Auditory Sensitity ~ a new problem :-(

I think you may be the first person who I have ever heard say this specifically. Our son got to the point he did not want to eat with us because he couldn’t tolerate listening to people eat. He has a mixture of symptoms: ADHD, OCD, anxiety. I wish I had a solution for you, but I don’t.

Janis

I am reminded of the ADD definition that says it is not the inability to pay attention but the inability to regulate attention

The ticking of the clock is as much a draw as the teachers voice

I have mentioned that while researching ADD for my third son, it struck me that it sounded VERY much like my eldest who was functioning just fine

I gave him a 5 mg ritalin that was left over from DS3’s TOVA test. I know-something many will disagree with-but no medical tests had been done on DS3 before they gave it to him for testing and DS1 had actually been very thoroughly checked out so it seemed safe. This was 3 years ago so he would have been 16

He read for hours. Said hed never been able to do that before without getting distracted and having to go back and reread

And, I REALLY am getting to the point ;)

he made a huge deal about hearing teh overhead fan but it didnt matter. He could ‘hear’ it and still read.

This was amazing to him-I didnt ‘get it” at the time but I guess I do now

He said it was like there was cotton in his brain filtering out the wrong stuff

I dont hear the overhead fan when I read OR people chewing, KWIM

Not pushing meds-heck, ds3 has been off 2 weeks now. They have state achievement testing next week and I am very nervous

Not sure, but maybe you want to read up on sensory integration — this seems related. Get some info and see if it fits your situation.

Extreme sensory sensitivity runs in my family. You can do a lot by regulating the envirnonment in various ways. An extremely traditional school with quiet classrooms can be a relief. You can also reduce distractions form othe sensory inputs, touch and smell and light etc.

My boy’s (sometimes) extreme sound sensitivities (as well as touch) was greatly reduced by SIT. I am not saying that your child’s necessarily is the same as my child’s was. I do think perhaps you are on the right track concerning this. Consult a competant OT and see if SIT is appropriate.

My younger son’s ears are hurt by the sound of others’ pencils as they write. And overhead fans. And people’s silverware against their plates. You get the idea.

We just started an unproven therapy via his OT called “the listening program.” He listens to specially modulated CDs 30mintes twice a day. We are giving it try as the OT thought we would probably see results within three months. He can listen as he does other stuff and it’s not terrible expensive.

I’ll let you know if it does anything….

Barb

My son used to be like this also. I think it is more sensory integration than ADD for him, although it seems to me that the same symptoms could have different causes. We did do The Listening Program and it helped, I think. We did it as part of Neuronet therapy and so it is sometimes hard to sort out what did what. In any case, having a more integrated brain has made a big difference for him.

Interestingly enough, I don’t see my son distracted by noises anymore. It is only his own thoughts that distract him!!! That I think is the ADD!

Beth

Thanks for the replies! It really is such an odd thing. I guess for my son it could be sensory integration, or even possibly OCD. It’s always so hard knowing where one problem ends and another begins. These things just don’t seem so clear cut. I know for OCD (as for autism) anti-depressants are sometimes recommended.

Barb, good luck with The Listening Program! I hope it does make a difference. I’ve been planning to start my son on Fast Forword, but from what I know about the program, it probably wouldn’t help with this.

A friend of mine at work (whose son is autistic) recommended that I make the room noisier. Play music, etc… That way with competing noise he won’t focus on what’s noisy in a silent environment.

I’m not sure about the competing noise theory. If it is pleasant music that he wants to listen to, that can be OK for a certain period of time, but in general extra noise is just more sensory overload and can lead to fatigue, frustrations, headaches, etc. (I know because I’ve been there, done that). I just read an article today advising *against* “white noise” as well, because it also just makes the environment louder.
Music lessons can sometimes help the student learn to focus attention on particular sounds and turn the attention away from others. Language lessons and things like Lips might be helpful as well.

I cannot stand “white noise”. The main office building for the company I work for got a noise suppressions system which was to reduce the sound drift in the cube farm of the first and second floors and I cannot stand to be in that place, let alone have to work there.

My boy cannot stand the general hubbub that occurs in large stores like Walmart. Equally as distressing to him are buildings which have “flat” accoustics (sound absorbtion qualities to the walls), especially if they have a central air system which gives a steady “whoosh”. He cannot stand to take his fingers out of his ears under either circumstance and these remain some of the very last vestiges of his SID induced sound sensitivities.

Victoria & Dad,

Thanks for sharing what you’ve heard and experienced with white noise. Maybe we’ll try and come up with some other SI exercises. I have the email of an OT who I recently met at a seminar, maybe she’ll have a useful suggestion. Otherwise, hopefully this is one of those problems that will eventually fade away.

I wonder if music lessons may have created this problem?A few months ago we moved and in a new house my son plays piano ALL the time. (sadly, I think he misses the boys from our old neighborhood and instead of playing with other kids he’s filling his time with piano — I do drive him over to see his old friends and beg kids to come to our current house, but it’s not the same as having a large group of kids on a cul-de-sac that are always knocking on your door wanting to play).

He now plays piano at least 3-4 times a day and sometimes an hour or more each time. He’s always been very diligent about practicing, but never this often. Maybe all of this music is making him more sensitive to noise?

BTW, I’d LOVE to sign him up for language lessons. He doesn’t need LIPS, but I think after Fastforword I may try to get him with a good language therapist. I’m beginning to realize that his difficulties with language are more than mild. I just hope I’m not too late.

HI Laura,

I’m sure your son, like so many of ours, is sensitive in ways we don’t always anticipate. But maybe this is just a phase. After doing vision therapy, but son developed eye tics. Several of our doctors suggested that the therapy may have triggered an ocular sensitivity which has since tapered off. I think our kids are just prone to these things.

My gut says you should stay the course with the therapies you are persuing and try to ignore this as much as possible. Encourage him to ignore it if he can and try to all be as “normal” as possible. I know my anxious son will hold onto new habits (compulsions??) if we pay too much attention to them.

He’s also a preteen right? I remember finding everything my parents did particuarly annoying at that age, including the sounds they made eating etc. Just a thought that some normal preteen emotions could be enhancing his sensitivity.

Hi Karen,

I think you’re right. These little things have a way of starting up and thankfully they do seem to wind down eventually. That’s very good advice about trying to treat these things as “normal” and not making a big deal out of this type of thing. I really need to live by this thought.

I did contact that OT and her suggestion was ear plugs or headphones (apparently this is something they do with kids who have noise sensitivity in the classroom). I haven’t done this, but instead I decided to play classical music. It did seem to help and he wasn’t bothered by it.

So far my son really hasn’t shown signs of preteen angst. He’s usually at least a year or two behind in these things. And thank goodness there are at least one or two other boys in the same boat!

My ds10 is sensitive to sound also; only recently has started tolerating the radio on while in the car. And for years church was an issue because of the choir—high pitched things seem to bother him more. But he also has an issue with smells, and is rabid about “please don’t breathe on me”. He also has a very acute sense of smell. I’m hoping this will fade the same way the sound issue has.