Is there any scientific explanation for why sensitivities to sound can go away/become milder (at least, in my case) with time?

[meow123]

Hi, newbie here! Diagnosed with Aspergers' in my teens, had a lot of doubts and questions surrounding my diagnosis and so went through periods on and off over the years where I would push the diagnosis away and tell myself I didn't "have" it, went down the autism rabbit hole last year, and was re-diagnosed with autism this year.

Something that initially made me think, " Nah, I can't be autistic" is that I used to have a *great* fear of loud unexpected noises like balloons popping (and got bullied for it), but my sensitivities to loud unexpected noises has mostly been "grown out" of, although I will still move away if I see some kid squeezing a balloon or trying to make it pop. I also used to go into a daze/feel overwhelmed or literally feel like I'm floating away whenever I'm in a crowded or noisy environment. But for whatever reason, this has reduced a lot over the last few years. I actually have a theory that the antipsychotics I've been taking for the last 9 years for another condition, especially those I've been taking in recent years, may have reduced my sensitivities to noise. But I've looked all over the Internet and cannot find anything to substantiate my "theory".
So, yes, are there any possible reasons for why someone's sensitivities to noise might go away/become much milder?

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I am going to take a stab at this from a physiologic perspective. I am going to oversimplify this phenomenon, but the autistic brain is often in a state of "hyperexcitability". It's often a result of an imbalance of excitatory-to-inhibitory neurotransmitters (too much glutamine/too little GABA), but could be others, as well. A low dopamine turnover is common in autistics, as is low oxytocin and vasopressin, and low creatine, leading to varying degrees of depression and "irritability" and "sensitivity". There is often an imbalance of oxidants-to-antioxidants in the brain leading to a pro-inflammatory state, "irritability", and generalized edema. I will sometimes get the sensation that my brain is swollen in my skull, my head feels hot, a feeling of internal pressure without a headache, but I generally feel like crap.

So, there is our baseline.

Now, the brain also goes through some neuroplasticity throughout life, some pathways strengthened, while others are lost. We are not the same people we were when we were a child, a teen, a young adult, a mature adult, and when we are elderly. We learn to desensitize ourselves to certain stimuli to a certain extent, whether it be light, sound, touch, whatever. However, the opposite can occur, as well. Some of us, as we age, things get more amplified (my situation).

During times of poor health and mental fatigue, chronic or acute, our symptoms and sensory issues can be amplified. Whenever I get sick and tired, mentally exhausted, lack of sleep, eat poorly for a few meals, whatever, I know I am going to "pay for it". It's about symptom management, but sometimes our best efforts at pacing ourselves and watching our health fail.

Depending upon the specifics of your medication(s), it can "relax" the brain enough that some of your symptoms may be minimized.

 

[meow123]

I am going to take a stab at this from a physiologic perspective. I am going to oversimplify this phenomenon, but the autistic brain is often in a state of "hyperexcitability". It's often a result of an imbalance of excitatory-to-inhibitory neurotransmitters (too much glutamine/too little GABA), but could be others, as well. A low dopamine turnover is common in autistics, as is low oxytocin and vasopressin, and low creatine, leading to varying degrees of depression and "irritability" and "sensitivity". There is often an imbalance of oxidants-to-antioxidants in the brain leading to a pro-inflammatory state, "irritability", and generalized edema. I will sometimes get the sensation that my brain is swollen in my skull, my head feels hot, a feeling of internal pressure without a headache, but I generally feel like crap.

So, there is our baseline.

Now, the brain also goes through some neuroplasticity throughout life, some pathways strengthened, while others are lost. We are not the same people we were when we were a child, a teen, a young adult, a mature adult, and when we are elderly. We learn to desensitize ourselves to certain stimuli to a certain extent, whether it be light, sound, touch, whatever. However, the opposite can occur, as well. Some of us, as we age, things get more amplified (my situation).

During times of poor health and mental fatigue, chronic or acute, our symptoms and sensory issues can be amplified. Whenever I get sick and tired, mentally exhausted, lack of sleep, eat poorly for a few meals, whatever, I know I am going to "pay for it". It's about symptom management, but sometimes our best efforts at pacing ourselves and watching our health fail.

Depending upon the specifics of your medication(s), it can "relax" the brain enough that some of your symptoms may be minimized.

Very interesting! Many thanks!

 

[Tom]

People on the spectrum can see changes to sensitivity issues and it goes both ways. You can become more or less bothered by things over time.

Don't know the scientific reason behind it, but would guess NTs also have the same thing going on, but not so pronounced usually.

 

[Crossbreed]

I have always heard of this experience being referred to as acclimatization.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Since my stroke I've become more sensitive to noise even through my hearing has degraded over the years it feels more acute.

 

[SusanLR]

I've went the distance with the sensations you describe.
It was at its worse through my teens and started becoming less after age 20.
The sensitivity to loud noises and using earplugs was so much less by the age of 30 that I could go to loud rock concerts.
That dazed, floating away feeling disappeared for many years.

Now that I am in my sixties, it all has been reappearing during the past three years.
I can't tolerate the loud concerts that I once loved.
That dazed feeling happens. Therapists call it derealization or depersonalization and say it won't hurt me, but it sure feels unbearable.
Yes, crowded, noisy stores and all the sounds and talking do it also.
I have to get away from the noise and movements of surroundings to a quiet place.

I have read that we can go through this cycle during life with autism.
Sensitivity that is worse when young, then may become better with age, until you reach too much age. Then it reverts back more like it was when young again.
That's how my experience has been for sure.
I have also developed severe tinnitus.

 

[Slime_Punk]

I, too, seem to have it work both ways; some sensitivities have gotten way better or almost non-existent over time (thank god, because they were unbearable as a kid), but others have actually gotten much worse.

Although I haven't scoured the internet, my guess is that topics like this are somewhat under-researched, which is a shame. I think the only people who would even care to research something like this would likely be autists themselves.

 

[vergil96]

They told me I will desensitize with age, it never happened.

Generally the brain regulates receptors to neurotransmitters depending on how much there are. Other hormones in the body also work like that. The body balances itself out for most people. I believe that autism has a different reason for the extreme sensations occuring, not a failure to adapt levels of chemicals. Maybe it's because of hyperfocus?

My oversensitivities got worse in my 20s actually.