ADHD and Hypersensitivity

There is an article from add.org under the section "ADD Treatment" entitled, "Having ADD and Being Hypersensitive: Is There A Connection?" by Mary Jane Johnson.

Here are some excerpts:

Throughout my life there have been numerous "little" things that have agitated me, but didn't seem to bother anyone else. I am uncomfortable wearing clothing that has elastic at the wrist or waist, or tags in the neck. I wear watches with a loose bracelet bands.

There are countless foods that I avoid because of their texture, rather than how they taste. For example, I love tomato sauce on spaghetti, etc., but just cannot abide eating a raw tomato. A number of fruits are also out because of their peculiar textures. I will eat a raw apple, but cringe at the thought of eating a baked apple. Going out to eat can be bothersome because I need to know what is in everything before I can eat it. I prefer to go restaurants that serve plain homecooked style food, rather than take a chance at some of the fancier restaurants that offer exotic dishes with unknown or unpronounceable names and ingredients. My stomach is sensitive and reacts to unusual or spicy foods, as well as to stress....

My ears are also hypersensitive and loud, or high-pitched sounds leave my ears ringing. I keep the volume on the radio and TV turned way down (which bothers everyone else in the house because they cannot hear it). If I hear an unusual sound (usually no one else hears it) I cannot focus anything else until I find the source of the sound. Once that is established I can return to what I was doing.

The author conducted a non-scientific poll of ADDers at a conference to find out if others experienced the same thing.

I've noticed in a few threads in this section and in the Women with ADHD section that the subject of our hypersensitivity to certain stimuli (emotional or sensory) has been mentioned.

Just wanted to mention an interesting article on this subject. Feel free to read the article, comment on it (or not), and participate in the poll (or not), assuming I can figure out how to set up a poll.


Personally, I have always been sensitive to loud, startling sounds, but also people who talk loudly (there are a LOT of attorneys around here who do that). Funny thing is, I absolutely love being close to the stage at a good, loud rock concert, and I'm always jamming in my car or at my house when I get the music mood.... There are foods with certain textures (coconut, for example) that I just cannot tolerate....

What do y'all think?

I mostly like th eTV and radio down very low, but turn it way up sometimes, usually for just art of a song. I can't really stand it up that loud for a whole song most times.

I'm sensitive to everything! I mean it. I'm easy to startle. Movie theaters are too loud, At work the telephone makes me jump and I can feel the chair through my clothes. I have no tags in my clothes, I don't eat eggs and eggplants because of texture. Don't I sound terrible?!

No. you don't sound terrible.

You sound too wired direct.

I think that happens in ADHD too.

Originally posted by Keppig
I'm sensitive to everything! I mean it. I'm easy to startle. Movie theaters are too loud, At work the telephone makes me jump and I can feel the chair through my clothes. I have no tags in my clothes, I don't eat eggs and eggplants because of texture. Don't I sound terrible?!

My daughter can't stand loud noises...to the point that she'll cover her ears, and even cry. She hates tags, only certain clothes "feel right", she will only eat certain foods, though we haven't yet determined if its a texture thing, or if its just a "kid" thing.

and...pssst...she hasn't been diagnosed with anything (yet). I suspect she's inherited some stuff from Dad (and maybe Mom), but we haven't gone to get diagnosed yet.

No, you dont sound terrible at all.

If you're interested in the relationship between Hypersensitivity and ADD, check out this Hypersensitivity Survey (http://www.add.org/content/treatment/pollmj.htm)

Kassie! NO!! You don't sound terrible! You sound NORMAL to me! :D

Hmm -

I have a hard time getting comfortable, like when I'm layin in bed. I can't snuggle with my husband because I get physically uncomfy so easily. Think this is hypersensitivity?

My husband DEFINITELY is hypersensitive to food. He won't try veggies or anything with a weird texture.

For me it's loud noises and food textures - I'm still pretty much a veggie because I struggled to swallow food with unexpected "bits" in (like hard/tough bits in meat) all my life. I declared myself a veggie eventually because I was fed up with trying to explain to people and having them laugh at me - I'm working on overcoming that fear though as I'm trying to follow the blood group diet to help with concentration, energy etc.

I've always been scared of fireworks and pressure cookers, and it took me years to start frying food because I was scared stiff of the sizzling noise!

As a kid I always had to have my neck covered because I couldn't stand the feel of air against my neck (LOL or too many vampire films :p )

I also do not like loud music for long periods of time.....and I'm very sensitive to the way clothes feel on me.....If it's itchy? Forget it.....I used to HATE petticoats when I was a little girl....

And if my socks are cutting my legs forget it.....but I MUST wear socks....I can't stand the "shoe only" feeling....

and hats, winter hats, the way they feel on my head, used to drive me nuts....

Bathing suits that tie around my neck, yuck....

I am very sensitive to the way OTHER people chew their food (yup, call me nuts)....

Gum cracking drives me nuts....

Other people blowing their noses....sometimes can make me uncomfortable.....

On and on an airplace, I HATE it when the person directly in back of me keeps kicking my chair....OR when the person in front of me puts his chair WAY back....

Yeah actually not just itchy stuff but things like Arcrylic and so on make my skin crawl. As a kid I had this thing where I couldn't help myself biting the fabric of my jumpers (especially when they were the kind of icky material that squeaked between your teeth) even though I couldn't stand the feeling of that - weird or what?

And Joan - believe me NOBODY likes chairs being kicked behind or in front of you, it's one of those things like screeching chalk on a blackboard, dentist's drills and pneumatic drills that annoy most people as opposed to only us weird lot :D

I have a cotton ball phobia. They squeak. I refuse to touch them. Just thinking of them makes my face pucker up. I also have to smell everything. I used to drive my mother crazy when I was younger because I would only use a towel once because after that it didn't smell "fresh" anymore. I'm 34 now and still smell everything but I don't make a big deal about stuff. Did you know that the sticky side of scotch tape (only certain brands) smells like pineapple? My friends get a kick out of me because anytime there is a scent in the air, I can usually identify it or at least identify what it smells like.

Is anyone else really good at guessing voices? Like when you hear a commercial with just a voice or watch an animated film. I can always guess the celebrities voice. But I usually can't remember their name. I have to say "you know that actor that was in that movie with that other guy and they were twins and one was short and one was tall?" I'm HORRIBLE with names. It's getting worse as I get older. It's probably the most embarassing thing about my ADD. All of the other stuff I can just wing it.

By the way, this is my first post and I forgot to introduce myself (too impatient for the whole introduction thing). I'm a 34 year old female. I live in California. I suspected ADD about 2 years ago and read books and then sort of forgot about it (duh!). I started meds about 2 months ago and I feel productive and useful. I always felt like I was fooling everyone at work and one day they would escort me off of the property for being a "fraud". Or I would be fired for surfing the net too much. That actually might still happen, so I better get back to work. BYE!!!

Andrea

Originally posted by andreaa000
I always felt like I was fooling everyone at work and one day they would escort me off of the property for being a "fraud". Or I would be fired for surfing the net too much.
Wow that sounds spookily familiar!!! Same name and everything as well :eek:

Anyway yeah I hear ye on the cotton balls *shudder*.

I'm quite good with voices too (Jack Davenport, the guy who played the Commodore in Pirates of the Carribean, does a lot of commercials at the moment [he also is in the original version of "Coupling" which by the way is hilarious, unlike the US version] and it does my head in because I hear his voice everywhere!) in fact unless it's a really famous actor or actress I only recognise them by that, since I have a problem recognising people visually if they're not where I expect them to be (for example when meeting someone from work in town then I don't recognise them usually).

And rubbish with names, too. I'm chuffed I remembered Jack Davenport's name but it did take me a fair few months of ranting about how great "Coupling" is and how much I liked "Pirates" to get it right :D

I'm super sensitive to things. Sound, smell, taste, food textures. My mother told me that I'm the only baby she's ever known who wouldn't eat mashed potatoes. (They make me gag trying to swallow them). It isn't the taste. It's the texture.

Smell is a biggee too. My parents both smoke and I can't stand to be closed up in their house because the odor really gets to me. My dad will light up 4 rooms away and I'll smell it instantly. I'm just so sensitive to certain odors. It's gotten to where I don't go and visit them for Christmas anymore. (The house is too closed up). I stick to summertime because we all go outdoors and I can breath fresh air. AHHHHH. This can be a curse, but then other times, I have smelled odors in my kitchen (that nobody else smelled) and called the gas company. The gas company has picked up small leaks of gas in my pipes that their equipment barely even sensed.

As for sound, I hear things others don't. People think I am hearing things, but then eventually they hear what I hear too. (e.g. I'll hear a train coming before others will. I'll hear a cat meowing because it's trapped in a closet when no-one else will). Also, I have close to perfect pitch (in music). I play music by ear. (I've taught myself). I can hear little things in music like a 7th or a suspension. (like hearing the difference between: D, Dsus, Dsus7, D add E, etc). Maybe that's partly experience, but I think it is sound sensitivity as well.

In the area of taste, I am a terribly picky eater. (Gee, I wonder why). ;) Again, smell enters into this. The odor of green beans makes me gag. (Big time, too). When I was in elementary school, there was a rule at that time that the students had to eat half of every serving on their plate. My mother went in and talked with the school explaining my problem with green beans. I can recall waiting in line and hearing the women in line getting ready to serve my meal. They'd say, "Oh get ready. Here comes 'the green-bean-girl.' " My mom really did stick up for me on this one. :)

I always thought I was just spoiled or weird (or something). People in my family would tell me that I was exaggerating these things. (Those rolled eyeballs, as if to say "what you're telling me can't possibly be true.") It was so comforting to read that these phenomenas were indeed common with many neurological disorders. Some of these are also seen in Bipolar Disorder, Epilepsy and Autism-- especially the sound. My daughter, who is autistic, covers her ears quite often. My guess is that she is hypersensitive to sounds-- and then gets over-stimulated. One of my medications, Tegretol, can also have the side effect of causing extreme sensitivity to sound/s (AKA "Hyperacusis").

~Sandy

Touching the edge of something plastic with wet hands. YOW! I just got the creeps thinking about the sensation. My kids are big enough to wash the plastic dishes, thank heaven.

To fall asleep, I MUST have the following things: proper temperature 66-72 degrees and a fan for ventilation. (If I try to sleep w/o a fan, I feel like I'm suffocating.) proper clothing, I cannot wear a gown, they get all twisted up. Pajamas are best, something lightweight and smooth, but not silky, which covers up my arms and legs, not too tight and not too loose, but snug, like long johns. The covers must not be to heavy or too light and they must be straight. If they go crooked in the night, I WILL wake up. The mattress must be firm. If I am visiting someone overnight and the mattress is soft, I will mess up the covers like I slept there and opt for the floor. I take my own pillow, too. Sheets & blankets have to smell like tide and bounce. My mom calls me Princess and the Pea, LOL.

