You're not alone. I can't tolerate "sensory overload." I'm a singer and an artist and I don't even like to go to the art museum because it's too busy, music, too many people and activities. It's about nauseating for me. And I used to enjoy singing at karaoke but I don't enjoy having to navigate through the crowds to get to the restrooms and I have no tolerance for women who leave things filthy.

Sometimes, just the morning shower drains all the life out of me. A friend of mine with MS always offers to drive everywhere but I still drive and have no tolerance for being a passenger. Last week, I was driving back from my writers' group and the battery cover on my scooter went flying off after the cobblestone streets I had to navigate. Now I can't use the scooter until I get another battery cover.

Yes, sometimes I have no patience for listening to others who live completely different lives without limitations caused by MS. I don't intend to give up driving though - I can't imagine how I'd feel knowing I had to count on others for that too.

lorrieonline Thank you for the reply. I hadn't heard of people with MS having, as you put it, 'sensory overload', until it happened to me. Friends of ours threw themselves a 65th birthday party two years ago and a substantial group of people talking in a limited space was torture for me.

People in this city drive rather frantically and discourteously and I just lost my nerve, I guess. Uh, maybe I should mention that I'm 70. Don't know how relevant that is to my troubles. My husband, retired now, is always available to drive me places and even waits to take me home or on to some other destination. But I do admire your persistence in continuing to be a driver. Good for you! I suspect that driving is one of those 'use it or lose it' propositions.

Here's a good article on "sensory overload" - I've tried to explain it and send articles to my mom before as she doesn't really get it. (why I can't carry on a conversation with her, listen to talk radio, and read an article she points out in the paper at the same time, lol)

Sensory Overload?

Many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have symptoms that aren’t talked about very much. One of these is sensory overload. When surrounded by too much noise, exposed to too many visual stimuli, or put in new or loud environments, many people with MS report experiencing confusion, fatigue, and pain.

Sometimes, sensory overload is related to myoclonus, a stimulus-sensitive symptom that can cause involuntary jerking of muscles.

We asked our MS community on Facebook what their triggers for sensory overload are. Read on to see what they said.
Noise

“Noise in closed areas, such as parties, classrooms, malls, stores, etc. As long as I can leave the environment, I will be OK.” — Esther D., living with MS

“Noise! I can feel like my head is collapsing.” — Rhonda L., living with MS

“Noise of any sort. My cat meowing at me can freak me out at times." — Amy M., living with MS

“Someone chewing crunchy stuff.” — Deanna L., living with MS

“I get overwhelmed with too much background noise, especially if someone is trying to talk to me. And with two small kids, there is always background noise!” — Brandi M., living with MS

“I cannot stand any loud noise. Even my dog barking gets to me.” — Ruth W., living with MS
Stores

“The common one is when the work environment gets loud and busy, but the newest, and one that seems the strangest, is any warehouse type store. The extremely tall and long aisles, even when they're practically empty.” — Amy L., living with MS

“Large crowds. Bright big stores. Sometimes I go to the store, walk in, say ‘nope,’ and go home.” — Bonnie W., living with MS

“The grocery store and heavy traffic. Makes me feel scatterbrained and ‘lost.’” — Amber A., living with MS
Unfamiliar spaces

“An environment I'm not used to, physically and/or mentally. Still don't know how to deal with them.” — Rona M., living with MS

“Being away from home too long. I get very anxious.” — Sherri H., living with MS
Fatigue

“Being tired can trigger it, real bright lights, a lot of motion, lights, noise at the same time, trying to listen and talk in a setting with other input.” — Kelly H., living with MS

“Fatigue is probably the number one cause of my sensory overload, but it's not always the culprit. If there are too many noises at once, they all seem to be competing to be the loudest, resulting in complete overload. In turn, I become a complete wreck. Tremors, feeling extremely uneasy, and anxious. All this holds true with an overload of any other sensual stimulus or combination of sensory overload events.” — Gail F., living with MS

“Someone who sits next to me and talks nonstop, especially in the late afternoon when extra fatigued, or just loud people with lots of energy … I'm like chocolate on a hot pavement … I melt down to a mess.” — Lisa F., living with MS
Restaurants

“In restaurants, I request not to be seated directly under a speaker. Music, combined with people's voices and kitchen clatter, drives me crazy.” — Connie R., living with MS

“Dinner at Texas Roadhouse with all the birthdays and singing and celebrations. Just gets to be too much!” — Judy C., living with MS

“Noise coming from multiple directions and high-pitched sounds like the clanking of dishes and silverware together, or children screeching. Restaurants with high ceilings and open kitchens are the worst for me because every sound just feels multiplied.” — Erin H., living with MS
Crowds

“Being in a crowd or a loud room where I'm unable to tune some of the noise out. Hustling and bustling crowds are the worst between the sounds, the people, and my balance issues.” — Cindi P., living with MS

“Too many voices at once.”— Robin G., living with MS
Too many things to count

“Bright lights, too loud, children screeching, hot with odd smells, some industrial sounds, sometimes even reading can be too much if the lights are wrong or the setting is overwhelming.” — Alysin P., living with MS

“Going to the grocery store, being tired, the doctors telling me too much all at once, restaurants, people who don’t control their screaming, running kids.” — Stacy N., living with MS

“Large stores with a lot of color and visual stimulation; flashing or strobe lights especially in the dark; too much, too loud, or specific types of noise such as screeching or sirens; crowds or fast-paced and bustling activity.” — Polly P., living with MS
https://www.healthline.com/health/multiple-sclerosis/sensory-overload-triggers#6

Thanks for that list. Amy L's comment about warehouse type stores surprised me because I once started hyperventilating while looking at a display of faucets in a huge shop with a vast high ceiling. I didn't think of this as an MS symptom at the time.. I thought I had some kind of aversion to hardware, haha.

I also know that I couldn't tolerate going to a beauty parlor because of all the many conversations going on at once, being shifted from one chair to another, the stylist trying to chat with me, the smells, and me trying to appear 'normal' in the midst of all that. My husband trims my hair, has gotten very good at it.

Oh, I had all but forgotten about the warehouse type stores. When I went into the first hardware store of that type years back, it made me nauseous. I couldn't stand the lights, the smells, plastics, resins. It was awful. I actually used to leave my (then) husband in the store and go out to the car and sit in the air conditioning. I had the same reaction for the electronics stores.

Seems I was lucky with the hair salon I went to years ago. my appointments were late in the day or when it was very slow. The salon owner brought me a glass of wine, appetizers and treated his clients so well. I worked in a fairly large hotel and he took such pride in the hotel staff whose hair he styled.

One thing recently is the local art museum. I keep going to a monthly event (except recently) because I'm planning to work on an exhibit but as you pointed out with the beauty parlor, the large crowds, the music, and all of the conversations give me a real difficult time. What a fabulous thing that your husband can trim your hair! That's a blessing!

Sorry it took me so long to see your response! Nice "chatting" though.