I can't express how grateful I am to have found this forum! it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who has to deal with these issues.

Anyway, I have what I guess can be called severe auditory defensiveness. Certain sounds and tones of voice can send shocks of pain up my spine. For some reason, the effect is worse when the source of said noise is right behind me. When my boyfriend and I cuddle, I have to be on the outside (the "big spoon," I guess), because otherwise he can't talk without me wanting to crawl out of my skin.

I prefer to sit in the back seat of cars (unless the back stereo is playing), and whenever I go to restaurants, I have to sit with my back against a wall whenever humanly possible.

Airplanes rides and flying in general are special kinds of torture for me. Which sucks, because I love to travel, especially abroad. It drives my boyfriend crazy. Quite frankly, if I were in his shoes, I'd probably want to strangle me. Because of all of the sensory awfulness that goes along with flying, I'm not the most pleasant person to travel with. I can get very antsy and easily overwhelmed, which occasionally leads me to snap at him for no apparent reason or shut down. If people behind me are quiet or there's no one sitting directly behind me, I'm ok. However, if the people behind me decide they want to chat for the duration of the flight, I end up in excruciating pain for any number of hours. One time we were on a very full flight where two chirpy co-eds discovered they belonged to the same sorority, and excitedly discussed this all flight long. I turned around and asked if they wouldn't mind not talking for a little bit. They looked at me as if I'd asked them to kick a puppy... The pain was so excruciating that I was reduced to tears and probably had an anxiety attack for the duration of that flight. Nothing my poor boyfriend could say or do made things any better. Not deep breathing. Not headphones. Not reassuring me that I would get through this. Nothing. It was a nightmare for the both of us.

We can sit in the back of the plane, but then we're stuck in seats that don't recline. Sometimes headphones can tune out the noise, but if I can hear people talking over my headphones, that just makes things worse. The ear plugs you can buy at CVS or whatever don't block out enough noise or the right pitches. Noise canceling headphones cancel out the engine noise, which is the opposite of helpful. Canceling out the engine noise actually makes the sounds that trigger me even sharper and more agonizing.

Does anyone else deal with this issue? If so, how do you cope?

Would it be weird to invest in some sort of industrial hearing protection to wear over my headphones or foam ear plugs?

Just a quick response here since I'm at work.
Welcome to the site though. Glad you found us.

I personally have never flown before, but for noise, my favorite approach for blocking it out has been to wear ear buds, the kind you actually insert into the ear, and listening to music. I tried noise cancelling headphones for a bit, but mine weren't the most expensive and didn't do well enough I felt. I also have tactile issues that made them bothersome to wear.

I know people who have gone both the standard ear plug route and the good over-headphone-earmuff route and found them quite useful. Ultimately, it'll be up to you to figure out which setup works best for you, but hopefully you are able to get some good ideas or suggestions. I hope things go well for you on this one. Welcome again!

(08-22-2013, 04:20 PM)Awghost5 Wrote: I can't express how grateful I am to have found this forum! it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who has to deal with these issues.

Anyway, I have what I guess can be called severe auditory defensiveness. Certain sounds and tones of voice can send shocks of pain up my spine. For some reason, the effect is worse when the source of said noise is right behind me. When my boyfriend and I cuddle, I have to be on the outside (the "big spoon," I guess), because otherwise he can't talk without me wanting to crawl out of my skin.

I prefer to sit in the back seat of cars (unless the back stereo is playing), and whenever I go to restaurants, I have to sit with my back against a wall whenever humanly possible.

Airplanes rides and flying in general are special kinds of torture for me. Which sucks, because I love to travel, especially abroad. It drives my boyfriend crazy. Quite frankly, if I were in his shoes, I'd probably want to strangle me. Because of all of the sensory awfulness that goes along with flying, I'm not the most pleasant person to travel with. I can get very antsy and easily overwhelmed, which occasionally leads me to snap at him for no apparent reason or shut down. If people behind me are quiet or there's no one sitting directly behind me, I'm ok. However, if the people behind me decide they want to chat for the duration of the flight, I end up in excruciating pain for any number of hours. One time we were on a very full flight where two chirpy co-eds discovered they belonged to the same sorority, and excitedly discussed this all flight long. I turned around and asked if they wouldn't mind not talking for a little bit. They looked at me as if I'd asked them to kick a puppy... The pain was so excruciating that I was reduced to tears and probably had an anxiety attack for the duration of that flight. Nothing my poor boyfriend could say or do made things any better. Not deep breathing. Not headphones. Not reassuring me that I would get through this. Nothing. It was a nightmare for the both of us.

We can sit in the back of the plane, but then we're stuck in seats that don't recline. Sometimes headphones can tune out the noise, but if I can hear people talking over my headphones, that just makes things worse. The ear plugs you can buy at CVS or whatever don't block out enough noise or the right pitches. Noise canceling headphones cancel out the engine noise, which is the opposite of helpful. Canceling out the engine noise actually makes the sounds that trigger me even sharper and more agonizing.

Does anyone else deal with this issue? If so, how do you cope?

