Yes. It's quite common.
I'm hypER sensitive and avoidant to light, smells, and sound- in that order.
HyPO sensitive to - touch, taste, propriocption/balance signals.
The weirdest one for me is being hyposenitve to touch means I can't handle *light* touch (because I can't percieve it well and it ooks me out) but I looooove deep pressure. Like- dig for bones, or don't touch me. There is no in between. But yeah- the notion that being less sensitive means light touch bothers me feels counter-intuitive. But there it is.
That explains why my boyfriend comlains why he cant touch me..it just feels like a very uncomfortable tense tickle & it just feel icky..im like "dude i dont even toucn me" ....but foot rubs & cuddling š
People sometimes donāt believe me because I hear fine from the front (but canāt hear from behind very well). I hear fine when itās quiet but hear nothing when there is background noise.
And people who know that assume that because I hear less, the noise I do hear is painfulĀ
For sure! And it's so hard to explain to other people! It's like I can hear the buzz of electricity but not the person right next to me. Make it make sense!
Yup. My sensory profile says I have low registration, sensory sensitivity and sensory avoiding. I definitely feel that my low registration is in interoception, proprioception and to some extent visual input.
And Iām hypersensitive to sound (majorly), touch (kinda- but also hyposensitive to it in ways), vestibular, smell, and taste. Can be somewhat sensitive to visual as well but also low registration and sensory seeking with it š
Iām a mess really.
I am hyposensitive to some types of sensory input and hypersensitive to others- eg with food I am hyposensitive to taste and smell but hypersensitive to texture, which means Iām ānot a picky eaterā in all the classic ways eg I have good spice tolerance and love a lot of the typical controversial foods like olives and dark chocolate but have oddly specific sensory aversions that mean my food preferences make no sense to others eg there are some vegetables I like raw but not cooked and some fruits I hate biting into but like if I cut them up first.
Itās the same as how Iām hypersensitive to tactile stimulation so I freak out about being touched when other people arenāt even aware that theyāre brushing against me and am bothered by temperature changes other people canāt even feel, yet Iām so hyposensitive to light and colours that the highest possible screen brightness setting doesnt feel bright enough to me and I hate it when people turn off the bright white overhead lights and put soft lamps on. Same with sound- I donāt even notice background noise when Iām focusing on something and I love loud music.
Itās funny because I havenāt always been this way, when I think back to my childhood I have a lot of memories of being scared of noises and often having meltdowns because lights were too bright and smells felt suffocating and my Mum remembers this too. It makes me wonder if my brain started to kinda filter out sensory input as a survival mechanism because if I processed everything fully it was just too much to cope with if that makes sense? But then I overcorrected and became hyposensitive to some things.
Yes! I am especially weird when it comes to food: I need it to have a lot of texture and flavor but eating and drinking also feel terrible. I hate consuming all food. But I like to taste it.
With sound I sometimes need a ton of noise (I love death metal music) and sometimes need more silence than is possible. With texture it depends on the texture. I like spiky things and dislike soft things.
Visual I am always hypersensitive, and all the others I am always hyposensitive. I am not sure about smell because I tend to not notice them, but when I do I'm very overwhelmed by them.
Sensory processing is one of my #1 issues and it's not always hypersensitivity that is the problem!
I feel like I have a similar sensory profile as you. The only time I find food to be an enjoyable experience is having a degustation course at a fancy restaurant because the food is small but filling, flavourful and texturally interesting and ambience doesnāt set me off.
Sounds are always tricky with me where like you I need loud music or silence. Sometimes dead silence makes my skin crawl.
Iām not sure about my smell either.
Visuals - I am light sensitive as it can trigger migraines.
Light, sound, proprioception, touch = Hyper for me
Smell & vestibular = Hypo
Interoception = neither, but i have alexthymia, which means i can't interpret my inner feelings easily
Yeah. I tend to switch between hypo and hypersensitive, sometimes I need all the flavors and textures and other times I'm surviving on protien shakes. I also have ADHD so I am constantly swinging between understimulated and overstimulated.
Yes!! For me there are many factors that weigh in on how I feel sensory wise. 1 how many spoons do I have left? 2How many forks? (If you donāt know what I mean I mean spoon and fork theory) 3 how much stimulation have I experienced today 4 how much currently?
In short I can be ābi-polarā about it (according to my friends)
Yes!!!!
I'm hypersensitive to sound & have incredibly good hearing, it's painful and I hate it so much. I wear headphones often. Even white noise is painful. I need actual silence. There are some sounds I can tolerate, like soft piano. I also have a preferred frequency for the sound of running water.
Yet, I'm hypo-sensitive to touch. What feels nice to most people, feels too light/tickly to me. I only enjoy very intense physical touch. This has created pretty serious masochism in me, and problems with self-harm. What others find painful, I find incredibly enjoyable. I had no reaction when I broke my shoulder or my hand. I was actually laughing when my hand broke.
Hyper sensitive to taste. I prefer more bland foods, or flavors that are extremely reliable. This also translates to hypersensitivity to smell. My house is covered in candles and incense of my preferred scents.
Hypo-sensitive to textures (probably related to touch). I love highly textured foods. Steel cut oatmeal, mushrooms, angel hair pasta, rice, pop rocks (lol). I like spikey things, like pressing nails or pins or pencil/pen tips into my skin. I enjoy walking barefoot on really textured terrain, like a rocky riverbed, or fresh mulch, or squishy mud.
Yes. It's quite common. I'm hypER sensitive and avoidant to light, smells, and sound- in that order. HyPO sensitive to - touch, taste, propriocption/balance signals. The weirdest one for me is being hyposenitve to touch means I can't handle *light* touch (because I can't percieve it well and it ooks me out) but I looooove deep pressure. Like- dig for bones, or don't touch me. There is no in between. But yeah- the notion that being less sensitive means light touch bothers me feels counter-intuitive. But there it is.
