I know I am extremely sensitive to noise especially loud noises. Most places I go are much too loud. Be it TV or music blaring in the background. It has caused problems in different friendships because I just can not take prolonged noise especially at a louder volume. I know this is also true with Autistic people as loud noises can really overwhelm them. Is this an HD symptom or is it just me?

Kelly, i was like this for many years, long before hd. But now with hd it's even worse. If im on the phone, even if the tv volume is low, i cant do the multitasking of filtering out the tv noise, and concentrating on what's being said on the phone, so tv volume goes right off when im on the phone. Restaurants with loud music, i usually ask them to turn it down. It's not just that i can't hear what others are saying, the noise makes me feel like my head wants to burst with a headache and anxiety. So my husband used to like loud music. From the time we were married, the rule i made was, you want music, use the headphones, and he did. When i used to go to church, if the drums or base guitars were too loud, i would go running outside in tears. So i totally get this

Kelly, you're right about many with autism who are sensitive to noise. My at risk son, who has autism but is very high functioning, is extremely bothered by it. It can cause severe meltdowns. My hubby (pHD but not really symptomatic) is also irritated by noise. Maybe it's a coinicidence? Interesting observation that makes me curious as to what others have to say about it. I have to say some loud noise can bother me sometimes, but I also enjoy rocking out to music like your husband did, Barb. I can't do it around my husband.

I have the same exact problem with noises. Even softer sounds bug me like hearing someone clip their nail drives me crazy!!!
Melissa

I'm not sure if noise sensitivity is a symptom of HD or not, or if it's just a personal preference. My daughter and husband who are both at the early stage of HD have completely opposite reactions to loud noise.

My husband turns the volume up really loud on the radio and TV to block out everything else. He claims it helps him concentrate on whatever he's watching or listening to, and it also helps him block out obsessive or unwanted thoughts. My daughter on the other hand can have a complete meltdown when there is too much noise around her. She needs everything to be calm and quiet in order to concentrate.

As for myself; I don't have HD and I'm very sensitive to noise too ... which is why my husband spends most of his day wearing headphones. He doesn't mind wearing them, and it makes his habit tolerable for the rest of the family.

My Husband with HD has only been sensitive to noise since HD...we carry earplugs and ear muffs...sometimes he wears both but he will not go very many places that have noise...he likes book stores because they are very quiet!

Folks, I'd like to see more post like this. This is just one of the things I spent two years trying to get figured out. I have HD and about a year after the initial symptoms (many misdiagnosis) I would get this startled jerking effect from certain sounds (musical). Other loud noises can be unbearable and sometime everything shuts down until the noise passes. This is unfortunately good to hear. The bad thing is my son was a High School band director when it started.
Mike

Mikee, My former husband was also noise sensitive. We had gone to many rock concerts in our day and he always enjoyed it. We were at a BIlly Joel and Elton John concert whom he loved, people were screaming as usual and he turned around and almost slugged these 2 girls yelling at them to shut up. My close friends who joined us never went out with us again! Also our oldest son is in a R&R band and they practiced in our garage, which was a great way to keep tabs on them. I could see Joe struggle with the volumn and he'd tell me he was concerned with our dogs hearing lol. I took him to a concert our son performed at and he refused to stay and he never went again. Very sad.

I can understand. Its one of those things that just suddenly happened. My wife always forgets when locking the car door and I'm nearby, I nearly jump out of my skin. My started with the African Children's Choir concert (must see) and some of the notes had me jumping and jerking so badly my sister in law thought I was having a seizure. It certainly changes things. There are so many small things we take for granted until we lose it. I can't understand conversations especially with any background conversation yet I show no hearing impairment in the correct range.
Mike

Mike, the reason that you are having trouble with understanding conversations is because your brain isn't as good at filtering out 'noise.' People have an extraordinary ability to focus on what is important and filter out what is not. Have you ever been at a party where lots of conversations are going on, been focusing on your own conversation with someone and then suddenly you switch over to another conversation because someone has mentioned your name (ex. "Oh, you should talk to Mike before you visit that city, he's just back from vacation there"? All of a sudden you are paying attention to that other conversation because you heard your name. So that let's you know that part of your brain had been hearing the conversation and ignoring it the whole time. With HD, you can generally focus on just one source of sound and the other becomes distraction that you really have to concentrate to filter out.. Then when you are able to filter other sounds or conversations out, your brain is just not taking them in in any way so you don't experience that 'switch over' phenomenon. You won't hear your name mentioned by others, for example. This is because of damage to the basal ganglia.

Someone told me a story about watching a TV show with their husband who had HD. Suddenly their younger son burst into the house to say that their older son had fallen off his bike. The wife ran out immediately (the boy was just a bit bruised) but her husband did not hear the younger boy at all.

You are exactly right. This happens a lot. Initially all diagnosis and treatment was for Menieres, Bppv, PV, impalance/ataxia, nausea, hearing issues, Superior Canal Dehisence. It seemed to have a relationship to my head trauma. I knew they were not hitting the nail on the head and my vestibular therapist noticed neurological problems (thank God for him). This led me to Mayo and my diagnosis.