Foods don't bother me too much at all, in fact, I like trying new things to eat.

I do not think I am Clausterphoobic (sp?), but I am very nervous about bridges and tunnels. I *know* that they are engineered and all, but I still get nervous and hold my breath. Also heights are a biggie, but only if I think about it. My parents took me to the top of the Sears tower when I was about 3 or 4 and were like "look, lean against the glass, its fun!" I was horrified and lied down prostrate in the middle of the floor away from the windows. I think I would probably do the same thing now, but nobody can make me go up there again, I'm grown! I do LOVE roller coasters and ski lifts, though. That's weird. Maybe it is just the more vertical heights, now that I think about it.

About the hearing, I can pick up really high pitches, I don't know where the sounds come from. I used to pretend I was the Bionic Woman.

Originally posted by andreaa000
I always felt like I was fooling everyone at work and one day they would escort me off of the property for being a "fraud". Or I would be fired for surfing the net too much. That actually might still happen, so I better get back to work. BYE!!!

Andrea

Story of my life! And now I'm a web producer, so I'm online all the time. It's like an alcoholic working in a liquor store. ;)

Originally posted by Keppig
Movie theaters are too loud, At work the telephone makes me jump

I can totally identify. Not only are movie theaters too loud, they're too COLD!!! I hardly ever go to the movies anymore because I'm never comfortable. And I can't deal with it when it's crowded and there are people sitting next to me. I need personal space. Crowds in general make me uncomfortable because I don't like being touched much to begin with, but esp. not by strangers.

I am VERY sensitive to both noise and temperature, and smells. I am always too hot or too cold, I'm rarely comfortable. I work in a newsroom and the noise is ceaseless. I loathe the sound of the phone, and we have a police scanner which makes all kinds of irritating, high-pitched noises that go straight up my spine. I've taken to wearing headphones at my desk to muffle it and make it more tolerable.

There are certain foods that, when I smell them cooking, absolutely repulse me. I'm also quite particular about the smell of my laundry detergent, deodorant and shampoo/conditioner. I get a lot of strange looks as I unscrew all the caps on the shampoo at the beauty supply store so I can see whether it smells acceptable before buying it. If the scent is something not pleasing to me, I will notice it all day long.

I'm pretty OK with clothing actually, although that could be because I'm a slave to fashion! I prefer natural fibers, but wool is natural and I wear it pretty easily without getting too itchy. Tags are another story, however. ;)

both emotionally and physically hypersensitive....I dont like too much close contact with people,....cant wear watches and jewellry of any kind (my wedding ring will have to be glued to my hand.....of course, I wont worry about that now as I at least need a girlfriend first, and before that....a date!.....but I am getting better with foods.....I try new things.....I cant do mushrooms thouhg,....unless they are well fried, kind of crispy....the texture bothers me big time....

Originally posted by ShinyObjects


I can totally identify. Not only are movie theaters too loud, they're too COLD!!! I hardly ever go to the movies anymore because I'm never comfortable. And I can't deal with it when it's crowded and there are people sitting next to me. I need personal space. Crowds in general make me uncomfortable because I don't like being touched much to begin with, but esp. not by strangers.

I am VERY sensitive to both noise and temperature, and smells. I am always too hot or too cold, I'm rarely comfortable.


There are certain foods that, when I smell them cooking, absolutely repulse me. I'm also quite particular about the smell of my laundry detergent, deodorant and shampoo/conditioner.

If the scent is something not pleasing to me, I will notice it all day long.

I'm pretty OK with clothing actually, although that could be because I'm a slave to fashion! I prefer natural fibers, but wool is natural and I wear it pretty easily without getting too itchy. Tags are another story, however. ;)

I am "amazed" how how much drives you nuts!

But not nearly as amazed, as, that now that i think of it, even though one or two things here DON'T bother me, 8 or 10 of them do more than i would ever have realized without reading your post.

i have long contended that the reason ADHD people act like they are under constant and(or frequent) vicious attack (being short temppered, irritatble, explosive) is because THEY ARE UNDER ATTACK.

But realizing how "normal life" can be such an attack is hard for any "normal" person to appreicate, and we, as the ADHD, become burdened by expectations, language and interpretations that we mechanically learn, that are not our own experience.

thanks for further opening my eyes to who and how I am!

I've been sleeping with the fan on since I was 10. I like the ventilation but it especially covers up small noises from outside, like the wind on the corner of the house or the cat jumping on the window ledge.

I hear electric pitches from the tv... faucets dripping at the other end of the house

Listening to others chew can drive me insane.. especially if I'm in a situation where they are really lound or eating crunchy food and I need to sit across from them and try to continue with dinner like a normal person. If it's necessary, I will excuse myself for a moment to keep my sanity.. my husband understands so he doesn't eat near me.

I complained for years to my parents and just got mocked for it.. It took a mental breakdown before my complaints were taken more seriously.

You know, there is a thing called "sensory integration" that might describe some of your experiences.

Do a web search and see if it speaks to you.

If you'd like me to do a search and post some links, just say so.

< smile >

David

Wow- once again the openness of people on this forum makes the world seem like a smaller place! Thanks! This is kind of long, but I am trying not to rant..

Food touching: I cannot stand mixed foods like hamburgers, tacos/burritos, pasta dishes, ect (warming up to very simplified gyros, salads ok). I gag if I taste more than one thing at once- either cook it all togther or put it on a plate in separated piles thank you. If something has a sauce, I'll even prop my plate up with a spoon to keep it from running into something that doesn't go with it.

I HATE SEAFOOD (but not seaweed...)

Pasta: love angel hair with cheese and butter. Gag at the sight of funny shaped and fat pastas- especially if they have something on them like pesto! Egg noodles and ramen noodles ok (with cheese and butter!)

Light: Overhead lights drive me berzerk! Especially fluorescents (I can feel them flickering, sometimes hear them too even when others cannot). I need directed, ambient lighting in my home to feel normal. I don't like sunlight either, but that's an allergy (most terrible in the summer though- heat and humidity over 80 makes me feel sick and being in direct sun makes that worse).

Is anyone really sensitive to others feelings? If I'm near someone who's feeling something intensely (doesn't matter who or what it's directed toward, or even if I interact with them or not) I can feel that as a knot in my stomach (feeling someone's anger is extremely painful- makes me lose it sometimes!).

ej35401- the chewing thing gets me too! And something my boyfriend does- he slurps hot soups and beverages. I try not to strangle him for it, but he refuses to believe me when I tell him that this sets my hair on end and makes my neck tense. These are no dainty slurps. These slurps could register up on the rictor scale; I can feel them through the soles of my feet too, and they hurt my ears, and I cannot have food in my mouth when I hear this. I cannot rationalize my reaction well enough. He can rationalize the slurping though: "It's hot!!!"

The high pitched ringing noise that monitors and TVs make can give me headaches if I don't drown them out with something.

Wish that my acute sense of smell cold help me find my missing cell phone :( . Hate the smell of Taco Bell- ick.

And there is so much more.. but I have to stop somewhere!

Originally posted by SubtleMuttle

I HATE SEAFOOD.... ]ME TOO!! BLECH!!


Is anyone really sensitive to others feelings? If I'm near someone who's feeling something intensely (doesn't matter who or what it's directed toward, or even if I interact with them or not) I can feel that as a knot in my stomach (feeling someone's anger is extremely painful- makes me lose it sometimes!).




Yep, that's me too. Totally identify with the knot in my stomach that's supposed to be in someone else's!

smoo

Wow, I never thought of the gut pain as being hyper sensitive.
I always get a pain behind my groin if I see someone get hurt, or even hear about them getting hurt. Enough of a pain to make me jump as if I was poked.

Also, Wet newspaper makes me physically shiver, even to think about it.

Originally posted by SubtleMuttle
Wow- once again the openness of people on this forum makes the world seem like a smaller place! Thanks! This is kind of long, but I am trying not to rant..

Food touching: I cannot stand mixed foods like hamburgers, tacos/burritos, pasta dishes, ect (warming up to very simplified gyros, salads ok). I gag if I taste more than one thing at once- either cook it all togther or put it on a plate in separated piles thank you. If something has a sauce, I'll even prop my plate up with a spoon to keep it from running into something that doesn't go with it.

I HATE SEAFOOD (but not seaweed...)

Pasta: love angel hair with cheese and butter. Gag at the sight of funny shaped and fat pastas- especially if they have something on them like pesto! Egg noodles and ramen noodles ok (with cheese and butter!)

Light: Overhead lights drive me berzerk! Especially fluorescents (I can feel them flickering, sometimes hear them too even when others cannot). I need directed, ambient lighting in my home to feel normal. I don't like sunlight either, but that's an allergy (most terrible in the summer though- heat and humidity over 80 makes me feel sick and being in direct sun makes that worse).

Is anyone really sensitive to others feelings? If I'm near someone who's feeling something intensely (doesn't matter who or what it's directed toward, or even if I interact with them or not) I can feel that as a knot in my stomach (feeling someone's anger is extremely painful- makes me lose it sometimes!).

ej35401- the chewing thing gets me too! And something my boyfriend does- he slurps hot soups and beverages. I try not to strangle him for it, but he refuses to believe me when I tell him that this sets my hair on end and makes my neck tense. These are no dainty slurps. These slurps could register up on the rictor scale; I can feel them through the soles of my feet too, and they hurt my ears, and I cannot have food in my mouth when I hear this. I cannot rationalize my reaction well enough. He can rationalize the slurping though: "It's hot!!!"

The high pitched ringing noise that monitors and TVs make can give me headaches if I don't drown them out with something.

Wish that my acute sense of smell cold help me find my missing cell phone :( . Hate the smell of Taco Bell- ick.

And there is so much more.. but I have to stop somewhere!

Some of this looks o me like traits of asperger's or autism, and sensory integration disorder...

Everything outside of me being connected to inside of me, (even the "empathy stuff, someone else cutting themselves with a knife while cooking, getting burned, caused real physical pain for me just to see, hear, or know about it,) without an intermediatea step...

even the "imagined" stuff is not buffered through a "virtual" step that makes it truely abstract... like other people

Many of my hypersensitivities seem to be greatly diminished over the years. Tags and other parts of clothes such as stitched logos used to bother me profoundly. Now, tags usually do not bother me, unless they are offset from their usual positions (if I run something down my back, I can tell that there is a noticable loss of sensitivity where my tags usually are).

