Hypersensitivity

I have been told that I have some hypersensitive senses, specifically sounds, visual, and touch. I don't know yet if I am hypersensitive with smell and taste. I can hear things that other people don't hear or notice. A friend was surprised when I could clearly hear their side of the phone conversation while I was at the other end of the house with a closed door between us. They said that other people would not have heard them and wouldn't have been able to hear every word spoken by them, even though the rest of the house was completely quiet. Another time, I was outside of the house, and I could hear the voices of those that were inside, without even trying. I couldn't hear the specific words, but I could tell who was talking at any point. When I am in the car with someone and they are on their phone, I can usually hear both sides of the conversation at least fairly clearly and often very clearly. There are noises, like smoke detector low battery chirps and car brake indicator noises, that other people can easily block out, but I can't block out while I am around them. I can hear and feel sounds, even when wearing my earplugs, that most people wouldn't hear, like footsteps of others around the house or loud music in a car nearby or construction activity nearby. I don't even have to hear the music or sounds with my ears; I can feel the vibrations through my surroundings. I have never felt an earthquake, even though I have been told that a few have happened where I live, but there are many other things that happen that I am very aware of that many other people don't notice or can ignore and go on with their lives without a second thought.

Because of these hypersensitive senses, it is easy to quickly get overwhelmed by everything that is going on around me. I can easily get overwhelmed when there is more than one source of noise or talking and my brain is struggling to process between them. Being in a room with multiple conversations going at once can be confusing for my brain. It isn't that I can't hear well, it is that I hear too much, and trying to block out certain noises or make them background noises in my mind is hard and sometimes impossible, depending on how my mental strength is at that moment. It is also hard to think or write something while listening to something or someone else, which explains my struggle to take notes during sermons. I am often multitasking, but they can't both involve words, or I will get overwhelmed. I can't scroll thru Facebook while watching TV because both include words, but I can play a game on my phone while watching TV because the game doesn't include words. It includes visuals, hand-eye coordination, and strategy, and I can do all of that without words or sentences. I can play my game to keep my hands and eyes busy, but still comprehend the story line of whatever is playing on the TV. I can also listen to calming music while carrying on a conversation, but it is best when there are no words, and the volume is low. Classical music with nature sounds is very relaxing for me. If I am carrying on a conversation and we are just sitting, I will usually be doing something with my hands, like playing with fidget toys or my long necklace or something similar. This stimming helps by giving me an outlet for my tense anxiety energy that builds up in a social situation. Even if I don't appear stressed and I don't feel stressed, having to stop stimming will impact me in a negative way. The amount of stimming that I do depends on how I am feeling at that moment but trying to not stim because of what other people want or expect out of me, means that my stress levels will rise.