3 Yr Old Is Frightened of All Running Water & Loud Noises, Etc.

I'll bet you've already done this, but it would certainly be wise to take him to a pediatric Otolaryngologist/ear nose throat specialist. The noises may cause him extreme pain and anxiety, for which there is a medical reason. If by chance you haven't already done this, I urge you to act quickly. Good luck to you.

I have a friend whose son does the same thing. He tells her that the running water sounds like people screaming. My daughter was afraid of the toilet flushing, particularly in public bathrooms because they're so loud. She's mostly outgrown it, but even at six, still covers her ears at times when noises are too loud for her liking.

Keep explaining things; that will be helpful, but the good it does may not be seen immediately. You may just have to wait it out. Think down the road a few years... your son isn't going to be fifteen and afraid of running water or toy noises. He will get over it.

Hi J.,
My daughter has a form of Sensory Integration Disfunction. We had an Occupational Therapist work with her right after we figured out what it was (when whe was 2 1/2). She is also sensative to loud noises and is almost 5 now and we are struggling trying to help her learn to ride her bide (with training wheels). She has the darnest time trying to peddle.
There are some good books on SID:
The Out of Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping by Carol Kranowitz
Sensory Integration and the Child by Jean Ayres

An Occupational Therapist can help work with him and teach you how to work with him to help him overcome his fears.

Hope this helps!

Have you taken your son to a doctor? I think what you describe could be symptoms of autism or aspergers. I haven't had much training in either one but I am a teacher and have heard of symptoms such as his. You might look online about these syndroms and see if you think your son has any other symptoms. D.

A lot of responses on here saying the same thing to have him checked. There are so many kids that have the sensory hearing and you definately want to have it checked out. I sub part-time at the schools and there are several kids that have the sensory hearing. Anytime they hear a sound that really bothers them they will cover their ears or scream out. The teachers have taught them to cover their ears when noises bother them instead of yelling out. This has helped and a lot of the noises seem very low to us but for them it is piercing and painful. I assure you, you are not alone in this.

Ever look into the possibility of autism? There are many forms and degrees of autism. Symptoms may includes those in which you have mentioned... And it could be just one more thing to rule out... Best of luck

If you haven't yet, talk with your pediatrician. If it is an autism spectrum disorder, your doctor can connect you with community resources and Occupational Therapists who deal with sensory issues. The OT can help you learn ways to help your son deal with water and noise.

J.,
I believe your son has a sensory problem. His ears are ultra sensitive to sounds - my husband has this problem. In loud rooms, he has a hard time hearing anything distinct; however, when he watches television, it has to be loud so he can understand the words the people are speaking. He also cannot have the windows rolled down while driving in a car. I would definitely follow the advise of several of the earlier posts and take your child to the ENT doctor....
Good luck!

Hello, it sounds like a sensory disorder..maybe something more. My son would flip out at the vacuum, radio, people yelling..etc, he has recently been diagnosed with aspergers. I would talk to your doctor.
Good luck

I have no idea, but perhaps it is something physical? Like mabye his eardrums are sensitive or something like that. Again, I have no idea, but it might be a good idea to check with a doctor and see if it's something physical.

Read the out of sync child and the out of sync child has fun, see if any of it relates to him and or helps him! Good Luck!!!!

J.
I have a daughter who is 9. She had multiple ear infections when she was younger, up to about age 2. The running "joke" had the dr office was that we needed to set up 3 week appointments because that's about how often we were there! We had a hearing test done and she is on the low end of hearing loss. Like your son, she still doesn't like loud noises, people, etc...I would do a hearing test just to be on the safe side. If they aren't hearing correctly, some sounds are very frighting.
Good luck
L.

I agree with Lindsay, it sounds like a sensory disorder. My Aspergers son has always been very sound sensitive. He can hear cotton balls. I never knew cotton balls made a sound, but they do. He always had his hands over his ears as a young child. He is a lot less sound sensitive than he used to be. He has also had other sensory issues over the years. Please check with your doctor. It may be a phase that he is going through, but if it's not, you'll want to be informed. Check out this site. It is very informative. http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/learnsigns.php
Please let us know how it turns out. God bless.

J.,

You probably need to see a ears, nose and throat Dr. This very well could be some kind of problem with his hearing. He may not be hearing things as we hear them.

You may want to have him tested for Sensory Processing Disorder. There is a website that you can look at http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/ that may help with ideas on how to help him with the noise issues. It sounds worse than it is. My son, who is 13, has always had a problem with loud noises, voices, etc, and we always put in down to his ear problems. Last October, I was reading through First Magazine and found this article on this disorder and it describe his problem to a T. I showed the article to his social worker at school, and she said it explained a lot of his behavior and they are having him tested.

Have you had his hearing tested? Maybe things seem louder to him.

Have you tried getting his ears/hearing checked? Sure you know that he can hear but it sounds like he may have very sensative ears to sound in general. I don't know that there's much you can do about it but at least you'll know what's going on with him. Good luck & God Bless!