Rough textures of nylon (like those on the outside of winter coats) would make the hair on my arms stand straight up. It was definately a nerve related issue (like biting on tinfoil). Today, I can actually touch nylon coats on the outside.

I hear oscillators in TV's, extrememly high pitched noises (like from pressurized propane gas operating portable heaters, being very annoying). I still hear this, especially in some cheaper TV's. However, I haven't experienced this with computer monitors in a while.

I am hypersensitive to heat. Now, it is more direct heat than anything. I could never handle hot plates very well, as compared to others. I would never wear long sleve shirts, sweatshirts, etc, (even in the winter) as I would tend to feel a bit sick wearing them (extremely chilled). Today, I can wear such shirts, although I prefer not to. I would say working for an apiary on a hot day in a bee suit helped this a bit. Direct, intense heat (from hot plates, pans, fires) still bothers me.

As mentioned before, I too can hear noises at night at the opposite end of the house. Even though I had auditory problems, I can easily listen to conversations two floors apart if there is no background noise.

I used to be bothered a bit by florescent lights. I could tell that they were flickering enough to cause eye strain (as compared to standard incandescents). Today, it doesn't bother me as much (probably because I am forced to stare at 60hz computer screens). I can stand a 60hz screen, but that doesn't mean I can't see it flickering. I can tell the difference between 80 and 90hz, even though most people probably couldn't.

Originally posted by SubtleMuttle

Light: Overhead lights drive me berzerk! Especially fluorescents (I can feel them flickering, sometimes hear them too even when others cannot).

By hearing the florescent lights, do you mean a low "buzzing" noise generated by the transformer? Transformers are very annoying to me. Where I work, there are many transformers (florescent lighting transformers, 3-phase 480VAC -> single phase 120VAC, etc.) Even in the office parts, the buzzing is quite ambient, but I am used to the noise.

By the way, if you don't like the sound from your computer monitor, just get a system with an AMD Athlon XP. You will need so many fans to cool the Athlon XP that you won't need to worry about the high pitched noises coming from your monitor.

Transformers, yes. But something else too. I can feel the pulse of the bulb with my eyes if it's an old bulb- it's pulse will slow as it starts to expire. I will often hear something in sync with that pulse (very minor) and I'm not sure if that's my imagination (visual audio connecting) or if there's something in the bulb making the sound as it pulses, or if the transformers are also responsible for that (those buzz though, right? Does the balast make a noise? Fluorescents use balasts? Heckidunno). May be my imagination!

Thanks for the tips- I am not familiar with asperger's or autism or sensory integration disorder but I think I was tested for autism when I was a kid and it was a negative (like there's definitive tests anyway!)- but I may understand these traits better by looking into aspergers and autism and SI and knowing more about those. I'm using a newer monitor at home and havn't noticed a high-pitched noise from it (I am not so technically knowledgeable about these!)- only from somewhere inside the tower . Have no idea what is making the noise! Oh well, maybe the fan, but it doesn't pulse like the fan! The fans bother me too (my boyfriend, "What DOESN'T bother you?")


On the flip side- is anyone hypersensitive to something in a positive way? I really like clicking those sharp metal buttons (like the ones on old stereo equipment) that make a clean snap-click sound. I don't know what it is about those, but I swear that if I could record that sound it would have a really cool wave shape!

I love the smell of fresh copper (my imagination?) (but old pennies stink.. actually, money stinks!).

What is it about the bubble wrap? I know I'm not alone in that!

Originally posted by HighFunctioning


By hearing the florescent lights, do you mean a low "buzzing" noise generated by the transformer? Transformers are very annoying to me. Where I work, there are many transformers (florescent lighting transformers, 3-phase 480VAC -> single phase 120VAC, etc.) Even in the office parts, the buzzing is quite ambient, but I am used to the noise.

By the way, if you don't like the sound from your computer monitor, just get a system with an AMD Athlon XP. You will need so many fans to cool the Athlon XP that you won't need to worry about the high pitched noises coming from your monitor.

Or get a Mac with a flat screen... so little fan noise you won't beleive it, and nothing from the screen!

I can't stand loud sudden noises. I flip out. I actually wake up 10 minutes before my alarm (at least) with out trying because it's such negative reenforcement. Ugh.

Originally posted by SubtleMuttle
Transformers, yes. But something else too. I can feel the pulse of the bulb with my eyes if it's an old bulb- it's pulse will slow as it starts to expire. I will often hear something in sync with that pulse (very minor) and I'm not sure if that's my imagination (visual audio connecting) or if there's something in the bulb making the sound as it pulses, or if the transformers are also responsible for that (those buzz though, right? Does the balast make a noise? Fluorescents use balasts? Heckidunno). May be my imagination!



A ballast (or sometimes called a ballast transformer) is a small regulating low power transformer used in florescent lighting. Modern day lighting ballasts are not supposed to be audible and most people should not be able to see flicker because of the high frequency. Older lights with magnetic ballasts were very audible and the flicker of the light was also noticable.

So yes, ballasts do make noise. :)

the modern ballast runs faster than 60 Hz ?

From http://www.lightsearch.com/resources/lightguides/ballasts.html . . .


Flicker

Electromagnetic ballasts are designed to condition the 60 Hz input voltage to the electrical requirements of the lamps. A magnetic ballast alters the voltage, but not the frequency. Thus, the lamp voltage crosses zero 120 times each second, resulting in 120 Hz light output oscillations. This results in about 30% flicker for standard halophosphor lamps, operated at 60 Hz. The flicker is generally not noticeable but there is evidence that flicker of this magnitude can cause adverse effects, such as eyestrain and headache.

Most electronic ballasts, on the other hand, use high-frequency operation, which reduces lamp flicker to an essentially imperceptible level. The flicker percentage of a particular ballast is usually specified by the manufacturer. For a given ballast, the percent flicker will be a function of lamp type and phosphor composition.

When I say modern ballasts, I speak of electronic ballasts.

I've got a new one. Riding thru mountain passes with Speedy Gonzales ( my DH) at the wheel. I thought I would pass out, dizzy, short of breath, white knuckling the dash, pumpin' the fake brake. Yowza!

To sleep it has to be cool w/ a fan, no dripping faucets, no ticking clocks.. the fan helps drown out any random noises that might disturb me, like the cats eating.

The absolute worst is the sound of others eating. (Holiday dinners w/ family are NOT fun!) The worst torture anyone could ever put me threw is to chain me down at the dinner table with a bunch of starving cavemen and then feed them chips, fried chicken and fruit.

I'm not sure if it would be my head or my heart that would explode first!

Originally posted by ej35401

The absolute worst is the sound of others eating. (Holiday dinners w/ family are NOT fun!) The worst torture anyone could ever put me threw is to chain me down at the dinner table with a bunch of starving cavemen and then feed them chips, fried chicken and fruit.

I'm not sure if it would be my head or my heart that would explode first!

That is soooo me! My father, God love him, is the FIRST person who comes to mind when I think of being grossed out by hearing him eat. EEEEEWWWWW!!!!!

smoo

My eggs need to be scrambled or hard cooked because runniness just turns my stomach.
I cut all the labels from my clothes (even/especially underwear). When I was a kid, there was a fad for sewn - in crinolines in dresses and I distinctly remember the torture of wearing them -- uggh. I also went barefoot as much as I could and was always taking off shoes and socks.
I couldn't work in an environment that had pop music playing (even quietly) all day.
Where I live is extremely quiet and dark, so no problems sleeping.
Cheap perfume and some other scents really bother me.

I always get a pain behind my groin if I see someone get hurt, or even hear about them getting hurt. Enough of a pain to make me jump as if I was poked.

I have ALWAYS been this way too... If someone says they stubbed their toe I cringe becusae I can feel it so well... my brothers used to always tease me because I was so sensitive to being tickled. all they had to do was wiggle a finger at me and I would double over just at the thought!!

When I'm nervous or feeling silly my boyfriend literally can't even touch me. I just giggle all over the place!! (worst when i'm nervous though) he used to think i was nuts but he's used to it now :)

I'm also super sensitive to flourescent lights = the flickering REALLY bothers me, and the noise is just as bad. I used to complain and people would say "yeah... i don't like them much either" but the truth was they hadn't really noticed it as much as I had.

Oh man, I feel ticklish just reading that. When I'm tickled I laugh and smirk, but it hurts!! But when people do it the laugher just eggs them on, and they don't get it when I say, "Cut that out or I'll hit you!" :confused: I have a hard-to-control tickle reflex to lash out, I've kneed a few people in a bad place by accident :eek: just because they carried on thinking they were causing true laughter. In a group of friends and aquantances, when people start getting a bit familiar, the question will come up, "How ticklish are you?" [with a mischevious grin]. True friends have told them, "NO- not her, don't even think about it!"

On an off topic, I've had a cat for about 17 years who's hypersensitive to ME, and will bite someone's ankle when they tickle me! :D My 8 lb bodyguard with a saggy tummy and one fang.

sounds and smells bother me the most. strong perfume, loud noises make me react physically. my husband doesn't get it. and guess what? he is the loudest - he is deaf in one ear. he even breathes loud.....talk about the odd couple.

my daughter always had clothes that were itchy. didn't get it till she was dx w/add... but, some clothes make me itchy, too.

Same here. Sounds and Smells bug me the most. My husband is also deaf in one ear and it drives me crazy how loud he listens to the TV. We argue more about the damn loud TV than anything.

He doesn't understand that loud sounds or noises hurt my ears. I can just feel them shrilling when I walk into the room when the TV is blairing.

Joan I know the feeling on the GUM chewing.......................i can't stand it when my mother or grandmother chew gum more than anyone else...............................they both smack it like a cow LOL!................I don't even have to be doing anything and it drives me up a wall. I always tell mom to stop because I can't even hear myself think let alone do anything else. She will ask me something when chewing it and I forget what she said right away cause the noise is so irritating to me! My grandmother is just a loud eater she can't seem to remember to chew with her mouth closed half the time. LOL So, because I still live at home and my grandmother lives here too I go upstairs and eat in my room. They think I do just because I have sence my teen years and then just figured I was being a normal teen. I just don't have the heart to tell my grandmother...................though mom tells her she is loud sometimes. So I think even if I didn't have ADD (mom doesn't) I would still hate the way my grandmother eats. *sigh* LOL!
I am also a light sleeper. Must be cool or I get night sweats. YUCK! and must have a fan going because of my sinuses so I can breath. I also sleep better when someone is there to share the bed...........................but if they snore AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh! lol I made my ex get the thorat spray and the nasal strips just so I could sleep. LOL I was glad that stuff actually works but felt bad for him cause the throat spray doesn't taste good.

