Hi. Thank you all for being here. I don't know for sure if SPD is what I have going on but the testing so far seems to be leaning in that direction. I have hyperacousis and other sensory problems; which have been increasing in intensity and duration as I get older. I am 38.
I don't know what the results are going to say. I have had so many different "diagnosis" as to why I react the way I do that I am not sure how much I will believe them if they tell me it is SPD. It does make sense though for feeling like my wires are crossed when it comes to sensations.
I hope that I can learn some skills that can help me. Everything I read online is for children but does not talk about how to deal with ... what I call ... short circuiting ... when everything is too much ... over stimulation ...
TK
Hi 'TK'. I am unofficially SPD too. I'm curious what you mean by short circuiting and what does that look like? I'm not very far into my research so I'm not sure what hyperacousis means. The sensory issues are harder to diagnose because they almost border on psychology as opposed to mere physiology/biology.
LilRomanianGurl7,
I hope that you are able to find out what is going on so you can know how to get help.
The easiest way to explain hyperacousis is sound sensitivity. My hearing is better than normal but the sound actually hurts. Sounds that people hear normal are amplified for me. For me there are certain pitches that literally make me physically ill (headache/vomit). For example, some female voices and the hum from air condition at supermarkets. I tried to buy some headphones that blocked out loud noises and it helped but as soon as I took them off my reactions were worse. I decided to go to an audiologist to see if there was anything that could be done to help me. I thought maybe it was mental because that was what doctors told me. But after testing me she showed me the numbers and described all of the situations that would be difficult me to hear. Then she started asking other sensory questions and ... the tears started coming because I never talk about how I feel.
I felt like I was going crazy and doctors were pretty much telling me that it is in my head and trying to put me back on antisiezure/antidepressant/ antianxiety/moodstabilizers.
The person who is doing my testing is a psychologist who is doing a neuropsychological battery. She screens for Autism Spectrum Disorders and Sensory Processing Disorders in children and adults. The audiologist referred me to her. She said she is pretty sure it is SPD but cant tell me definite until she looks at the test results. I think it is closely related to psychological things just because we don't understand the brain enough to know that everything is connected both biological and physiological. If our brain tells our organs how to work then it has to be related. The problem is when they it is all one organ or another and don't consider that it our brain is part of our body too. Not just what they call "psychology". ... okay I am babbling loosing focus
I have to come back and answer the other part about short circuit later because I am settling down from having an episode and don't want to restart it with everything that comes with typing here.
TK
LilRomanianGurl7,
Sorry for having to write you at two different times.
How to describe short circuit? It is like someone dropped all of my senses in a cooking pot let it boil so they are hopping all over the place and then dropped them back in my body but did it without telling me. When one sense is disturbed then they all react and they are intense. Light makes my ears ring, ears ringing makes my skin crawl, skin crawl makes me dizzy, being dizzy makes me confused, confusion makes it hard to talk, not being able to talk makes me agitated, and then I am painfully aware of any and everything around me. Scents, sounds, textures, sights and I can't figure out how to ask for help because there isn't one thing that I can say that will help me and the last thing I want is someone to touch me. Hearing and feeling my own voice adds to the chaos and can be painful sometimes. The only thing that I can control is my voice. Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't.
When I am not short circuiting I am dealing only with one or two senses which are usually sight and sound. Most of the time something triggers a high reaction in one of these and the rest of my senses react. Last week I saw corrosion on my sink and seeing the smooth shine metal next to this little place was awful AND i made the mistake of touching it. Too embarrassed to say my whole reaction but I am glad I was home - not a pretty sight! I hadn't had a melt down like that in a long time. Still recovering.
I have to do something to overpower the experience I am having. Almost like shocking one sense to be the one to reset the rest. It is the only way to get some handle on reality. I have recently allowed myself to have a deep chest moan in public and that helps me calm down enough to get done what I need to get done. Feels sorta weird because people look at me but it is a lot better for them to see that than the meltdown I had last week. Even my husband was at a loss of how to help me and he saw the whole thing.
I hope that makes sense. I haven't ever typed out what that feels like. There are times I won't talk about what I saw because I start to get the sensation again. I could at least type it and not say it ... I had to tell the dr doing the testing the week it happened and got all worked up trying to talk about it without telling her.
Now that I am thinking about it ... it was two weeks ago .... grrrr ... that is what i mean by the episodes are lasting longer ... normally I would be a lot better by now ... I am actually looking forward to working with the OT if she can help me. All of my coping tools are not working they way they used to.
TK
Hi Written.Lady
I have not been diagnosed with SPD as of yet. I am 30yrs old and sensitive to sound as well. I have to wear earplugs to anywhere there is going to be a crowd or loud noises. Sometimes I catch myself wearing earplugs to go out to eat. The older I am getting the more I am finding out about myself and the more sensitive I am getting to my surroundings. (IF that makes any sense).....I appreciate your willingness to come forward and talk about your issues. I can relate to some to a certain degree. Hopefully we can get to know each other since it looks like we are going through the same thing. I am hoping to start getting tested soon waiting on a referral from my doctor.