You Never Know How Loud the World Can Be Until You Have a Sound-Sensitive Child
8 years ago Scarlett Newton
For well over a year, I've had a fear of public bathrooms. This anxiety stems not from the cleanliness factor or having to do one's business in a public setting, but is exclusively based on their noise. Hand dryers, automatic toilets, echoing acoustics, and loud talkers have all turned an average bathroom experience into one that is fraught with fear and frustration for my sound-sensitive son.
Part of the reason noises are scary for him is that he doesn't know where they're coming from or what they're doing.
You have no idea how loud the world can be until you're with someone who is affected by the volume. My almost-3-year-old little boy, normally gregarious and accommodating, turns into an unrecognizable version of himself when faced with loud noises. Car washes, sirens, door bells, and all trains are all things that I previously didn't think twice about until he started having a visceral reaction to them. Only in the last two weeks have I finally ..