Justome,
I had that issue with my ex. Drove me crazy. He doesn't hear well in one ear and he lived in an apt and with it that loud that close to your face OUCH! headache.I had said something to him one time about it and oh no he made a mistake. His friends were there at the time. He made the comment well you don't pay the rent. I was like no but I clean this place I do your arands and I have paid for his food and groceries some cause he didn't know how to save. I was so mad he said that esp with his friends there. I ran into the bedroom and he came in there and couldn't figure out why I was so upset. I said you just made me feel like thousands of house wifes around the world feel. Just because I don't make money I don't get any respect. He felt so bad he still appoligizes for it today. And then says if he could pay me to do the things I have for him he would because I did so much for him and got him out of things. I told him don't ever take me for granted again.

other: dust, pollen.

i have a yearlong allergic rhinitis

I LOVE sushi. It is my favorite food. I like it more for its texture than taste. There is something wonderful about the density and contrast between the rice and the fish or vegetables.

I can't walk on certian flooring barefooted. Gives me the shivers.

Originally posted by BIG
If you're interested in the relationship between Hypersensitivity and ADD, check out this Hypersensitivity Survey (http://www.add.org/content/treatment/pollmj.htm)
Wow, that's a really interesting link... I'm saving that in my bookmarks for when someone complains about my own hypersensitivity to stimuli. ;)

And I know exactly what you guys are talking about, too. Sometimes, the texture of a particular food I'm eating is a bit 'off' and makes me gag. Clothes that pose no problem for others make me itch like mad. A few times, I've been so overwhelmed by the noise in a restaurant that I've literally had to cover my ears to prevent myself from going into some sort of meltdown.

And of course, I can hear the high-pitched squealing from a TV or monitor that's on but showing a blank screen. I can also hear dog whistles, for what it's worth.

I am sound sensitive, smell and touch sensitive and even sight. I have realized a cluttered room is too much 'distraction' for me. I can't settle down. I can't think, my eyes are easily drawn to so manythings.

I also have chronic urticarea, allergies that come and go, sensitive to pressure on my skin, temp changes, stress and anxiety..........once my eyes blistered.........been in anaphylacix before.................Im a ball of nerve endings

Oh and my youngest kid? I finally broke down and bought her socks online with no seam............hopefully mornings will be easier

Jees, this thread is so ME.
I hate getting sticky fingers and find that other people secrete a LOT of grease .... from using their mice and keyboards.
After touching their KB/mice, there's this sort of grainy/greasy deposit that has to be washed off my fingers.
I'm VERY sensitive to loud/high pitched noises and find loud TV ad.s unbelievably annoying.
I have an exaggerated noise-startle reflex which can even make my leg jibber.
I drive a lot at night and have real problems with headlights, streetlights, porch lights and bright, cloud-diffused sunlight - and drive with my sun visor down day AND night.
I also have olfactory issues and am loathe ALL perfumes and aftershaves, along with a whole bunch of other smells, some of which make my eyes smart or make me cough or want to puke.
I hold a special place for GARLIC - which is the most vile substance imaginable .... the smell gives me a headache and very serious nausea.
Apparently, many animals and insects are powerfully averse to garlic - so it's not just me and my mum.
Another aversion is people who clank their fork against their teeth when eating - WOW ! - that's worse than nails down a blackboard (even if the most beautiful girl in the world wanted my hand in marriage, I'd turn her down on the spot if she was a fork-clanker .... I just can't sit at the same table as these people).
Whenever I wash up, I never dry the cutlery as it just sets my teeth too much on edge .... eeeechhh !

I forgot to mention my hearing coup-de-gras - I can hear BATS .... hehe.
That's right, bats - from up to half a mile away when they're flying high.
I've only come across one or two others (on the net, of course) who can hear them too.
One of them was a zoology student and went on a field trip with a sonic detector.
On the first night out hunting for a bat, he told the course-leader he could hear one nearby - and was poo-poo'd.
Five seconds later, it showed up on the detector.
Bat sonar isn't really a sound heard in the ear, so much as a registration deeper in the head - presumably in the inner ear (unless I have particularly bat-like skull acoustics or something).
Loud noises such as blasting tannoy announcements at airports are a problem - when I have to put a finger in one ear.
Or people talking way too loud in the car - particularly on the phone, I just have to put a finger in one ear.
Sometimes I wish I had a sound-meter, just to demonstrate how loud these sounds actually are.
I also have a problem with shampoos and detergents - some of which are unbelievably penetrating and offensive.

Okay, here's my 2 cents.

i say DEATH to all people eating popcorn in a theater (thats a lot of people)
people breathing loudly through their nose, ticking clocks, TVs left on, uncooked mushrooms and the foulest vegetable that ever sprouted on our green earth, CELERI!

Wouldn't the world be a better place ? hmm?




thought so.



;-)

well maybe not death but definately a good hosing down with a fire hose.

can we at least have death to celeri ?

please


pretty please with sugar on top.

but celery is good ! Now mince meat pie, that is evil and needs to die

ummmm, technically it IS dead.


its 12 and i haven't showered or started doing my lab report due for 8 tommorrow morning.


Aye, the agony.

That survey was really interesting, I've always been really sensitive to clothes.

My Nanna always knitted me wool stuff and I absolutely could not wear it, I HATED the feel of it on my kneck or wrists.

I used to never wear watches, I do know but the band is very loose and I take it off as soon as I go home.

I also hardly ever wear my hair down because I hate the feel of my hair on my ears.

I only wear white or grey cotton or cotton/spandex gym socks, no other kind at all.

I won't get into how much I hate pantyhose.

I cannot wear breifs for underwear, they go up too high and the elastic on my stomach is sooo irritating.

I won't wear polyester, I hate the way it feels and I think I must have a sensitive nose because it's got a weird smell to it that I also hate. All my clothes have to be cotton or a cotton blend.

So yeah, as you can imagine I was a difficult kid to take clothes shopping lol.

oh yeah and as for having sensitive ears.....during dinner I can't stand silence because then you can hear everyone chew...
the sound of chewing and swallowing ****es me off like you wouldn't believe, it's like nails on a chalkboard..

and now that i think of it, I really do have a sensitive nose! especially as a kid, my friends house had this strange smell to it, it wasn't bad or anything, but it was weird, kinda like a tomato sauce or something. and sometimes i'd just start gagging because of the smell. It would happen whenever I met anyone else that smelled like curry or something. Certain smells just seem to overwhelm me, and I still have that problem.

and my husband thinks it just me.... ha! he's wrong again -- he'll be so pleased to find out ;)

i can't stand certain textures of fabric. polyester (obviously) and wool blankets are the *worst*

i hate cooked peas!

i was a vegetarian for years because it was easier than dealing with the kinnigly bits, fat and tendons and bone in meat.

etc., etc. ;)

I just heard a comic named Mitch Hedberg compare wearing a turtleneck to having a really weak guy choke you....all day long. I feel the same way.

I cant spread sheets out on the bed, I cant walk barefoot in grass, any grass, the feel of my scrubs cant be tolerated, I found scrubs that are a different lighter material finally, I used to cry at fireworks (the noise is too much for me) My rotten cousin and older sister once taped me being chased by them with cap guns and me screaming from the noise. I hate to be tickled and as a kid would cry if you tickled me. My same sister tied a balloon to my wrist to watch me scream ( I was afraid it would pop) The scare shock startle reaction is so heavy i literally fall (same sister enjoyed sneaking up on me for that very reason---and people wonder why Im in therapy?)

sensitive to clothing labels, acrylics, prickly/scratchy fabric (they all make my skin 'crawl' or 'buzz'), loud noises, cold makes me sneeze, cannot sleep unless warm

I sneeze when going from inside out into the sunlight, I am not sure if that is related.

About skin issues:

When I wnt to my doctor far a checkup and to pursue ADD meds, he saw a red stripe on my arm.
He rubbed his fingernail backwards (opposite of a scratch) down my other arm and it durned red.
He said that I had too much histamine in my system.
I told him that I thought everyone's skin did that, but he said no.
Tags and such cause my skin to turn red first, then the itching starts. Even if I take the shirt off, where the tag was may still bother me.
It also explains why mesquito bites are so much worse for me than other people. I also get hives (which are too much histomine) on the inside of my knuckles (like where a ring goes) and on my elbows. Hives on semi-calased skin is insanely itchy. (Gross: I usually end up scratching until the hives swell and I end up ripping the skin off :sick: )
I also get chest and neck rashes when a fever breaks from being sick.

Anyway, I guess I am wondering how many of my skin sensitivities are related to this histomine issue, or maybe my histomine issue is related to my skin sensitivity.

I just started taking a 24 hour non-drowsy over the counter generic of Claritin every morning, now that it only $10 a month.
I am curious if any of my skin sensitivities change.

Wow. I never thought about my hyper-sensitivities being related to ADD. I've seen a lot of info lately lumping ADD into the Autism Spectrum Disorders. I guess that makes sense. I knew a guy with severe Autism once that always had on headphones to block out all the other noise.

I, too, say "Down with Celery!" (taste and stringy texture.) Also, the smell of cauliflower cooking has always made me gag.

And "silent" meals, too - eek- Please turn on the radio! My brother still chews with his mouth open. And the worst is chewing and mouth breathing at the same time! (Whew.)

I once dated someone who smoked. Not in the house or around me much. Even so, I could smell cigarette smoke on their breath in the middle of the night. Like from deep withing their lungs. I couldn't stand it! And the smell of a person changes if they've started smoking again, that's how I knew a couple of my friends had started smoking again.

Almost all perfumes give me an instant headache! I have to hold my breath and run away if I accidently find myself in the perfume section of a store. I too, must gingerly smell every product I buy. And "fragrance free" is a lie.

Food textures - yeah. Anything with lots of textures mixed can be a problem. (Salsa, potato/egg/chicken.....salad, soup with greens...) And anything that's not the texture I expected from the look/smell of the food.

I mute almost all commercials on tv because they're too loud, and all amplification is pretty much painful. I've embarrased some of my friends by wearing ear plugs at movies or concerts or clubs. The funny thing is that I often speak loudly myself, if there's other noise in the room. It's like the other noise is so loud I need to shout to hear myself.

Also electrical noise. There's some sort of adapter on the electrical cord to my keyboard (piano) that buzzes even when the keyboard is off. Drives me nuts, others don't seem to notice it. I was sitting in the dentist's waiting room the other day filling out paperwork when I heard the sound of a tooth being drilled. A sharp pain went through my mouth.

I have to sleep with a fan on and have since college, even in the dead of winter. I have a noise machine, but I can't always use it because I can hear the pattern in the white noise if I think about it even a little bit.

