Headphones don’t fix abrupt noise for me (Autistic Adult)
Headphones don’t fix abrupt noises for me. Door slams still cost me ~3 energy.
The moment I realized it
I tried putting on headphones to drown out the constant opening and shutting of doors in my family house.
I ended up losing 3 energy by how constant and exhausting it is for me.
My nervous system still treats it like a threat because it’s sudden and unpredictable.
I was quick to notice that the sudden opening and shutting of doors was overwhelming me since I've been in autistic burnout for over 5 years now.
It's sudden, abrupt, and it constantly goes on and on, and no amount of white noise and noise cancelling running on my headphones drowns it out.
It's sensory overload for me.
My body reacts anyway
My body immediately tenses up, and I feel a few seconds away from having an silent meltdown, from the sheer unpredictability of it, and how loud it is.
I don’t know if it's going to happen again seconds later, or half an hour later.
My heart rate rises and I have to immediately stop whatever I'm doing to quickly go outside and calm myself down.
It breaks my recovery time
Even if I’m doing something calming—reading or playing a game—one door slam resets me. My executive function drops and I can’t stay on the task. I have to step away from my computer to recover.
The problem follows me outside
I try to escape outside, but the noise follows me. Someone’s on the phone loudly, people still try to get my attention, and I have to mask through it while I’m already overloaded. That makes recovery slower.
About Me
I'm Omari, a 23-year-old autistic adult who's been managing chronic burnout for 5+ years while working warehouse shifts.
I'm in autistic burnout recovery.
This is why I built Spoons
I built Spoons to track when my energy is low so I can choose the least unpredictable environment before I tip into meltdown.
My current environment is very unpredictable and exhausting and minimizing that unpredictability will help reduce the chance of me having multiple silent meltdowns on a weekly basis.
Launching April 2026. getspoons.app — One email when it's ready. No spam.
— Omari
Note: I'm sharing my personal experience as an autistic adult, not medical advice. If you're experiencing severe burnout or crisis, please consult a healthcare provider familiar with autism.