Would it be weird to invest in some sort of industrial hearing protection to wear over my headphones or foam ear plugs?

Part of being sensory defensive is having to put up with the anxiety that almost always goes along with it. To survive a plane ride I would bring ear plugs, an Ipod, and even a tablet with a movie/funny sit com or two. You can also ask your Doc to prescribe you xanax, which stops the anxiety in its tracks and calms your nervous system down considerably and quickly. I only take it about once a year when I will be in a very trying situation like a long plane ride. Even a non-SPD person is more over-responsive to stimuli when they are anxious/upset/in a stressful situation.

What I sometimes do (not for flying, but for other things), is do ear buds, with ear muffs over them. The ear buds frequently fall out of my ears but if they don't they're noise isolating (and if you have bluetooth ones that'd be convenient, but I'm not spending the money on bluetooth ones. And my ear muffs are NNR 29.

So I have noise isolating ear buds + noise from them (I use audiobooks instead of music) + ear muffs which block noise (similar levels of blocking as ear plugs do but way more comfortable, and allow for the ear buds as well)

And the "industrial hearing protection" - the ear muffs, are actually rather cheap. I got mine for about $15.

(08-23-2013, 12:23 PM)Tuttleturtle Wrote: What I sometimes do (not for flying, but for other things), is do ear buds, with ear muffs over them. The ear buds frequently fall out of my ears but if they don't they're noise isolating (and if you have bluetooth ones that'd be convenient, but I'm not spending the money on bluetooth ones. And my ear muffs are NNR 29.

So I have noise isolating ear buds + noise from them (I use audiobooks instead of music) + ear muffs which block noise (similar levels of blocking as ear plugs do but way more comfortable, and allow for the ear buds as well)

And the "industrial hearing protection" - the ear muffs, are actually rather cheap. I got mine for about $15.

Ill have to check those out. Thanks.

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(08-23-2013, 12:23 PM)Ametista Wrote: Part of being sensory defensive is having to put up with the anxiety that almost always goes along with it. To survive a plane ride I would bring ear plugs, an Ipod, and even a tablet with a movie/funny sit com or two. You can also ask your Doc to prescribe you xanax, which stops the anxiety in its tracks and calms your nervous system down considerably and quickly. I only take it about once a year when I will be in a very trying situation like a long plane ride. Even a non-SPD person is more over-responsive to stimuli when they are anxious/upset/in a stressful situation.

Yeah, I'm on meds for anxiety.

Actually, I've found that nothing calms a panic attack quicker for me than a few sips of a good scotch or bourbon. I don't know if that's the healthiest coping mechanism per se... I don't want my occasional drink to turn into an addiction. But maybe a drink (just one) before flying might not hurt...

I think I was prescribed Xanax once a long time ago, but I was too scared to actually take it.

(08-23-2013, 01:40 PM)Awghost5 Wrote: Yeah, I'm on meds for anxiety.

Actually, I've found that nothing calms a panic attack quicker for me than a few sips of a good scotch or bourbon. I don't know if that's the healthiest coping mechanism per se... I don't want my occasional drink to turn into an addiction. But maybe a drink (just one) before flying might not hurt...

I think I was prescribed Xanax once a long time ago, but I was too scared to actually take it.

Yeah, I usually have a glass of wine on the plane. Xanax won't hurt you and its nice to have for emergencies.

(08-22-2013, 05:51 PM)Dan Wrote: Just a quick response here since I'm at work.
Welcome to the site though. Glad you found us.

I personally have never flown before, but for noise, my favorite approach for blocking it out has been to wear ear buds, the kind you actually insert into the ear, and listening to music. I tried noise cancelling headphones for a bit, but mine weren't the most expensive and didn't do well enough I felt. I also have tactile issues that made them bothersome to wear.

I know people who have gone both the standard ear plug route and the good over-headphone-earmuff route and found them quite useful. Ultimately, it'll be up to you to figure out which setup works best for you, but hopefully you are able to get some good ideas or suggestions. I hope things go well for you on this one. Welcome again!

Thanks much! I feel very welcome.

For me, I use ear buds and books on tape. The talking on the book drown out the other talking. And like the others, anti-anxiety meds really help. Usually I end up overwhelmed anyway. I guess that's one of the reasons I don't travel much. Good luck.

For me it isn't usually the plane ride that causes problems so much as all of the stuff that happens before getting on the plane. Standing in lines with lots of people bumping you, loud intercom noises, crowded eating areas, weird smells, and all that good stuff. When on the plane I will also listen to music with my eyes closed and try not to think about high up we are and how close people are sitting to me.

I'm not the funnest person to travel with I've been told... Oh well. I try not to lose it, but it can be tough. That's why I don't like to travel to places I haven't already been to before.

Audio sensory is the type i have most problems with, and exactly like you said, the volume isn't the worst, it's that there are so many sources.

What I have which has helped me most are a set of molded earplugs, they aren't cheap but work miracles. You will have to find an appropriate local equivilant but I use http://pluggerz.nl/en/pluggerz-custom-made/

I will reply more in depth when I get back from my vacation (if Dan pokes and reminds me )