I'm never comfortable in my clothes! Any new shirt I buy must have a v-neck or be button-up. Waist bands on bottoms and underwear that don't match up are maddening. Sometimes I want to tear off a shirt if it suddenly feels too tight in the wrists or shoulders. But then I'm bothered if they're too big because the material bunches up. I wear a watch, but have to take it off at times because it feels like it's cutting off the circulation to my hand, even though it's the same tightness that I always wear it.

And cold bothers me, especially humid-cold. On a day with high humidity and temps in the 70's, I feel like all my clothes are damp and I'm freezing. Everyone else is walking around in shorts saying it's hot, and I'm putting on socks and an extra shirt. Coldness makes my ankles and knees hurt. Really painful aching.

And yes, empathy. If someone is hurt, I instantly grab the part of my body on which they are hurt, as if it will keep me from getting hurt there or something. I can't stand anyone being bullied, I either get angry or tearfully sad, depending on how the person being bullied reacts.

Sorry this is so long - I'm actually excited about this. Another light-bulb in my head turns on!

Thanks for listening - H

I can't stress enough how much reading all this means to me.

Touching: For a long time was couldn't let other people touch me. If anyone touched me...oh gosh just the thought of it. Junior year in high school a friend of mine found out I didn't like being touched, so he said he would give me a hug everyday even if I didn't want it. Though I hated it at first it really helped. I became best friends who touch all the time... so I had to cope with the hypersensitivity. But I realize now that the friends I love the most are thoughs who extented touch to me. Touch the one thing I hate, but crave and want more then anything else...

I'm always cold. My family calls me blanket girl cause even at 18 I still drag my blanket around with me.

For the longest time when I was young I couldn't wear jeans, I just hated the way they feel. As always, when I'm stressed or anixous I can feel everything on my skin, even the air. It can be so overwelming. When anxitey is at its worst I have to cover up myself... everywhere..., long sleeves, knee high socks, gloves, ect. My friends would look at me weird when I'd show up for a gathering with gloves on. Just being able to cover my whole body up is comforting, its like detaching yourself. When I cover my body up I can control what my skin feels.

Pain has never really bothered me much, don't know if it ADD related. But I can sit in uncomfortable positions and do painful things and it doesn't even phase me.

My sense of smell is very senstive. I know smells so well. And I can pick out close family and friends by their smell. I also smell everything. I just wish my sense of smell was even better, I love it.

I'm also very senstive to others feelings. If I'm in a good mood and I converse with someone who is hiding there saddness I can tell... and I start to feel they way they feel. And I feel like I know some people inside and out even if they don't truely know me. I know exactly how their feeling... sometimes its nice to know, and other times I just want to feel happy to feel happy.

I really wish I could make sense of all these senses... put good use to them.

Good questions.


I really wish I could make sense of all these senses... put good use to them.

Andreaa000-

Your post on the cotton ball phobia KILLED me! I had never heard of such a thing until I met my husband. If he has to get an aspirin out of a container that has a piece of cotton in it, he WIGS out. He always has me remove the cotton. But if I'm mad at him and refuse, he makes this weird yell "argh!" sound as he grabs it (as though he touching a piece of poop!) and then he flings it across the room. The first time I saw him do this, I thought he was mucking around and I DIED laughing. But as time went by I learned that it really PAINS him to touch it. I still crack up when he does that (and so does he).

I showed him your post and he was so HAPPY to know that there are others that feel similarly....

Wow, I actually read every post...course I also took my morning meds hehe.
I can totally understand about sensitivity to touching things, with a few exceptions.

When I think about it, I think I am kinda wierd about cotton, but the worse thing for me is styrafoam. AH! If someone rubs against it or scratches it OMG, I hate it...I react the same with this as one would with scratching on a chalkboard. If I need to drink something out of a styrafoam cup, it's a last resort.

I hate tags, thank god for tagless clothes and undies. WOOHOO! hehe If I have tags on my clothes I cut them off.

If I wear any kind of jewery, which is rare, it has to be cloth or natural. So for example, I'll wear a bracelet that cloth strung together, or a necklace that's seashell or something like that...but I don't like metal. I wear a golf watch on my belt buckle or on a chain that I swing into my pocket.

I LOVE NUMNUMS
yes, you heard me right. clothing, bed stuff, etc that I consider numnums are really soft and comfy.

Other things that I am very sensitive to are edges of things. Now I don't know if this is an OCD thing or sensory thing or what. I have to have blankets with smooth silky like edges on them and when I'm laying in bed or sitting on it I need to play with the "edgies". I play with them using my hands or feet...and I even love moving my face along it. When I say I play with them, I fold the edges then smooth them out with my hands, I string them in and out between my fingers and/or toes. Sometimes I find myself doing this when all I want to do is go to sleep but I either feel like I need to do this or it feels good so I have to do it...I'm not sure.

When I wear certain types of shorts I also play and fold those edges...constantly. It's like a compulsion, and like the bed stuff I do it to the point where I actually get annoyed about doing it but for some reason i feel like I need to do it. I'm actually considering throughing those shorts out just so I don't do that.

My brother has neurological problems and he actually does does some of the same things. It may be quite possible that it's an OCD thing but just not diagnosed.

I once dated someone who smoked. Not in the house or around me much. Even so, I could smell cigarette smoke on their breath in the middle of the night. Like from deep withing their lungs. I couldn't stand it! And the smell of a person changes if they've started smoking again, that's how I knew a couple of my friends had started smoking again.
Yes! It's such an irritating smell... of course, the fact that I'm allergic to it doesn't help things much.

Almost all perfumes give me an instant headache! I have to hold my breath and run away if I accidently find myself in the perfume section of a store. I too, must gingerly smell every product I buy. And "fragrance free" is a lie.
YES. I always get a headache when I go through the perfume aisle... or even the detergent aisle at a grocery store. And it is rather annoying how so many "unscented" things are in fact scented. :mad:

And having to walk past people puffing on cigarettes is no more fun...

Food textures - yeah. Anything with lots of textures mixed can be a problem. (Salsa, potato/egg/chicken.....salad, soup with greens...)
I've always wondered why I don't mind mixing some types of food but can't stand mixing others... I think that might have a lot to do with it.

I've embarrased some of my friends by wearing ear plugs at movies or concerts or clubs. The funny thing is that I often speak loudly myself, if there's other noise in the room. It's like the other noise is so loud I need to shout to hear myself.
Oh, I don't see how people can handle such loud noise! Even restaurants can be an auditory overload for me if there's enough chatter. And though I'm normally a rather quiet person, I will speak very loudly if there's enough background noise-- I've always wondered how 'normal' people are able to hear me at a more moderate volume when I can barely even hear my own self, much less anyone else...

Also electrical noise. There's some sort of adapter on the electrical cord to my keyboard (piano) that buzzes even when the keyboard is off. Drives me nuts, others don't seem to notice it. I was sitting in the dentist's waiting room the other day filling out paperwork when I heard the sound of a tooth being drilled. A sharp pain went through my mouth.
People are always surprised when I can tell that a TV or monitor is turned on but receiving no signal. There's this distinctive high-pitched squealing from TVs that are turned on that's rather unmistakable...but apparently most people can't hear it.

Anyone else able to see the flickering when using a computer monitor set at 60Hz or below, incidentally? It drives me insane, and I always have to increase the refresh rate just to be able to look at the screen for any reasonable length of time.

I have to sleep with a fan on and have since college, even in the dead of winter. I have a noise machine, but I can't always use it because I can hear the pattern in the white noise if I think about it even a little bit.
Yep. I always sleep with a fan on, too... if it's dead silence, it somehow seems more bothersome. And hearing noises from neighboring rooms and such doesn't exactly help things.

I can relate to almost everything everyone has written here! It's no wonder that I am exhausted at the end of every day. Always having to "find" a "place" where I can be comfortable, both physically and emotionally.

I can't stand how cotton balls feel, they make me cringe. Also acrylic and wool are irritating. I'm pretty sensitive to a lot of things.

I feel a huge sense of relief after reading this thread! Finally -- some "normal" people who are irritated by "normal" things!

Celery tastes like the smell of a hundred wet bandaids.

This is interesting about a possible relation between ADHD and hypersensitivity ...

I'm super sensitive to sounds, especially rhythmic or repetitive. When I was a kid I once had to wait in my mom's car for a long time with a ticking clock installed in the dashboard, and got so agitated by the sound that I tried to break the clock and had almost bashed the thing in by the time my mom got back. My mom couldn't understand why I would do such a thing and I got in big trouble. To this day I can't listen to ticking clocks, and if I hear something like very faint rhythmic bass sounds coming up through the floorboards it drives me crazy because then I can't focus on anything else, it feels utterly intrusive even if anyone else would probably barely be able to hear it. At work I have to play white noise on my headphones and block out all other noise to be able to get any work done at all.

Also have pretty sensitive skin, I can only wear silk or cotton clothes, anything else itches me to death, even cashmere or angora. Also very sensitive to cold, am always wrapped up in a blanket at work ... people make fun of me for it.

And extremely sensitive to certain smells - like tobacco. Can't be within 20 ft of a smoker, even outdoors.

On the flip side- is anyone hypersensitive to something in a positive way? I really like clicking those sharp metal buttons (like the ones on old stereo equipment) that make a clean snap-click sound. I don't know what it is about those, but I swear that if I could record that sound it would have a really cool wave shape!

I love the smell of fresh copper (my imagination?) (but old pennies stink.. actually, money stinks!).

What is it about the bubble wrap? I know I'm not alone in that!
As far as positives go - it's funny, I have always been hypersensitive to music and sounds, but I majored in music in college - there was definitely a positive side to the sensitivity as well ... I could get into the classical composers in a way other people seemingly couldn't. I was one of those people who would cry over a particularly beautiful performance. But the inattention problem would get in the way & I couldn't listen for long periods of time b/c my concentration would wander. I did best with really short, fast intense pieces ...

ADDled quote - "Another aversion is people who clank their fork against their teeth when eating - "
OMG, just reading this without hearing it makes me cringe and push my tongue against the back of my front teeth.
I can't stand being cold or anything colder than 70 degrees. Figures I live in New England. I also hate heat above 90 degrees but can somewhat tolerate it but cold I can't.

I get startled really easy to sudden loud noises. The phone ringing, someone knocking on my door, alarm clock going off, people in the upstairs apartment constantly dropping things. I swear they do this on purpose. Also I can't stand the sound of the monitor and the ticking of the clock and faucet dripping. I sometimes listen to loud music to get motivated to houseclean but then I feel like my head is going to explode and must shut it off or turn it down. I also have a huge problem with the sound of metal utensils hitting each other.

