Sensory Overload with Pots/Dysautonomia

[Billie Gene]

I knew I couldn’t be the only one to have sensory overload! I have Dysautonomia/Pots and it has been a very difficult road. However, I have several sensory issues and I’m hoping someone else is experiencing the same. I noticed that a lot of people on here are experiencing the hearing sensitivity, which I experience as well but I also experience it differently in a good way I will explain. 

Example: First I have to say, I’m a night owel and I was laying in bed. It was about 1:30 close to 2:00am and I heard heavy foot steps very slow walking in my back yard. Now mind you that my husband was snoring, my TV was on, our windows were closed, and our window AC unit was on, which of course was loud. It was like this person was walking next to my ear. I could hear every movement he made and was able to since were he was in my yard. It was so loud in my ear. 

We have a shed in our back yard and I heard someone opening the shed doors. Anyway, I told my husband what I heard and he stated “how did you hear that” I explained it to him and he just looked at me because the windows were closed, window unit on and TV on he felt there was no way I could here someone in the back yard. 

Anyway, this was happening for a good 2 months and yes I never checked because the person wasn’t trying to come in my house and nothing was ever touch in the shed. I woke my husband up a couple of times but he never heard the footsteps but did check around the house. 

Come to find out my husband was keeping an eye out every morning when it came to the shed doors. He noticed the when the shed doors were shut and I heard the person in the back yard. The next morning my husband noticed the shed doors wide open. My husband finally stated he believed me but shocked that I could hear it due to our room being upstairs, TV being on, the window unit being on, and all the windows closed. Plus, our back yard is all sand but yep. I heard this person as if he was walking right next to me.

Well, my sons room was downstairs and he had his window open a little. His bed is right by the window. Well, there is all rock in the front yard and my son heard hard slow foot steps up to his window and they stopped. My son jumped out of bed ran to get us and my husband then look all outside around the house and didn’t see no one. It was the same time that I always heard the footsteps outback. The person never came back around and I did inform the neighbors of someone coming around the home. If the person would have come back I definitely would of called the police after approaching my sons window. 

Here is another example! I went to Target at 9:00am in the morning or maybe it was 9:30am. Anyway, I grabbed what I needed and I was walking behind a couple of people and I hear a noise. I turned and looked were the noise was coming from and this guy was laying on the ground bleeding from the head and his body was jerking as if he was having a seizure. 

I then yelled someone call 911. Of course everyone looked at me like I had to heads. So I took out my phone and call 911 as I was talking to the guy even though I don’t think he could here me. I even yelled for the pharmacist to come help. I couldn’t believe no one heard or even didn’t see this guy. Plus, This happened right in the pharmacy department. Anyway, to make a long story short people were asking me over and over again “ how did you hear this guy” and I just told them I heard him loud as day why didn’t you guys hear him but they stated they didn’t hear him. So I don’t know people just kept staring at me. I had to leave but when I left the paramedics arrived, so he was in good hands. 

Not only do I have the noise sensory but there is another sensory, which is hard to explain. When I go out I’m very alert to my surroundings. I know when someone is negative or positive like there energy. I will walk out of a place knowing what I am feeling in the environment is not good. Seriously, it is crazy! I can feel when someone is around the outside of my house and we’re they are around my house before my dog does. 

Does anyone have this?

 

 

[StayAtHomeMom]

My husband has hearing similar to your first story. Have you ever had your hearing checked?

Curious to if you have always been like this or just since you dysautonomia started. 

[Billie Gene]

The hearing being so sensitive I never had before but surroundings yes but it’s more profound. I never got my hearing checked. The funny thing is I’m on Midodrine and Propranolol for the last eight years to control the symptoms of POTS. Well, they changed the Propranolol to Bystolic,  Which is working great but all of my senses have stoped, which I’m trying to get use to because I didn’t mind having the surrounding or hearing sensitivity because it was spot on. If that makes sense. I could met someone just by looking at them I knew they were no good or a great person because I felt it. Very strong. I could just read people. I New if someone was around my house or vehicles you know. Well, don’t have the senses now. My POTS symptoms are under control for now though, which is great. Thanks for your feedback😉

[WinterSown]

I have sensory overload, it's one of my main triggers for symptoms. I also have no sleep cycle. Vibrations, intensity of voice, bright light, movement, etc all contribute to it. I have tested positive for vertigo and last fall had a full gamut of hearing and audiology tests. My hearing is fine, my ears are fine, it's my ANS that is screwy. I have found improvement with balance and core training at PT and I also have learned to avoid a lot of the triggers. I have a script of low-dose 2mg valium for the vertigo--I bite the pills in half and start with one mg. As it's a muscle relaxant it seems to also help with the sensory overload. 

I am concerned about your security. People or wild animals in your yard when they shouldn't be there without invitation is very uncomfortable and can be dangerous to you or them. Outdoor lights on motion sensors will brighten the yard before someone can enter it. During warm weather you can hook up a lawn sprinkler on a motion sensor--this is a wonderful deterrent, especially to critters. I put a string of brass bells on the gate to the backyard--that gate opens and they jingle loud. Also, if you can and it's right for you, go to the local shelter and rescue a mutt, any size will do for yapping but a bigger dog will be taken more seriously. 

A few years back, during an icy winter night, I was walking my dog a few blocks from home and I slipped on the ice while crossing a street. I dislocated my hip and couldn't stand but was able to crawl to the curb. The woman who owned the house, whose curb I was now sprawled over, looked out the window and rushed out to help me, brought me inside. It was late in the evening, she said she never looks out the windows but she had the urge to get up from watching the tv at the back of the house and come look out the window at the street. There is a lot we do not understand about the human brain. She could not have heard me, my dog did not bark, I was not screaming but I was in a lot of pain with a popped hip. Yet she was there to help me--her instincts said something was wrong and she did not ignore them. Some of us have a capacity to connect with others on levels we cannot scientifically yet prove, but story after story of people recognizing something is wrong when no one else did are not unknown. Once upon a lifetime ago I was an EMT and it was not uncommon to hear from a loved one or stranger that they knew something was wrong, some heard it, some felt it, they just knew it. I would say you are sensitive and may have a capacity yet unrecognized. I think this is a gift, it's very deep compassion for your fellow human.

[StayAtHomeMom]

2 hours ago, Billie Gene said:

The hearing being so sensitive I never had before but surroundings yes but it’s more profound. I never got my hearing checked. The funny thing is I’m on Midodrine and Propranolol for the last eight years to control the symptoms of POTS. Well, they changed the Propranolol to Bystolic,  Which is working great but all of my senses have stoped, which I’m trying to get use to because I didn’t mind having the surrounding or hearing sensitivity because it was spot on. If that makes sense. I could met someone just by looking at them I knew they were no good or a great person because I felt it. Very strong. I could just read people. I New if someone was around my house or vehicles you know. Well, don’t have the senses now. My POTS symptoms are under control for now though, which is great. Thanks for your feedback😉

The reason I asked about your hearing is there is a story I heard at work (we deal with health screenings in industrial settings) that this guy was like in his 70s and had to have hearing aids to turn DOWN the sound around him. His hearing was better than any equipment could catch. Apparently he had been like that his whole life though. That story has stuck with me just because it was pretty neat. 

[Pistol]

@Billie Gene - I am not so sure that your scenario is due to sensory overload, which means the normal senses ( hearing, vision, taste, feeling etc ) stimulates your nervous system too much, to where you develop unwanted physical symptoms from it. What you are describing seems to be more of a "sixth sense" sensation, which is not really called an overload.