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.
I notice small sounds, yes. Sibling likes to talk about the time I heard a faint ‘tk tk tk’ sound and went to find it because it was driving me mad.
It was a spider several feet above my head making a web. The ‘tk tk tk’ was its legs clicking together as it spun.
It’s a definitely agree for me. We had to change some smart light bulbs because they omitted a very high pitched sound that nobody but me could hear. Also had to change our dog walk route because in one of the houses on our old route they bought one of those machines to keep animals away and I almost cried when we passed it. Also can hear phones ring in cars passing our house.
This first one is an easy question for me. Nobody else seems to be bothered by TVs hissing to themselves on standby. Nobody else notices that fridge compressor that squeals when you leave the door open. I’m usually first to notice drips, leaks, animals, equipment left running. I used to be bothered by bat calls, and that’s supposedly inaudible to humans.
That’s a Definitely Agree for me.
I used to be bothered by bat calls, and that’s supposedly inaudible to humans.
Some species do partially chirp into the human audible range. But yeah it still requires moderately good hearing.
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.
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.
I’d rather play AQ20. /s
1, definitely agree. Not diagnosed but several self tests encourage investigating further. I hear sounds all the time everywhere, and I’m especially annoyed by low frequency noise such as ventilation or computer fans, sounds my colleagues do not even notice. It steals my focus which is probably more exhausting than the sound itself.