I hate to be touched or tickled. I can handle family hugs but friends I still have a problem with and strangers forget it. And nobody can touch my neck or back of my neck or shoulder area. Sometimes I have a problem with people just being too close but not touching.



I can't eat squishy cooked veggies. They have to be uncooked except for corn and it has to be on the cob.

Very sensitive to light and sunlight. I have to wear sunglass all the time.

Sensitive to smells and most I can't tolerate. Thank God I have allergies and sinus problems so sometimes my sense of smell isn't too great.

I'm allergic to everything. Dust, pollen, mold, animals.

I can't wear metal jewelry or a watch because it causes my eczema to be worse.

I am also afraid of heights and get overstimulated and overwhelmed in large crowds.

I also feel other peoples pain. Its horrible, my daughter is so accident prone and always falling or tripping over things especially stubbing her toes. I always have to grab my feet too.

There are many others too.

i start my day at work by wiping down my desk and keyboard with a disinfecting wet wipe, because the night shift people seem to be such slobs. there will be coffee stains and crumbs all over everything.
there is a girl i work with who feels the need to share her enthusiasm for her music with everyone -- in spite of being told for 7 years now to please quiet down. she whistles along, sings along, claps along (pretty neat trick for a datatranscriptionist) and dances along to the music in her headphones....talk about driving an ADDer nuts.
I am also sensitive to cigarette smoke; even someone who goes outside to smoke and washes their hands after! I can still detect it on them, and it can irritate me. Which is funny, since I used to smoke.....
I haven't found any foods that irritate me yet -- with me things can't be extremely hot or extremely cold.
And I always feel like a fraud - any day now, they're gonna come and take me away....

As far as positives go - it's funny, I have always been hypersensitive to music and sounds, but I majored in music in college - there was definitely a positive side to the sensitivity as well ... I could get into the classical composers in a way other people seemingly couldn't. I was one of those people who would cry over a particularly beautiful performance. But the inattention problem would get in the way & I couldn't listen for long periods of time b/c my concentration would wander. I did best with really short, fast intense pieces ...
Heh, yeah, that sounds a lot like my experience! I'll really get into a musical piece for the first several minutes... but for anything particularly long, my attention starts drifting and I start getting all spaced out.

I'm sensitive to bright light's. Just getting over my third migraine in two days, their not too strong, thank goodness. I've had really nasty one'si n the past.

As a child I was hypersensitive to several things

I couldn't stand for the seam in my sock to be off the side, and would have my mother take my shoe off and put it back on about 5 times...I would get beyond frustrated trying to get it perfectly straight

The tag on the back of my pants or shirt would feel like someone jabbing me in the back with a sharp pencil....

Very sensitive to cold. I hated winter mornings getting up for school. I would stay in the hot shower for 30 minutes, partly because I was so groggy and partly because it was cold...I still get uncontrollable shivers when no one else seems to be that cold.

My scalp was very sensitive. My mother would try to comb my hair in the morning and it would kill me, even when she was trying to be gentle...

I had a low tolerance for just about every external stimulation, very sensitve to my emotions.

LOL - abre los ojos -
My mom has stories of me and dealing with my socks! She would get so mad at me because I HAD to have my socks on perfectly straight, because of that horrible seam.

Oh, and forgot about the fingernails...I could not tolerated my fingernails being cut, mainly the feeling of the of the tips of my fingers afterwards. My mother would cut my nails, but I would go insane if she cut them too short. I finally got used to it somewhat, but it took until my early teens.

My vices:

textures:
peanut butter, toothpaste (thank goodness they came out with the gel toothpaste!!)
tags

smells:
ripe bananas, very sweet smells (perfume etc), air fresheners, seafood, coconut

tastes:
coconuts, nuts in foods (I can eat them alone, but the clash in flavour is too much for me), candied fruits in fruitcake, octopus (japanese background)

touch:
getting into cold water - hard to do when I'm a swimming instructor
tags on clothes
sock seams
wearing socks when I sleep
bunched up clothes
hair in my face
having ppl touch the top of my head (like patting it), or anything coming twds my head

Visual:
certain patterns actually make me feel NAUSEOUS..anyone else have this too?
examples are peeling wallpaper (in shreds, not chunks), the sticky side of old duct tape
-I think it might be anything that has a prominent change in depth in a small pattern...
but it literally makes my skin crawl and makes me dizzy

flashing lights get me hyper with loud music... I have never needed to drink much to relax and have fun at night clubs

Sounds:
electronic devices that emit the high pitched sound (TV especially)
repetitive rhythmic sounds are very distracting

medication:
very sensitive... my Dr. has realized how sensitive I am after seeing how I react to even minute changes in medication that most people wouldn't react to... but I am on a fairly high dose of ritalin.

foods:
apple juice (apples in general maybe) and orange pop/drinks make me really hyper, crazy hyper. When I was growing up, my friends would get me to drink orange pop just to see me get all hyper and funny... it was hilarious! So whenever we were goofing off at a restaurant and they had orange pop, they would warn everyone not to let me have any of it b/c I would get so wired...

there is a book I found in Chapters that is about hypersensitivity... the title is something like "Too Bright, Too Loud"... I only could afford one book at the time, so I bought "Unclutter Your Life" (which is a great book), but when I was flipping through this book on hypersensitivity, I really kept thinking "wow! finally there is some information about how I feel!"

So since I'm a psych major, I was thinking maybe that ADHD *IS* a hypersensitivity... there have been a lot of people who describe ADHDers as having an overactive reaction to stimulus... which goes hand in hand with my theory that perhaps our brains process things (or try to process information) too fast or by the "shortcut/survival" pathways and this results in the reaction.

I know that I am sensitive to audio and visual stimulation... if I'm reading a book and something crosses my visual field (that is moving object), my eyes automatically look at it... I can't read if there are people having a conversation right close to me... so forget reading on the bus unless I have music to listen to.

Interesting topic though.

I will eventually but the book mentioned above and let you all know about it.

I was dx'd with hypersensitivity by my ADD psych. He suspected it and spent our first 1 1/2 hour appt. testing me for it. The next appt. was when the ADD testing started.

Clothing - I have to cut all tags out, hate socks, HATE bras, fabric must be soft if I can stand to wear it all day. I can dress nice in uncomfortable clothes for going places, but the minute I come home, it comes off.

Light - Doc said it added to the amount of overstimulation coming into my brain. He tested extensively to find the hue that would block out the most irritants (for me it was gray, which he said added to the proof of 'severe' hypersensitivity). He suggested wearing gray tinted sunglasses inside and out. I don't though....cause that's not very purdy...and also, looking through gray all day added to my depression.

Odors - I am the ONLY one with a sense of smell in my house, I swear! They all say I smell phantom smells but I tell you, there's some AWFUL odors lingering among us! Also, the stronger the smell of bananas or apples, the physically sicker I get. Actually ill (no details needed). I can't eat them either, for same reason.

Food - Picky. Picky. Picky. I'm even more finicky over texture than taste. I CANNOT eat meat fat or canned spinach for instance. Actually, people have said I'm picky,picky,picky, but it's only a few things that I cannot eat. But, boy, can I NOT eat them! Gag like a baby eating liver baby food. LOL

Color - This one wasn't listed as an option to choose, but I have a great sensitivity to some colors. Some shades of mauve literally turn my stomach, hurt my head, and I have to look away.

Sounds - I'm one of those people that can hear the high pitched buzz of tv and monitor tubes when they're off. My Dad could too.

Let's keep in mind though, that some of sensitivities are shared by all people - itchy wool, high pitched whines, slime, sticky hands, offensive smells ( well actually, some people like the smell of gasoline, I HATE it), and everyone has a food they hate I think.

i posted this somewhere else, but can't remember where....

anyhow, i think i have a sensitivity to noise. certain noise, that is. if it's a band jamming, a concert, a cd blasting (one i LIKE), or me and the kids playing our guitars and piano, i'm good with it.

but i can't stand loud tv (really don't watch tv, but my kids do), i feel like the kids are constantly talking louder than they apparently are, because no one else notices this.....and my 5 year old....god bless her.....but that girl has the highest pitched voice i have ever heard, and seeing as how it is constantly in motion either talking or singing her heart out (why oh why did i pass on my love of singing) i feel at times as though spontaneous combustion is just around the corner!!!!

other than that, my greatest sensitivity involves a strong aversion to closed-minded, judgmental, dishonest, know-it-all human beings. truly, they make me ill.....does that count????

free, I think we were seperated at birth. I am always saying Husssssh to my husband, cause even when hes not emotional, he has a powerful voice, and of course my daughter takes after him. I find I am always "running away" from the major hub of activity, like my living room, cause I cant take the TV, the talking and the BREATHING! I do think ADD and hypersensitivity are barely inseperable, cause its lack of a sensory filter of sorts right? I smell smells in the carpet, fridge, sky ect my husband looks at me like Im nuts. He said my first day back from my first psyc appt. "what did she say about you hearing like a German Shepard??" Its good, cause I see/notice emotions and beauty everywhere, its bad, cause I see everything else. Oddly meds have only helped minimally with this aspect of ADD.

I was searching google trying to find out what could be causing all my hypersensitivity issues and came across this thread and was hoping someone might be able to offer advice.
I'm pretty sure I don't have ADD, never tested, but I don't think that's the issue, but these symptoms I have include real sensitivity to touch, tastes, smells, etc.
The worst one right now is that I have intermittant problems touching paper products. It makes my palms sweaty thinking about it and touching paper sometimes and it's driving me crazy. It also makes it hard to get things done, even though I try to ignore the sensation. There are other times, when touching anything makes me cringe and I have to just keep my hands fisted up
As far as smells go, citrus makes me sick, cigarette smoke is horrible, I can smell it from the other side of a building, my sense of smell is really sensitive.
I try and take vitamins but have issues swallowing the pills. I have to take a break inbetween them and sometimes can't even finish taking them.
Humming, whistling, etc drives me insane as do people that fidget.

Are there hypersensitivity disorders, are these other symptoms. Can anyone shed light on the subject?
Thanks for listening!

i kind of think i act like a pigeon sometimes. ): you know how you can walk up behind a pigeon who is just doing his own pigeon thing and he'll jump like he's very startled?

that's me. i startle very easily and i sense other people's movements very easily. as well as EXTREMELY sensitive hearing (almost maddening) and a real problem with people touching me or touching anything unpleasant.


one noise that drives me insane is when someone wipes chalk off a blackboard. i swear i can FEEL it and HEAR it. i nearly want to run out of the room.

