| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/10/2008 9:20:31 PM | Not really sure where this topic could fit in so I'm putting it in Off Topic. A friend of mine has perfect pitch and told me that certain sounds or pitches can send him into sensory overload. It got me thinking of things in my life and things that I react strangely too. There are certain sounds, like tonight the kids at family dinner were harping on the wind chime so all these weird sounds were coming from it and I found myself cringing and clutching my ears. Other sounds include crunching of styrofoam, walking on crunchy snow, nails on a chalkboard (who doesn't), tires screeching...all just send me into cringes. I had some hearing loss as a child due to a serious illness (long term side effect) and I can not hear certain pitches - so I wonder if this is all related.
I also wonder how common this condition is. As a musician I am exposed to different music and sounds all the time but rarely seem to react to music the way I do to these other sounds. Anyone else have these kinds of experiences with different pitches or sensory overload that makes you just want to cringe? Seizures are possible from this condition and is apparently related to autism which I read on the net tonight.
Interested in sparking some discussion on this subject... | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/10/2008 10:37:45 PM | I saw a show on the learning channel which described how babies main sense is hearing so taking them to a loud environment ie: grocery store, theme park etc. is really stressfull for them. I noticed with my two as infants in these environments they automatically fell asleep and I'm wondering now if it was a way to protect their senses from overload.
Personally as a teen I thrived in noisy environments and now I really need some quiet, alone time at some point in the day and I don't like more than 3 people trying to tell me something at the same time.
Certain noises that really irritate me I can trace back to my childhood experiences that weren't so pleasant. I just recently realized this when the sound of something was bugging me with no explanation. I think it is cell memory on my nervous system which brought this up.
There are sounds that resonate well with an individual's energy...sounds which help to open chakras, create a trance state, cause the aura to vibrate at a higher frequency...so possibly the sounds which are irritants do the opposite. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/11/2008 4:10:15 AM | Well...no, this really doesn't happen to me with the exception of the chalkboard thing and sometimes the cicadas that are out here will drive me bonkers. However....a lot of my guy friends are really into car stereo systems. I'm talking...their vehicles are full of custom speaker sets and usually their cars will only hold two people b/c the backseat has been converted. Anyho....sometimes I'll hop in their car to hear what they have going on and once the bass is hitting so hard, sometimes I feel like I'm actually going to throw up. I guess because the pressure from the bass is just 'pressing' on me so hard. I've asked a few of them if it happens to them too, but they've all said no....but I've thought maybe it was because they are bigger than me. Hmmmm....
~Welder's Girl~ | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/11/2008 5:42:56 AM | About 10% of people are HIGHLY annoyed by shrill whistling noises . Most of these 10% are women.
When hearing it, it can produce a rage reflex in which some would LITERALLY want to attack or even kill the whistler -- and some have.
I know of a lot of women who have sat in a cube at work 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 30 years, and listened to someone else whistle every breath they drew. If you think they were really "tuning it out" you are wrong. It often produces rage that has to be directed elsewhere, because they are powerless to shut them up. I have even seen people get uclers or have hair fall out from the stress of putting up with it over time.
I have no idea why TV commercials put whistling noises in ads. When that goes on with 1 sponser, i just mute ALL the TV commercials.
So, yes, there are certain noises that are hard for some to tolerate. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/11/2008 7:59:07 AM | Thanks for the responses. I just find it funny as a musician, only certain sounds and pitches really bother me.
TradurGurl - interesting tidbit about whistling noises causing rage. Other sounds that irritate me are the sounds of a bouncing basket ball especially on cement. Ugh... | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/11/2008 2:10:17 PM | | Bagpipes! Stop the bagpipes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | |
|
| |
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/11/2008 6:58:42 PM | they say that a gentleman is a man who can play bagpipes, yet refrains from doing so.
noise really bothers me, and i live in an incredibly noisy town. we have constant sirens and over 90 freight trains every day.
smells can get to me too, particulary synthetic fragrances used in cleaning products. the smell of dogs makes me want to vomit. and i can't stand the smell of standing water.
npr recently had a story about a rare sensory disorder where people can 'see' colors when looking at a number or hearing different musical notes. somehow the senses get 'crossfired' more or less and they see things normally heard. i don't think i could stand that. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/11/2008 8:19:45 PM | | juniper - I am the same way. It's just developed in this past year or so. I've always been a migraine sufferer but strong cleaning smells like bleach make me sick and cause instant migraines. Excessive noise, like right now, there are construction trucks outside that have been beeping for the last hour and it's driving me nuts. Hospitals kill me too. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/12/2008 7:36:24 AM | | The fire alarms at the dorms in college always made me very unsteady & gave me a splitting headache to boot...so yes, I suppose that qualifies as sensory overload :) | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/12/2008 7:40:22 AM | juniper, that wouldn't have been about the documentary about the Human Calculator (English autistic guy), was it?
He claimed he was able to do all sorts of complex numerical calculations by "seeing" his way through a landscape of numbers. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/12/2008 9:16:56 AM | I have exceptionally good pitch, though I won't say perfect, and it doens't mean I sing perfectly on pitch, but I do know when I don't quite hit the notes...
Watching American Idol auditions kills me. I just can't do it. Listening to amatuer Kareoke is also quite often painful. I just tense all up when enduring it.
