I thought it could be fun/interesting to go through an autism test question by question, and see what resonates with people, and how we approach thinking about the questions. So to start, here’s question 1 of the AQ-10.
1. I often notice small sounds when others do not.
- Definitely Agree
- Slightly Agree
- Slightly Disagree
- Definitely Disagree
Is this statement true for you? Can you think of any examples? Is it an easy or difficult question for you to answer?
You can find the full AQ-10 test here. Note this test is intended as a quick screener, and cannot diagnose or rule out any condition on its own.
Oh god yes, and it sucks. Especially high pitched sounds that always provoke a panic response from me.
I work with computers, and the sounds that fans make can be super annoying on some devices, especially when they speed up and slow down. As well, I find it hard to sleep sometimes because of the sounds of the fridge in the kitchen in the next room, or some weird rumbling that I think comes from pipes…
I tried using a white noise app on my phone (well, I think it was some other colour; white noise hits those panic producing high notes), but I just got super frustrated at hearing the point where they looped the sample.
Can’t say for sure if I can actually hear things others can’t, or if it’s just that people have the ability to just ignore them.
This is really what is going on most of the time. Their brain filters are working as intended and they can ignore quite a bit of noise. That said, studies have shown the filter has its limits, and after reaching a certain point the noise will cause stress regardless of whether you actively hear it.