Thread: Extra sensitive hearing?

It's called hyperacusis and it's a nuisance. There should be more awareness about it. I got it from headphones (prolonged use).

A couple of persons with Aspergers syndrome suffers from very sensitive impressions. The can be sensitive to sound, taste, touch and a couple more. It's due to the nerve-system that interpret the signals as much stronger than they are. People with this symptom might have problems wearing certain kind of clothing because they hurt against the skin; having problems showering because the water-stream hurts on the skin; be in noisy areas because every sound is much higher for them; having problem with food because the taste or the consistency. I get gag reflexes from some food, for example. Also, if I put my fingers under average hot water, it hurts, because my body interprets it as much hotter than it actually is. This does not actually hurt the fingers or skin, but it feels like it hurts for me.

As for the hearing-part, I read some stories from people with this kind of symptom. There were a boy who could hear which train was coming before he actually saw it enter the station, because he could tell the different sound the train did from each other. There were a boy that didn't like to play outside, and when he was asked why, he answered that he didn't like the sound of the butterflies fluttering wings. This is really amazing, but of as everything it has a backside. It's like turning up everything, and the already high sounds get higher. Think about cats: the jump high when metal-things clash, because of the intensity. This is nothing you evolve over time though, but if you decide to settle for something permanent for your character, this might come in handy, or you just want to read about how it works. Good luck!