After the initial acute rehabilitation from my stroke ended 4 months later, I simply ached for a cup of coffee from the cafe nearby. Coffee tasted so much better when prepared by a barista. So we went, but the noise inside of the cafe jarred me. I looked around, but the people were engaged in relatively quiet conversation just as before my stroke. So I left the cafe just 5 minutes in, coffee forgotten.
It was time to do some research. Why in hell was the noise too much? I discovered it’s commonly called sensory overload or, in the vernacular of people who study it, sensory hypersensitivity.Â
Sensory hypersensitivity (SHS) is a usual complaint after acquired brain injury (ABI incorporating TBI and non-TBI) which explains why SHS is born from an imbalance between the requirement of an environment of senses and the present effects of an individual to meet those needs.Â
Filtering, process, and accepting sensory information becomes evident when your brain becomes flawed. Your brain gets too much information from the senses all at once–sound, vision, smell, taste, or feel which coffee gives all. (Sound of coffee splashing in the cup, vision to see the coffee, smell to sniff the aroma, taste to see if the temperature is right, feel if you drop the coffee on a napkin).
Your percolation stops, and everything smacks you, like a concentrated blow to your brain. This means sounds, lights, and other stimuli that would normally fade into the background become overwhelming.
You should avoid areas like:
Too many people talking at the same time
Crowded places
Busy store or festivals
Loud noisesÂ
Thinking about too many tasks
With brain injury, like stroke or TBI, even everyday sights or sounds can feel too much. Brain fatigue reduces your ability to tolerate normal speech. Damaged areas may interfere with sensory processing and even thoughtfulness. Filters that normally operated sufficiently don’t work as well. (You’re probably recalling them as you move along with this blog).Â
With anxiety or frustration, maybe both, your brain senses caution and increases attention of everything around you. Your senses become vigilant as though sensory signals may feel threatening. With sensory overload, you may feel brain fog, a reason to escape, or sudden irritability.
But there is a way to stop. Leave the brain overload where it happens. It’s always the best way. If not, try breathing slowly using the 4-7-8 method or box breathing. (If you don’t know these the 2 methods, they will be explained in my very next blog). Or don’t do multitasking that further confuses the brain.
Use dim light (“dimmers” sold at Home Depot or Loews) or reduce noise as much as possible. Too many objects, papers, or distractions increase mental load. Use noise-canceling headphones or soft background notes to block overwhelming sounds. Work in short, focused blocks, then rest.Â
Brain injuries often reduce the overall processing power available for handling multiple data of sensory information at once. What might have been manageable before the injury now overrides the brain’s scope, leading to overload. (You’re probably still thinking of examples of brain overload).
Different brain areas usually work together and make sense of data from different senses. When these areas are injured, the brain may fight to consolidate sensory input correctly, creating frustration and overwhelming with simple input, resulting in fight-or-flight syndrome. For example, injury to the frontal lobe might affect the ability to filter and compute data.
Researchers even don’t know all there is to know about the brain. Doesn’t that tell you something?
Joyce Hoffman is one of the world's top 10 stroke bloggers according to the Medical News Today. You can find the original post and other blogs Joyce wrote in Tales of a Stroke Survivor. (https://talesofastrokesurvivor.blog)