Light light light. hurts my eyes, even the reflection off of a piece of shiny paper in a darkened room. owwie. Smell. I am sensitive to the point of being able to detect all the ingredients in a meal from two rooms away. Sound. I hear and startle to faint sounds alot. Touch. I hate when people touch me unless im expecting it. It makes my skin crawl. I get claustrophobic in crowds. I get hot and cold for no reason. hot then cold then hot then cold. I have to wear earplugs to sleep or I cant sleep because of the noise. Im not that sensitive to clothing and tags for some reason or grease or dirt. I feel more comfortable with a film of dirt on me for some reason. I feel exposed when I clean myself all over. not to mention really dry skin that peels. Maybe the wrong soap?

I'm sensitive to all the above, especially the smells. I'm not allergic to most perfumes, though a lot of scented soap and moisturizers do give me a rash sometimes. But I have to get scent free antiperspirant, moisturizers, and I keep my perfume-wearing to a minimum, maybe if I'm going out one evening or something. It's having to smell the scent everywhere I go of the antiperspirant or moisturizer, it keeps me awake at night too. Even scents that aren't too strong, eventually I'll start getting really really sick of them.

My boyfriend wears too much Old Spice High Endurance deoderant, I think it might be my fault, I used to tell him how much I loved how he smelled, and I did at first. But now it's driving me crazy and not in a good way.

My skin is very sensitive to certain moisturizers and soaps, and it gets dry very easily, which feels almost unbearable, I can't think of much else when my skin is dry.

OH just wondering, this is a big one for me. I absolutely CANNOT tolerate the sound of people chewing!!!!

I am okay with the sound of ppl chewing crunchy things, but when you can hear the gooey noises that accompany it, it drives me crazy. I can't eat with other people in silence, there has to be conversation.

I'm also very sensitive to music, even background muzak that they play in the shopping malls, it's not that I like any of it particularly but I can still lose my focus because of it.

Since I was diagnosed on February 1- just a couple of weeks now, it only took me about two days to realize that there is so much more about me that I feel like has to be a part of ADD. I cannot stand noises that other people make, I can be just as loud as them all I want to, but the way my mother sounded when eating her cereal in the morning is the first thing I remember just making me bananas. Now it's so much more, especially since I have 3 kids.
I was going to ask my shrink when I went back to see him if this was also part of it. I've been told a lot that there's something wrong with my ears- just by the people whose noises are irritating me repeatedly. I knew I wasn't like other people, but my ears themselves are "normal". Same thing with my eyes, can't stand too much light, I literally feel as though the sun follows me around all day just trying to get in my eyes. I can't tell you how many pairs of $2.00 sunglasses I go through in a year.
I also get very cold easily. This is not so exagerated as the sensitivity to sounds and light.

I'm just so thrilled to know where this comes from.
My son, who is ADHD has never liked to have tags in his clothes. This started around age 4. At Christmas, I felt so bad for him because his grandmother bought him some "nice" clothes- they were dressy-like for church. He acted miserable in them, her feelings got hurt, so his Dad, who does not understand ADHD at all- asked him, "What's wrong!?" My son said the clothes, "hurt". Dad got really upset, like he thought my son was trying to be mean to grandma. I also just bought him a pair of pants that he really likes, but they are very stiff. He told me after a couple of wears that he will just start wearing shorts under them. He thought of that all on his own, I've never discussed sensitivity to touch with him at all.
I remember deciding that I did not like turtle necks or necklaces when I was about 3 or 4.

Oh yeah, I forgot earlier that about sounds- I can hear some kind of electronic sound . i remember in elementary school, TV's and computers were a rare treat. I heard the high pitch electronic sound, but didn't see anything. There was a woman next door who had a TV turned on, but the volume down, or off. I do that a lot. Nobody else hears a lot of the things I do.
And, in a room full of computers, electronics, etcetera, like at the college computer lab-theres a smell that almost gives me a headache
And about 6 months ago a Our garage door was open, I saw a mouse in the back of the garage. i've never seen one here before or since- I feel like he just came in ffor a visit. But, here I go freaking out, thinking there's probably babies running all over my house, setc and I put out some poison. About a month later, I started smelling something similar to a dead mouse. Noone else in my house can smell it, it is about to driive me insane, because I still smell it every now and then. No one else has smelled what I am smelling, they will say, yes I smell something, but it is because the trash is full, etc. That's not what I'm smelling. I feel embarassed, because I feel like its a dead mouse somewhere, but my brothers says that even if it were, the smell would be gone by now- 6 months later. I keep invisioning that there are just a nest of them inside my walls and that is why the smell is lasting forever. I don't know if it really is a smell from a mouse or if I am thinking its a mouse smell becasue I saw one. Anyway, it bothers me.
I know when I was pregnant thie last time, the doctors told me that a womans brain actually shrinks during pregnancy, and I might be real forgetful, not to worry about it. Also, pregnancy causes the sense of smell to become stronger. It is natures way of keeping us from eating spoiled food, etc. But these were things I'd always experienced.

I think the absolute worst thing I can hear nowadays is plastic food wrappers, like potato chip bags, cracker wrappers, even grocery bags- rattling around. It doesn't matter if the person is trying to be quiet- that just seems to make it last forever. I remember a similar annoyance when I was a child. My grandmother would tear paper grocery bags in pieces every morning, as I slept about 5 feet away, in order to start a fire in our woodstove. This noise made me soooo upset- and I knew she had to do it, but I felt like if she knew how bad that bothered me and still did it, that hse must be just being hateful to get me out of bed. I woke up angry quite a bit over that.

I have always known that sounds, lights, temperature, etc. bothered me so much more than other people. When we read Edgar Allen Poe in highschool, I loved the story- I think it was the "fall of the house of usher"- where the main character was a genius, but everything bothered him so much. He was hypersensitive. Therefore, I decided it was just that a part of being smarter than most. I seriously thought it was a way to "even out" the humans... but I always envied the "regulars" because they didn't have any worries it seemed to me.
I also decided that I didn't have any more room in my brain for patience, etc. because no matter how badly I wanted to have proper social skills, they just wouldn't come to me.

I choose not to wear underclothes, pantyhose,watch or jewelry. I prefer no shoes, hair down gets on my nerves, I keep putting it behind my ears.

The only taste that I know of that bothers me is when I go to a restaurant and order sweet iced tea- that's the most common way we have tea here where I live- I'll ask ,"When was it made?" It tastes like it is moldy if it is more than I'm guessing a day old. Moldy is the best way I can describe it. I cannot believe that hte people I am with are actually drinking it- I have to send it back, almost call the waitress a liar, and watch everyone else drink it. GROSS!!!!

im hyper sensetive to (A) being touched and (B) massive sensetive to light. Not sure why but im the only person (actualy, blame NHS and ASD but ive never looked into it deep anough to find root cause, on list of things to read up on) i know who wares sun glasses in the rain my eyes are that frikin sensetive. They never dilate together, always seperatly. To make matters worse i sait all day in a dark room infront of a lbright comp screen or a room full of halogen lights infront of a bright comp screen. The result, my eyes are oftern blood shot and hurt slightly because they dont react very quick. Oh yeah, and an offshoot, i have to realy try to fucus more than 7in infront of me because im never looking any futher than that 8hours a day, so my eyes hate focusing distance. Just a rant mostly, the touched thing is basicaly an issue for loads of reasons and im not in the mood to write a long post about why. But yeah, my eyes annoy me to no end.

Oh yeah, background noise is also an odd one for me. I cant work in silence at all, there has to be a radio or even whit noise, just not silence, i hate silence, i get distracted by my thaughts to much. When there is background noise though, be it music, a TV or just white noise (from my TV thats broken and does not tune to any channels) i get distracted by that as well. Kind of annoying but i get distracted by background noise less than i get distracted in silence. Im a cronic insominac too and oftern go to sleep with my radio on. Not realy listening to the music but i sleep better with it on, odd as but meh. My sterio has a "sleep" function so it turnes itself off after like 30mins or whatever i set it to and it has an alarm which i use to wake me in the mornings so i have to leave it plugged in over night. If my parents found out though theyd go mad at me for "using electricity".

I'm sensitive to:
-Scratchy or itchy clothing, as in wool
-Tags on clothing
-Restrictive clothing around my neck (crew neck tops/ too tight turtlenecks)
-Certain smells
-Florescent lighting (it actually causes a glare, so I can't read text)
-Certain sounds, as in leafblowers, vacuum cleaners, snowblowers, wood chippers, saws, loud humming of computer modem, loud clock ticking
-Multiple forms of external stimulation while trying to concentrate on a task (people standing close, talking loudly, phone ringing, multiple requests at the same time)
-Reflective glare on windshield during rainfall
-Extreme cold (I can handle heat, though)
-Dead silence unless I'm trying to sleep, then I absolutely have to have it

Nova

Smells. We have 4 cats and one of them, a big old Maine Coon cat, never learned to cover up his mess when he uses the cat-box. The box is way down the hall way from our bedroom, but in the middle of the night he will do his business and the smell will wake me from a dead sleep. Sometimes I can just put my head under the covers for a while until it dissipates, but more often than not, I have to get out of bed, go cover it up, and then try to get back to sleep. My wife sleeps right through it and thinks I am nuts. I am, of course, but I still wish I could teach that dang old cat some manners.:eek:

My pants have to cover my ankles even when I am sitting. And I prefer my shirts either cover my wrists, or are above my elbow. I hate 3/4 length sleeves and shirts that are too short on the wrists.

I cant stand my skin when it has little bumps or pimples on it. It needs to be smooth or I freak out until I pick it or scrape it off.

I can only see clearly when it is sunny out, but cant stand it when it is so bright.

I prefer alot of external noises. I cant sleep at night unless my tv is on low volume and the bathroom fan is running.

I dont wake up when my husband walks around in the middle of the night, or when the dogs bark.....but my cats bell on his collar will wake me or when my little dogs walk into the bathroom to get a drink of water, their toes clicking on the floor wake me.

for some reason i cannot stand the texture of pencils or crayons. They feel weird and i hate writing with them, theres some sort of scrathing noise that just gives me chills, i haven't used either since i was 7.

In addition to being extremely sensitive to most everything but food textures, I'm extremely sensitive to overhead lights, sunlight, and fluorescent lights.

I dislike:

being touched by most people
synthetic fabrics
sharp, high-pitched noises
sharp, repeating noises
vacum cleaners, leaf blowers, etc
some food textures (like avacado and dried tomatoes)... avacado tastes yummy.. but the texture is nasty.
I used to hate the sound of phones a lot, but they don't bother me so much anymore.
the scent of hummus makes me gag
some colognes and some perfumes are really nasty to me.
some natural scents that people have are unpleasant.
strobe lights, bright flashing lights, etc.
bright lights in general can be annoying
the scent of some flowering plants seems overwhelming.
there is a cycad (tree fern) at work that has a scent that causes me to experience a mild feeling of being annoyed.... when it is flowering. :eek:

I like coffee.. the scent of it is so yummy.
I like the feel of some fabric textures.
I like touching things that have interesting textures.

