Sensory Integration Issues with Adults

Updated on September 10, 2012
D.B. asks from Eastlake, CO
13 answers

Am I getting old or am I developing some sensory integration issues? Over the past 5 years, more so in the last year, I've become intollerant of a lot of noise. Even everyday noises. I used to have a small desk top fountain in my office which i found very soothing. After a very, very bad week 6 months ago I came in the following Monday unable to tolerate the trickling of the fountain. I had to get rid of it. I felt like I was going crazy everytime I heard it. Like crawling out of my skin extreme anger crazy. I've also noticed the clicking of acrylic nails on keyboards has started to drive me mad. Today as I was trying to relax a few minutes in front of the tv, my daughter was playing some stupid computer game and the mouse was clicking away 90 times a minute. I really, really wanted to scream to shut the darned game off, or smash the mouse against the wall, as the clicking was driving me nuts. And in a popular teen store yesterday, forget it - the music was sooooo loud to me I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I honestly have no idea what our final bill was.

So, am i just getting old? Or am I truly losing my mind????

What can I do next?

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L.M.

answers from Cleveland on

the ceiling fan is blowing on me right now and i might have to rip it from the celing,

I"m also super tired, could be if you are tired or hungry or whatever taht you are more sesitive.

1 mom found this helpful

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

You may have new noise that has been introduced that you are not aware of too. I moved to a new apartment in my college days, grew up right by Will Rogers Airport, and there was a small airport close to this apartment. I thought I was going crazy because every noise started bothering me.

I took a noise stress test one of my psych professors had and my rates were off the chart. The noise at the airport was different than the large jets I had heard all my life. It was just one noise too much.

I did move soon due to getting a scholarship to OU but while I was there I often wore ear plugs and that helped some. Even an air vent, a dishwasher, the frig cycling on, dryer running, all these background noises do add up.

I think you might try using some foam ear plugs and see if it helps. If it doesn't you might try an Ipod with some of your most relaxing music playing quietly, so quiet you have to stop what you're doing to make it out. This sometimes over-rides all the noises that are bombarding me at a time where I need quiet.

This is the main purpose for deprivation tanks like the one that Fraziers brother Niles had.

2 moms found this helpful
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C.W.

answers from Washington DC on

You know, I went to an audiologist recently because I couldn't hear my kids when they conversed with me yet I could hear tiny noises in other parts of the house that drove me nuts. I thought I was losing my hearing. Nope. I am a "super hearer" and hear better than 99% of the population. The audiologist told me that this is not a good thing for me right now, because I hear things that most ordinary humans don't hear, and those noises combined make my brain over process and short circuit and cause me to go nutty. It seems to have gotten worse after my third child was born. He said that the silver lining is that when I get old, my hearing would be normal and I wouldn't be the one looking at hearing aids. The cure is ear plugs and distraction. I would get a hearing test and see what happens.

2 moms found this helpful
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K.C.

answers from New London on

You would have had sensory right from the beginning !

This is a what my Mom went through ! I could NOT understand why she wanted me to turn down the music, etc...

Fast forward....We went to a concert last weekend. I brought orange earplugs (and needed them). My kids were laughing at me! Luckily, my hair is on the longer side.

Go to an ear doctor just in case !

2 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

We like to say "we are maturing" we refuse to get old....

This sounds typical. We are less tolerant of the extra noises and sounds.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.S.

answers from Portland on

You are not losing your mind, and while it does sound like an SPD, it is unlikely to come up so suddenly and get progressively worse this much. SPD are how your brain functions and so if yours is changing this much, it should be a sign for alarm and you need to call your doctor to get in! Do not let them push this away as no big deal because it is. If it was only some of the time or in a really stressful time, that would be one thing, but it sounds more pervasive than that.

1 mom found this helpful

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

That sounds like being old.

I have a few sensory issues, I have had them since I was a child.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.S.

answers from San Diego on

Well I don't know about you but I think the "change" has a lot to the sensory issues I'm experiencing lately. For me its either or. Either I have to have everything quiet or really loud (usually with music). Same with tastes ... I used to tolerate spicy foods now I want them mild. I can't hear as well either ...oh don't even get me started on all the craziness I'm experiencing. I think its just a matter of adapting. I did not have sensory issues as a child or through my 20's-40's so I don't think it is related to an actual disorder but rather a change in my body. Good luck to you!

1 mom found this helpful
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C.B.

answers from Boston on

get some good earplugs at a drug store. I use them to sleep and study and at work if I have to concentrate.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Well, I don't know if you really are "old" as you say.
Maybe you are not even old!

Anyway, for me, when I am PMS'ing... I really get less tolerant of a lot of stuff, noise included.
Do you notice if your noise sensitivity is just a certain time of the month?

1 mom found this helpful

J.S.

answers from Hartford on

As my Fibromyalgia gets worse, so do my sensory processing issues. I've always had them but very mildly just as I've always had the Fibromyalgia. During each of my pregnancies, my sensory processing issues were off the charts to the point that I couldn't tolerate hugs or hand shakes or kisses on the cheek. Rubbing on the arms was torture.

I'm extremely sensitive to sounds now, more than I ever was before. What makes things worse is stress and when I'm having pain and fatigue flare-ups. It's all connected for me.

To help cope, ever since I was a child I've had a fan in my room as a white noise machine. For my office jobs, I've always had ear phones to help block out the noise of other people so that I can focus on what I'm doing and help keep my stresses down. I'll have to start doing it again now that I'm back to work after ten years.

I guess it's really no surprise that I have a child with Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism.

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D..

answers from Charlotte on

Have you tried a white noise machine to drown out the offending sounds? Maybe that's an option...

I agree with the poster who recommends a hearing test. The doctor may have heard of people with this problem and could tell you what else to do. If you are having anger problems because of this, you really need to find someone who will help you.

Oh, and I can't stand walking into Abercrombie & Fitch with the screaming loud rock music either - don't feel bad!!

Dawn

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M.R.

answers from Seattle on

Do you have migraines?

I get migraines, and the noises you describe would set me off if I was on the verge of getting one or in the midst of having one.

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