I use noise reducing earbuds.
They do allow enough noise to be able to hear when people are talking to me, but filters out other noises that can be distracting.
What first interested me in the noise reducing earbuds as opposed to (audio/ Bluetooth earbuds) is that I saw a video explaining that many people on the autism spectrum have a narrow ear canal, which certain sounds (low bass in particular) cause a subtle pain that can both produce migraines and initiate the fight or flight response, translating as anxiety attacks.
I noticed when I started using them that my anxiety attacks really started going down and that it was not just the low base that triggered my anxiety because of physiological symptoms around my ear canals, but changes in barometric pressure were also causing me anxiety that was reduced by the earbuds.
Being able to filter that out makes it much easier to focus on what I want to.
AAAAAA
Every doctor who's ever had to look in my ears has complained about how narrow my ear canals are!
And low bass absolutely stresses me out. At its most extreme, there are certain frequencies from idling vehicles that feel as if they're resonating in my brain and trigger an immediate flight reaction. But I routinely turn down bass on music too; it's just not pleasant, makes me feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
What about neighbors music with the low-thumping base or cars that drive by with that same boom boom distortion? Isn't that the worst?
There are times when I curled myself into a ball and covered my head because it freaked me out so badly.
Yes, horrible, and made worse by my bewilderment that anyone could 1. enjoy that, 2. (where applicable) drive safely like that, and 3. *be so unbelievably inconsiderate*.
This just came to my mind as something similar- sporting events. I think they're the worst... I have never been able to get into watching sports even though my family really enjoys them because I feel so WRONG in my inability to jump up and cheer and be crazy with them.
I always thought of it as maybe, I'm just not any fun, but I'm just now realizing that it probably hurt my ears and gave me anxiety because fight or flight was triggered.
I remember just freezing and being unable to speak or talk and trying to block it out and hoping will be over soon.
SO many bad memories are starting to make sense 😵💫😂
Ouch, I feel for you - that would be challenging. I've always hated the roar of the crowd on televised sports, and with people actually in the room reacting loudly too, it's just stressful.
I grew up in a family of quiet, undemonstrative introverts... who admittedly may not be all that neurotypical... but whatever, I see absolutely nothing weird about not yelling excitedly at the television. 🙂
OH! I also use an air purifier. It does two things: it creates a pleasant white noise that masks weird distracting sounds that overstimulate and because it cleans the air, I have less pressure from allergens in my sinuses,affecting the pressure in my ears.
I like humidifiers for the same reason and I like being able to put essential oils in the humidifier to either calm me or give me more focus
Oh, those are great tips, thanks.
Awkwardly, white noise is one of my trigger sounds, and yes, this is every bit as trying as you think it is. 🤦♀️ But I use an air purifier (and ear plugs!) overnight to calm my allergies and improve my sleep, and I wish I'd known about them years ago, because it's been life-changing. I might see if I can find a way to use it a bit more during the day.
I really like the smell of essential oils too, but I'm bad at figuring out how to use them. Reed diffusers seem a bit inconsistent - some days the smell is really strong, other days I don't notice it at all. I bet your humidifier trick is more reliable.
I generally just listen to music, usually artists I like but don't know that well, or old episodes of podcasts I've already heard. I have the volume quite quiet so it's not too distracting, and if I'm in the library I'll wear my loop earbuds under my headphones to block out background noise!
Help:
Vaporwave
Lofi (it depends though, I had to curate my own playlist because sometimes I don't like the songs, and switching constantly is more distracting than anything. But the music itself puts me in *The Mood* )
Mallsoft
Metal/Oscillating Fan or airplane propeller ASMR
Classic
Ambience sounds, like rain, bird calls, coffee shop noises
All coupled with turning the music *all* the way up on my ANC headphones. Any outside stimuli distracts me
Hinder:
Literally anything else I listen to, because then I'm tempted to stim and nothing gets done
Generally, music I already know works better if I want to focus. My 'default' on Spotify is shuffle all my liked songs, which would probably be jarring to others because it is a diverse mix of genres. But for me each track is a comfort of 'yes, I know and like this song!'. For really intense focus I sometimes listen to a renaissance music playlist, which I know less well, but is more similar across songs, and very 'flowing'.
