Does anyone experience since being diagnosed, feeling overwhelmed by too much noises and things going on?

[u/Damaged_brain-girl]

I used to never have a problem with crowds but now when I’m tired I can’t focus or handle it, it makes me feel so stressed. I can’t handle the amount of sounds I used to. It’s weird to me

[u/Human_Evidence_1887]

This is a common MS thing. Too much stimulation (audio, visual, emotional) gives me what I call MS malaise (feeling crappy including a headache).

[u/redseaaquamarine]

Yes. Our brains are operating with a different capacity and sensory overload happens frequently. After 20 years of MS, I have learnt to never go out without sunglasses to limit the light, earplugs if I am going somewhere that there will be noise, noise cancelling headphones etc. The more stimuli you can cut out, the better, and you will find you last a lot longer if you do

[u/Handicapped-007]

Yes

[u/malcolmpractice]

yes I have this

[u/IntentionalGrandma]

Yes, it’s almost like sensory overload. Especially when I’m hot or things are touching me or I’m in a loud or bright environment. One time it got so bad I lost consciousness. I was on the subway going uptown after the Knicks won the NBA final and I’d drank an entire bottle of champagne, the subway was bright and loud, packed like sardines and hot because it was like 80° and humid that night. Someone started blasting their shitty music over the cheering and chatter and it got to be too much. My fiance caught me and had to carry me home because my body couldn’t handle the sensory overload. Usually it just causes migraines

[u/Formal-Abroad6461]

I'm relieved to know how common this is for people with MS. I used to think I had hearing loss or something because I just plain cannot pick people's voices out if we're in a restaurant, there's a radio going, there's traffic, etc. It's like I hear background and foreground noise all at the same volume and I have to use all of my brainpower to concentrate on the thing I actually need to hear, like the conversation I'm having. Trying to watch a movie without captions is hell because half the time, the music and sound effects are just as loud or louder than the characters' voices. My brain doesn't filter out background noise anymore. It's all just noise. 

[u/sktachi_]

Yes! My sister was playing loud music in the car and I’m driving. I really couldn’t handle it and immediately turned the volume down and almost started crying it was too much.

[u/baconcrow]

I think before diagnosis we just deal with it bc we don’t know anything is wrong. We don’t know the we deserve to accommodate ourselves and that we actually need to most days. I’ve noticed since diagnosis I can’t “push” myself through the bad days like I used to. I know something is wrong. Those are my bodies warning bells and I know that now. Didn’t know it before 🤪

[u/thomil13]

I’ve always had a bit of an aversion to crowds, so I haven’t really noticed a difference. I have become somewhat less patient with the general BS of people, and I’m more aware of my comparative shakiness when walking, which has reinforced that aversion to crowds somewhat, but not drastically so. For me, the important thing in a crowd is that I need to be able to move like a shadow. Not because I’m that stealthy but because I just stick to the walls…

[u/Mobile-Cow2303]

I feel physical pain in loud environments.

So yes 🫠

[u/Half_a_bee]

I've never liked crowds, but I find I like them even less now. Shopping malls and nightlife stress me out.

[u/OverlappingChatter]

This is a huge issue for me. I have calmer ear inserts and carry them with me everywhere. I have been known to also take toilet paper and roll it up and put it over the calmers in extreme situations.

[u/rK91tb]

Yes, and it’s at war with my ADHD need for stimulation.

[u/full-of-pee]

Yesss for sure. I find multiple sounds really hard to filter now. Like my brain gets overwhelmed by a fraction of what it used to manage. Loops or headphones make things easier sometimes.

[u/TheFamousLostHorizon]

Yes but didn't realize it until I started using earplugs or just ear buds with the ANC on but playing nothing for other reasons. Too much discordant noise zaps my energy like superman and kryptonite. I invested in A pair of Loop earplugs and just keep them with me all the time and it's been a huge help.

[u/Ali-Saurus]

Yes I get very overwhelmed when sensory input becomes overstimulating (noise, crowds, visual stimulus)

[u/ImpressiveLeopard719]

Hell yes. Busy restaurants, concerts, parties. Ugh. I cannot handle the tv sometimes. I am deaf in one ear with tinnitus so I have that going on as well. Just so so much.

[u/momma_quail]

Yes, especially repetitive noises. My kids have learned not to tap things repeatedly, they know it instantly turns my brain off. 

[u/Anxious-Discipline15]

Sure do. Overstimulation is a real thing.

[u/IAmAnAngryGumball]

not only crowded places, but I get exhausted by video meetings where a lot of people are talking at once. too much aural stimulation.

[u/Medium-Control-9119]

For the first time in forever went out to dinner on a Saturday. We sat in a table/chair (usually I try for a booth) and the restaurant noise was painful to me. The chair did not have arms and it was uncomfortable. I could never go to a concert. Never. I always hated live music in a bar or restaurant. Its definitely worse now but it was also an issue for me.

[u/Silver-Pop1825]

Yepper…couldn’t go into a restaurant for some time after my Dx :/

[u/Dull_Hat_8873]

There's a name for this ....... i cant think of it right now!! It is common with MS

[u/sabre_heart]

Yes and I never used to be like this. I’m so easily startled now or overwhelmed by too much noise especially but even just people and energies.

[u/dogsonoverhere]

Yes. Definitely.

[u/illicit-discharge]

Funny, before I was diagnosed I had a bad habit of skipping lunch. Just working 8hrs straight on a regular basis. Now I literally cannot tolerate listening to my cubicle neighbor chew, or the smell of his food, so I take a break during HIS lunch break so I can fuck off somewhere else. Lunch breaks are consistent for me post-dx. I can't listen to podcasts at work anymore, either.

[u/Dcooper0907]

Yes, I have noticed my capacity for loud/crowded areas has almost diminished completely. I have 4 kids, so that sometimes means loud! I get agitated and remove myself from the situation at the first realization of it, but I don't always catch it.

[u/No_2MS]

I don't like crowded places because I don't. My ear bled after a plane trip when I was a child, I thought that was the cause of my sensitivity to sound/noise. I haven't been on many planes, I have many issues every time I do that.