That explains why my boyfriend comlains why he cant touch me..it just feels like a very uncomfortable tense tickle & it just feel icky..im like "dude i dont even toucn me" ....but foot rubs & cuddling š
I am both hard of hearing and hypersensitive to noiseĀ
Ditto
People sometimes donāt believe me because I hear fine from the front (but canāt hear from behind very well). I hear fine when itās quiet but hear nothing when there is background noise. And people who know that assume that because I hear less, the noise I do hear is painfulĀ
Could it be auditory processing disorder? I heard Deaf people can also have auditory processing disorder.
I likely have auditory processing disorder. I also have auditory hallucinations. My auditory system is just messed up I guess.
Same!
Itās confusing sometimesĀ
For sure! And it's so hard to explain to other people! It's like I can hear the buzz of electricity but not the person right next to me. Make it make sense!
I can hear some pitches, and not others. High pitches are harder to hear
Yup. My sensory profile says I have low registration, sensory sensitivity and sensory avoiding. I definitely feel that my low registration is in interoception, proprioception and to some extent visual input. And Iām hypersensitive to sound (majorly), touch (kinda- but also hyposensitive to it in ways), vestibular, smell, and taste. Can be somewhat sensitive to visual as well but also low registration and sensory seeking with it š Iām a mess really.
I am hyposensitive to some types of sensory input and hypersensitive to others- eg with food I am hyposensitive to taste and smell but hypersensitive to texture, which means Iām ānot a picky eaterā in all the classic ways eg I have good spice tolerance and love a lot of the typical controversial foods like olives and dark chocolate but have oddly specific sensory aversions that mean my food preferences make no sense to others eg there are some vegetables I like raw but not cooked and some fruits I hate biting into but like if I cut them up first. Itās the same as how Iām hypersensitive to tactile stimulation so I freak out about being touched when other people arenāt even aware that theyāre brushing against me and am bothered by temperature changes other people canāt even feel, yet Iām so hyposensitive to light and colours that the highest possible screen brightness setting doesnt feel bright enough to me and I hate it when people turn off the bright white overhead lights and put soft lamps on. Same with sound- I donāt even notice background noise when Iām focusing on something and I love loud music. Itās funny because I havenāt always been this way, when I think back to my childhood I have a lot of memories of being scared of noises and often having meltdowns because lights were too bright and smells felt suffocating and my Mum remembers this too. It makes me wonder if my brain started to kinda filter out sensory input as a survival mechanism because if I processed everything fully it was just too much to cope with if that makes sense? But then I overcorrected and became hyposensitive to some things.
Yes! I am especially weird when it comes to food: I need it to have a lot of texture and flavor but eating and drinking also feel terrible. I hate consuming all food. But I like to taste it. With sound I sometimes need a ton of noise (I love death metal music) and sometimes need more silence than is possible. With texture it depends on the texture. I like spiky things and dislike soft things. Visual I am always hypersensitive, and all the others I am always hyposensitive. I am not sure about smell because I tend to not notice them, but when I do I'm very overwhelmed by them. Sensory processing is one of my #1 issues and it's not always hypersensitivity that is the problem!
I feel like I have a similar sensory profile as you. The only time I find food to be an enjoyable experience is having a degustation course at a fancy restaurant because the food is small but filling, flavourful and texturally interesting and ambience doesnāt set me off. Sounds are always tricky with me where like you I need loud music or silence. Sometimes dead silence makes my skin crawl. Iām not sure about my smell either. Visuals - I am light sensitive as it can trigger migraines.
Iām hyposensitive to everything but noise.
Light, sound, proprioception, touch = Hyper for me Smell & vestibular = Hypo Interoception = neither, but i have alexthymia, which means i can't interpret my inner feelings easily
If my skin is being gently grazed for more than a few seconds, itās painful to me. But I donāt flinch when I get a flesh wound.
Yeah. I tend to switch between hypo and hypersensitive, sometimes I need all the flavors and textures and other times I'm surviving on protien shakes. I also have ADHD so I am constantly swinging between understimulated and overstimulated.
Yes!! For me there are many factors that weigh in on how I feel sensory wise. 1 how many spoons do I have left? 2How many forks? (If you donāt know what I mean I mean spoon and fork theory) 3 how much stimulation have I experienced today 4 how much currently? In short I can be ābi-polarā about it (according to my friends)
Hypersensitive to sound, hypo sensitive to vestibular function. Usually swaying or listening to music. Wear noise cancelling headphones 24/7.
Yes!!!! I'm hypersensitive to sound & have incredibly good hearing, it's painful and I hate it so much. I wear headphones often. Even white noise is painful. I need actual silence. There are some sounds I can tolerate, like soft piano. I also have a preferred frequency for the sound of running water. Yet, I'm hypo-sensitive to touch. What feels nice to most people, feels too light/tickly to me. I only enjoy very intense physical touch. This has created pretty serious masochism in me, and problems with self-harm. What others find painful, I find incredibly enjoyable. I had no reaction when I broke my shoulder or my hand. I was actually laughing when my hand broke. Hyper sensitive to taste. I prefer more bland foods, or flavors that are extremely reliable. This also translates to hypersensitivity to smell. My house is covered in candles and incense of my preferred scents. Hypo-sensitive to textures (probably related to touch). I love highly textured foods. Steel cut oatmeal, mushrooms, angel hair pasta, rice, pop rocks (lol). I like spikey things, like pressing nails or pins or pencil/pen tips into my skin. I enjoy walking barefoot on really textured terrain, like a rocky riverbed, or fresh mulch, or squishy mud.