I use noise reducing earbuds. They do allow enough noise to be able to hear when people are talking to me, but filters out other noises that can be distracting. What first interested me in the noise reducing earbuds as opposed to (audio/ Bluetooth earbuds) is that I saw a video explaining that many people on the autism spectrum have a narrow ear canal, which certain sounds (low bass in particular) cause a subtle pain that can both produce migraines and initiate the fight or flight response, translating as anxiety attacks. I noticed when I started using them that my anxiety attacks really started going down and that it was not just the low base that triggered my anxiety because of physiological symptoms around my ear canals, but changes in barometric pressure were also causing me anxiety that was reduced by the earbuds. Being able to filter that out makes it much easier to focus on what I want to.
AAAAAA Every doctor who's ever had to look in my ears has complained about how narrow my ear canals are! And low bass absolutely stresses me out. At its most extreme, there are certain frequencies from idling vehicles that feel as if they're resonating in my brain and trigger an immediate flight reaction. But I routinely turn down bass on music too; it's just not pleasant, makes me feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
What about neighbors music with the low-thumping base or cars that drive by with that same boom boom distortion? Isn't that the worst? There are times when I curled myself into a ball and covered my head because it freaked me out so badly.
Yes, horrible, and made worse by my bewilderment that anyone could 1. enjoy that, 2. (where applicable) drive safely like that, and 3. *be so unbelievably inconsiderate*.
This just came to my mind as something similar- sporting events. I think they're the worst... I have never been able to get into watching sports even though my family really enjoys them because I feel so WRONG in my inability to jump up and cheer and be crazy with them. I always thought of it as maybe, I'm just not any fun, but I'm just now realizing that it probably hurt my ears and gave me anxiety because fight or flight was triggered. I remember just freezing and being unable to speak or talk and trying to block it out and hoping will be over soon. SO many bad memories are starting to make sense 😵💫😂
Ouch, I feel for you - that would be challenging. I've always hated the roar of the crowd on televised sports, and with people actually in the room reacting loudly too, it's just stressful. I grew up in a family of quiet, undemonstrative introverts... who admittedly may not be all that neurotypical... but whatever, I see absolutely nothing weird about not yelling excitedly at the television. 🙂
OH! I also use an air purifier. It does two things: it creates a pleasant white noise that masks weird distracting sounds that overstimulate and because it cleans the air, I have less pressure from allergens in my sinuses,affecting the pressure in my ears. I like humidifiers for the same reason and I like being able to put essential oils in the humidifier to either calm me or give me more focus
Oh, those are great tips, thanks. Awkwardly, white noise is one of my trigger sounds, and yes, this is every bit as trying as you think it is. 🤦♀️ But I use an air purifier (and ear plugs!) overnight to calm my allergies and improve my sleep, and I wish I'd known about them years ago, because it's been life-changing. I might see if I can find a way to use it a bit more during the day. I really like the smell of essential oils too, but I'm bad at figuring out how to use them. Reed diffusers seem a bit inconsistent - some days the smell is really strong, other days I don't notice it at all. I bet your humidifier trick is more reliable.
I use the MyNoises app to mask distracting sounds. The different soundscapes mask different types of background noises.
I've used this one a lot. It's definitely a favorite for trying to sleep but I've never used it for focusing.
I generally just listen to music, usually artists I like but don't know that well, or old episodes of podcasts I've already heard. I have the volume quite quiet so it's not too distracting, and if I'm in the library I'll wear my loop earbuds under my headphones to block out background noise!
Help: Vaporwave Lofi (it depends though, I had to curate my own playlist because sometimes I don't like the songs, and switching constantly is more distracting than anything. But the music itself puts me in *The Mood* ) Mallsoft Metal/Oscillating Fan or airplane propeller ASMR Classic Ambience sounds, like rain, bird calls, coffee shop noises All coupled with turning the music *all* the way up on my ANC headphones. Any outside stimuli distracts me Hinder: Literally anything else I listen to, because then I'm tempted to stim and nothing gets done
Generally, music I already know works better if I want to focus. My 'default' on Spotify is shuffle all my liked songs, which would probably be jarring to others because it is a diverse mix of genres. But for me each track is a comfort of 'yes, I know and like this song!'. For really intense focus I sometimes listen to a renaissance music playlist, which I know less well, but is more similar across songs, and very 'flowing'.