I still felt like a lot my issues were still related to vestibular damage even after HD diagnosis. Your post helps me understand which is what I need so much right now.

I was told by my Neuro that vertigo is also associated with HD. Having not seen anything on the forum have you heard of this? The noise thing also includes not understanding single words or misunderstanding pronunciations even without background noise. Clinical test show no problem with word recognition but it's there. Of course there's the hypercusis as well. Sometime the TV for example all the words run together and I understand nothing, other times I may hear o.k. I used to do some hunting, a large part of that was listening to the sounds and direction. About 90% of the time I can't tell you where noises are coming from. All seems not so important but boy is it when everthing changes.

Thanks you for that info.

Mike

There are gait problems associated with HD which can be mistaken for vertigo. Proprioceptic feedback is impaired in HD, ie having an accurate perception of where your body is in space.

Marsha,
I have been having a problem with motion for awhile now. I use to love swinging on swings but I have not been able to do that for years now. The motion makes me sick to my stomach in less then a minute. So I can not be on anything that sways. I run into trouble when I am keeping beat to the music with my feet and hands/arms after a minute or two I need to make my body stop moving. It is extremely difficult to sit there and be one with the music while not allowing my body parts to sway to the beat. The motion of the movement makes me feel sick to my stomach as well. I can not allow my foot to tap and keep time for me when I am playing the guitar as well.
Actually I have also gotten motion sickness watching other people in motion as well. If someone is closer to me and is speaking alot with their hands or my watching them sway their arms and legs I can feel it in the pit of my stomach. Vibration makes me feel sick as well. I have always been sensitive to motion sickness when traveling in a car but it seems to have gotten worse. Having a full stomach helps when I am traveling and I also put a blanket or pillow behind my back or at my side so that it absorbs some of the vibration of the vehicle.
I have just told people I had problems with vertigo because that is what I thought it was.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2012 10:30AM by Kelly B.

Kelly what about elevators. I feel like I'm at space camp. It's actually quite funny to see people react espcially if I can't lean in the corner.

Do you ever have problems with the coordination of the notes and strings? Do loud noises increase your unsteady feeling?

I tried a posturography test about 14 months ago and couldn't get a base reading. Fortunately we were able to at Mayo the Dr. kept grabbing my belt and when asked why "so you don't do a face plant". You have to laugh a little.

Hang in there,
Mike

I think my sensitivity to sounds began around the same time as my divided attention was really affected.
My daughter has Sensory Processing Disorder and the symptoms are VERY similar!
Melissa

Yeah, noise can be more aggrevating with HD and as it progresses. The noise can distract your mind, making it hard to concentrate. Just the same, noise, like loud music, can calm someone. The music drains out all of the excess background noise. With the less sound your mind has to process, the easier it'll be for you to focus on the task at hand.

I have experienced a bit of the opposite sound sensitivity with my sister. She's in her early thirties and well into the disease (unsteady gait, slurred speech, some OCD as well). And with her, it seems she actually overcompensates when she speaks and ends up yelling. My dad took her to get her hearing tested because we thought maybe there was an issue with her hearing. But now they actually think it's part of the disease. Sometime she speaks so loudly, my ear drums rumble!

I'm gene-positive, and can't stand multiple noise sources at once, or even noise + concentrating on something else. TV, someone talking on the phone nearby, AND trying to concentrate on the computer is way too much. Laundry or dishwasher noise can upset the equasion too. Also, if I'm driving & trying to follow new directions, I need to turn the radio off. And I listen to music at lower volume than many.

"Noise sensitivity" seems to be the easiest thing to call problem. I began experiencing this within the last year, when other HD symptoms began for me. At first I thought I had a hearing impairment and even got my hearing tested. Turns out I have superior hearing but a few of the "tones" I did not hear because of the constant tinnitus that started as well. I thought it was loud sounds that bothered me the most - and they do sometimes - but at certain times I like louder noise or music and it does not bother me. It's all about the processing, reception, multi tasking, other environmental stuff going on, etc. I'm learning to cope and paying attention to my body and making modifications along the way. For example, I found a bluetooth ear-in headphone set for my iPhone and iPad. When I want to be able to drown out other noise or only concentrate on music or other audio information - I use these headphones and not worry about wires which can be frustrating when they get in my way. They are made by JayBird.

I've described this problem to those closest to me and they understand when I give them the "turn it down" sign with my hand! Or when the TV or music has to be off or at a low volume. At social events or concerts I make sure I sit close to the back and pop out for extra loud songs or when all the applause begins. The challenge is letting others know they need to reduce noise levels when I'm around - people who don't know me well. Unfortunately, when I tell people to be quiet it turns out being offensive for some. They think it means they are being loud in an obnoxious way. So a little bit of explaining helps and it's part of the dance we must engage in with others. Everyone has something to learn - and together we learn the best!

Liking it loud and soft and everywhere in between!
Peace,
MoreThanPosGuy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2012 10:21AM by MoreThanPosGuy.

Ha ha Melissa, I can hear my husband clipping his nails all the way upstairs! It is so gross!!! IDK why it grosses me out so much. We all have toenails!!!