For the most part, I'm fine with other noises. I think it's just the knowing what note is to be hit, and hearing anything else (or rather anything unharmonic to original/intended note) just pains me... | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/12/2008 9:25:02 AM | Girlygirl - agreed but the auditions are amusing than they are good...better for a laugh.
This is part of the reason why even as a musician, I'm a terrible singer. Because I can't hear certain pitches (my hearing is good otherwise), I can't sing in tune and I'm soprano lol...can be really frustrating at best of times. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/12/2008 4:16:18 PM | Is it really a matter of sensory overload, or is it just a matter of being annoyed by a sound? Obviously "sensory overload" sounds much more impressive, but I doubt it would accurately describe what he is experiencing.
Marine Corps Recon teams sometimes use sensory overload sessions to increase coordination in their troops. It allows them to focus on multiple senses at once to sharpen their perception and become more aware of their surroundings.
Sensory overload of one of the 5 senses can cause malfunctions in the remainder of the senses. For instance, if overload of your sense of hearing can result in blurred visions, or an overload of taste can result in a temporary lack of smell.
There is also sensory overload of multiple senses that can lead to fatigue.
Ask your friend if he has ever experienced anything like this. If he says it's more of a nauseous or dizzy feeling caused by the sound or even temporary lack of hearing, then that could be an entirely different issue known as Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/12/2008 5:52:03 PM |
juniper, that wouldn't have been about the documentary about the Human Calculator (English autistic guy), was it?
He claimed he was able to do all sorts of complex numerical calculations by "seeing" his way through a landscape of numbers.
no. i forget the name of the condition, but people 'see' colors when dealing with numbers and letters. each number or letter has a color for them. one woman recalled thinking, as a child, that everyone had this experience. when she realized other people didn't, she thought she was crazy. she can 'see' music as well.
wish i could remember more about it. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 8/14/2008 4:34:10 AM | Junipermoon,
The condition you are referring to is called Synethesia. It's caused by functioning magnetic resonance imaging of the brain when the particular stimulus is detected. It can cause someone to see colors when they hear sounds or look at letters and/or numbers.
But this is also not considered sensory overload. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 11/9/2008 8:05:35 PM | I have a wierd thing that has never been explained to me about my hearing. When I was a kid, and when I worked at a University as a custodian, I could walk past a classroom and know if the TV was on, even though the screen was dark because of the imput status. My parents, and co-workers even went through the trouble of testing me on the fact, to their surprise. Even with the door closed!! I can hear the super high squeel that is made by the high voltage of I assume,, or the picture tube or some other electrical component. To me, it is a super loud screaming noise I cannot ignore and will give me a severe headache if I stay around the noise too long. Covering my ears has no affect either. I do have to be careful about electronics and TV's I buy for that reason. I have come across some TV's I cannot even watch because of this. I wonder if there is such a thing as E.S.H.?? like E.S.P.? Extra Sensory Hearing? This to me is absolutely a sensory overload.
I do not see colors,,,,, or letters,,,,, or numbers,,, just for the record...  | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 11/9/2008 11:30:31 PM | | Two things that really paralyze me when i hear them is Styrofoam and this paper that our fish and chip get wrapped in,it sound squeaky and weird and is making me shiver as i think of it. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 11/10/2008 12:04:17 AM |
But this is also not considered sensory overload. Unless you are affected by it... | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 11/10/2008 8:39:57 AM | The sounds that drive me totally insane are the sounds of someone smacking their mouth while chewing... Oooh, gads!
Also if someone sucks their teeth.
Hey! Maybe I have an issue with the mouth....hmmmmm  | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 11/10/2008 9:26:46 AM | Fingernails on blackboard don't bother me, but screeching SO does.
Maybe that's why I'm single...?
I had my hearing tested as a young adult: I was hearing sounds in the 22 KHz range, considerably higher than normal. I could hear TVs and ultrasonic motion detectors giving off horrible ultrasonic squeals.
It goes away as you lose hearing over time, especially if you listen to loud sounds. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 11/10/2008 9:59:34 AM |
I can hear the super high squeel that is made by the high voltage of I assume,, or the picture tube or some other electrical component
Exactly the same thing happens to me, but for me, it also includes radios, cd players, and high voltage electric transformers. If I expose myself to electronics too long, it triggers major headaches and my eyes become photo sensitive.
In an office environment where background music is played all day, I become totally exhausted from trying to function. Fortunately, I can counterbalance the high squeel by using a "white" noise that has a lot of base. | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 11/7/2009 2:39:33 AM | I don't like a lot of noise. For me, it's people talking, loudly, yak yak yak...constantly. Especially people who talk, loudly, on their cell phones on the bus or tram or subway, anywhere and everywhere.
This thread made me think of synethesia: a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color.
It's when you see a color when hearing certain sounds. Anyone ever experienced this or have any experience of knowing someone who did? | |
|
| Sensory Overload
Posted: 11/7/2009 6:51:14 AM | Certain notes or keys do have emotional properties, me thinks. You can't be depressed at the sound of a G chord, and it's kind of hard to be happy in an Em-Am progression. And everyone has that one lick that gives them goosebumps.
So a note that drives you crazy? Makes sense to me. Pick up a guitar, hit a high note, and bend the shit out of it. See how many people run from the room screaming, no matter how low you turn down the amp. | |
|
Home
login 
