. I've tried earbuds but a. they are uncomfortable and make my ears feel weird if they're in for a long time and b. they also only dim noise. I'm really upset because I have so much I want to write but I feel like i'll never be able to write again, or at least not very much. Do you have any advice? Thank you so much

Hi, anon. This sounds so frustrating, it’s so hard when SPD interferes with doing things we love. :( If you can, maybe try putting the dogs outside when you write? The distance + headphones might help a little with how much you can hear them. If not, you can also try putting on white noise--I find that doing this through headphones usually helps my concentration because it whites out noises that take away my concentration while also not being a distraction. Mynoise gives you lots of different noises to choose from. 

If you have spoons & access to transportation, you can also maybe leave your house to write and instead go someplace a little quieter, like a library? It sucks to restrict writing time to certain outings but I suppose it’s better than no time devoted at all.

I’m sorry you’re in this situation, but I really, really hope these tips help. I know it seems like you’re caught right now, but I promise you’ll find ways to write again! <3 Good luck.

-Rowan