I just started reading this book. Has anyone else read it and been working on any of its suggestions for coping with the different things it discusses?
I'm a newbie on this site and I have to say that it makes me feel so much better about myself, knowing that there are lots of other people who struggle with the same kinds of "slowness", sensitivities, confusion, and other ADD/ADHD stuff that I experience on a daily business. Now I've found this book and I'm feeling the burden I've been carrying around for so long lighten just a little bit more. I'm not so different after all! :D

My Mom sent me that book several years ago but I've never read it -- since you seem to like it so much, maybe I ought to find it and give it a look.

Scattered

Reading this forum I am fascinated by all the combiinations and variations of sensitivity that people suffer, and also count myself lucky that I don't have them all.

My overwhelming sensitivity has always been noise. Its come close to ruining my life at times. I've moved almost 15 times in as many years trying to find somewhere thats quiet at night so I can sleep, but invariably you can always hear something. Earplugs and white noise from the radio do help but its been a real nightmare for as long as I can remember.

My question is this: Has anyone ever found their sensitivity funny?

While noise always keeps awake at night there are noises during the day that make me laugh uncontrollably. People think I'm crazy, the sound of an electronic phone ringing off pitch if its been damaged maybe. Or someone trying to over-stuff an already full bin (trash can) which might make the contents starting squeaking. I find that hilarious. Anything that makes inanimate objects seem like they have a personality I get a great laugh out of.

I love music obviously and listening to different peoples accents and intonation is fascinating, however I would probably trade some of it to able to "switch off" the unwanted noise hell.

The itchy/scratchy annoying clothes thing I had big problems with as a kid - I used to cut holes in clothes I didn't like - obviously my parents were infuriated and thought I was mad.

markmark

If you have not had your hearing checked , you should go to an audiologist and get tested. There are a number of hearing problems that can lead to hyperacousus (hypersensitivity to sound). It can be debilitating if you let it get out of hand. See your doc...

As far as funny hypersensitivities go...

My hypersensitivities affect all the senses, but only one sense at a time. The strongest is sound. Sound owns me at all times. Sight and touch are a lot lesser than my sensitivity to sound, but can be severe at times. Sensitivity to scent seems to be less frequent, and hypersensitivity to taste seems to be kind of rare for me.

Yes. I am often amused by little "tweaks" that my senses give me. My continual war with things that squeak is a source of amusement. I keep a can of spray silicone grease handy, and I relentlessly chase down annoying squeaks and rattles...

Another thing that makes me laugh sometimes is the fact that I sometimes have spatial dislocation of sound. (a feature of my damaged hearing)

One particular incident involved a phone 20 feet away and to my left ringing and my ears were telling me that it was about 3 feet in front of me , slightly to my right ... in midair... I instinctively reached to grab for a phone that was not there!

OR talking with someone in a 7th floor office and conversation sounds in the hallway sounded as though they were coming from outside the window behind me (300 feet above ground!).

It can be very disorienting when a sound seems to come from everywhere or it seems to move from one place to another. Someitimes it is amusing. Usually it is annoying.

I sometimes find certain sounds or textures fascinating. I like my music a little loud and sometiime sounds of certain frequencies will surprise me... and can literally startle me enough to make me jump. If I am very sensitive I won't listen to music as it will simply make things worse even if I like the music I am listening to.

The texture of paper napkins is sometimes so funny to my sense of touch at times. I can feel the individual fibers sticking up and it tickles my fingertips when I rub a napkin.

Those braille signs in elevators feel really neat when I am hypersensitive.

Hypersensitive sense of taste is always nice to me. Some food and beverages are very yummy at those times.


Me :D




Reading this forum I am fascinated by all the combiinations and variations of sensitivity that people suffer, and also count myself lucky that I don't have them all.

My overwhelming sensitivity has always been noise. Its come close to ruining my life at times. I've moved almost 15 times in as many years trying to find somewhere thats quiet at night so I can sleep, but invariably you can always hear something. Earplugs and white noise from the radio do help but its been a real nightmare for as long as I can remember.

My question is this: Has anyone ever found their sensitivity funny?

While noise always keeps awake at night there are noises during the day that make me laugh uncontrollably. People think I'm crazy, the sound of an electronic phone ringing off pitch if its been damaged maybe. Or someone trying to over-stuff an already full bin (trash can) which might make the contents starting squeaking. I find that hilarious. Anything that makes inanimate objects seem like they have a personality I get a great laugh out of.

I love music obviously and listening to different peoples accents and intonation is fascinating, however I would probably trade some of it to able to "switch off" the unwanted noise hell.

The itchy/scratchy annoying clothes thing I had big problems with as a kid - I used to cut holes in clothes I didn't like - obviously my parents were infuriated and thought I was mad.

I'm really sensitive to lights. Always make me move my eyes to the light source...except when waking up or bright lights that are painful. Those kind of lights, like turning on the lights to wake up in the morning, one of the most painful things I go through every day

This is a funny thread. I work with children with Autism who have multiple sensory dysfunctions. I often wonder WHAT they're giggling about at times. LOL

Such a wonderful feeling to have others understand this!!

Touch: I can't stand the feel of wet cotton, like t-shirt material, against my fingernails. I have to stop and wring my hands to be rid of the feeling. Denim, terry, anything else is fine. I'm also one of those that can only (with very, very few exceptions) wear raw silk, linen, or cotton. I can't stand gabradine or polyester. I don't like to be touched or for others to stand too close if I don't know them very well. It's a struggle not to shrug off and get angry with my 2yo daughter when she tries to climb my back when I'm sitting or wants to hang on me. I'm not claustrophobic, but can't wear a nightgown or have my legs trapped. I'm getting to the point where I can't stand it being too hot, which personally I believe has more to do with my body temp being 97.2. I once went into shock and couldn't stand up for five minutes when I smashed my fingers against a concrete fence.

"I have to have blankets with smooth silky like edges on them and when I'm laying in bed or sitting on it I need to play with the "edgies". I play with them using my hands or feet...and I even love moving my face along it. When I say I play with them, I fold the edges then smooth them out with my hands, I string them in and out between my fingers and/or toes."

Y'know, you're the only other person I know that does this? I let DH know with no uncertain terms when we got together that any blanket or sheet with the silk-type bias trim was mine, as I simply had to fold a part into a tiny point and proceed to run it over and around my fingers and toes and my face. :D

Sound: My hearing is hyper-sensitive. I cringe at the sound of the cardboard tray sliding back into the sleeve with the 2 1/2 doz. egg container. Too much treble on a stereo system sends me running to adjust it or out the door. Emergency vehicle sirens hurt; I've been known to pull over and cover my ears while driving. My daughter can scream at a pitch that makes my eardrums warble; my hearing distorts. I'm one of those that can hear the hum and buzz of the computer monitor and florescent lights. The few good side effects are perfect pitch, being able to tell you exactly what a sound is and where it's coming from, and a distinct memory for voices (I'm a great mimic).

I'm very light-sensitive. I have to squint before opening the door to go out or have sunglasses already on, especially in the summer. Being in bright lights all day, even in an office, will give me a headache. The flip side is being able to almost see in the dark.

There really isn't anything I won't eat, except boiled okra, and that is simply due to it's resemblence to snot.

I'm one of those that have to smell everything. The smell of new vinyl gives me a headache; I have to leave whatever it is outside until the smell is gone. I smoke (am quitting!), but can't be closed up with the smell. The cleaning and air freshener isle is a horror, and I refuse to go down it. There are only a few perfumes I can wear. Newsprint and some copy paper smells like pumpkins. I had to hunt to find a shaving gel that had almost no smell. I love the smell of Campho-Phinique and bleach. Go figure.

hmmm, bleeeaach... :D

I checked "other" so I better post.

I am sensitive to emotionally charged environments. If the emotions are going full tilt, I'm looking for an exit.

Its like other people's emotions interferes with my ability to perceive the situation and therefore interferes with my abitility to process things rationally. I don't even have to be involved in the situation. The wife and I were at a restaurant once and the people a few tables over were having a dispute. Even though we could not hear what they were arguing about, I felt my temper rise to the point that I lost my appetite and had to leave the restaurant shortly after the manager made the couple leave. Fortunately for me, my wife understands and accept that these things happen with me and can often spot the changes in me before I can.

David

For those who may be new, a few pals here allow me to embrace my "dash of autism"...I checked all but one box :o.

I voted seneitive to clothes because my son Shane can't stand tags in the back of his shirt, and also the toe of socks where the seam is. He will take his shoes off, and adjust his socks several times before it is right.
Jamie

Sorry this post is a little long but I had much to say
I know even without benefit of a doctor diagnosis that right along with my A.D D, and Dyscalculia, I definitely have Sensory Intergration Disorder. My mother has baby pictures of me exhibiting that old startle reflex long past the age when it's expected to disappear. I was and am still hyper-alert to strange and/or loud noises, even soft noises like clicking fingernails against a table or a repetitious bird call irritates me to the point of hair-pulling Distraction! :eek: Too much movement going on around me makes me as dizzy as if I was riding on those "Drunken Barrel" ride at Six Flags. :p If some-one touches me unexpectedly I jump as though electrocuted. Seams in my socks really bother me. I wear mine inside-out and stretch them so the seam sits in a less sensitive area.I hate clothing labels at the back of my neck and absolutely avoid elasticized polyester stretch pants like the black plague! Most disconcerting of all is the un-explained all-over skin itching that occurs and the unexplained ear touch sensitivity that has caused two fainting spells. :faint: :faint:
Anyone else out there have this odd ear touch sensitivity that's located not in my lobe but in the upper part of my ears? :faint: I would really like to know if I'm alone in this or are there others out there who suffer this odd hyper sensitivity? :eyebrow: My mom thinks it has to do with the nerves being to close to the surface but whatever causes it-it is really troublesome.
Thanks for any and all responses. :) ;) :D


That's me, Odd-Scrooball :) ;) :D

I Hate English peas, pickles, cranberries and Kiwi fruit! YUCK. Peas and pickle relish look like snot from a bad sinus infection; pickles like slimy warts on the nose of an old hag. kiwi fruit tastes like the smell of un-washed smelly butt and cranberries like the a-fore mentioned unmentionables stink and taste Awful and make me Gag. Ditto for broiled lamb which smells like bad morning breat