Our understanding of the world around us comes from the information we receive through our five senses; hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell. For someone living with a sensory impairment, one or more of their senses do not work fully, or at all and so they rely more on their other senses to gain sensory information.
When there is a lot of sensory information to take in, or a person’s senses are working extra hard, this can sometimes lead to sensory overload which can be very uncomfortable and even painful. Our article shares some simple, practical ways you can help them avoid experiencing sensory overload, and offers strategies to support them if sensory overload arises.
What is sensory overload?
Sensory overload occurs when someone becomes overwhelmed because one or more of their senses is being overstimulated. This means that their brain is receiving more information from the senses than it can process. It can make it very difficult for someone to focus and can feel like anxiety, agitation, panic and physical discomfort. It can also lead to extreme tiredness or fatigue due to the effort needed to concentrate.
Sensory overload can be triggered by sounds, sights, tastes or tactile sensations, and by certain environments and situations, and it is very common in people with a sensory impairment. People experience sensory overload differently, depending on their impairment.
What might seem like an everyday situation to one person can feel overwhelming to someone else with a hearing impairment, with flashing lights, fast moving video images or crowded places with lots going on all providing the potential for overwhelm and visual sensory overload.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing also use their eyes a lot more than a hearing person, taking in lots of information from visual cues around them. For example, someone who is deaf or hard of hearing will often communicate using sign language or lip-reading, and this can become exhausting in environments with lots of other visual stimuli around.
Additionally, unexpected loud noises or vibrations can also startle and overwhelm someone with a hearing impairment, leading to heightened anxiety and stress.
People who are blind or living with a visual impairment will often take in information from what they can hear, touch and smell. Overlapping or multiple conversations going on at once, background noise, or sudden loud noises can all make it very difficult for someone with a visual impairment to feel relaxed and be able to focus, and can sometimes trigger a feeling of sensory overload.
Someone with a sensory impairment can often feel overwhelmed in situations that feel busy, intense and constricting, where their body is getting jostled, or simply feeling fenced in by the presence of lots of other people. For example, in a busy shopping centre or on public transport, with lots of people touching or bumping into each other, or at an event like a concert, it might be difficult to move through a crowd or there might be unexpected obstacles to navigate. All this, combined with the everyday challenges of living with a sensory impairment, can sometimes feel too much, and lead to sensory overload.
How someone experiences sensory overload will be unique to them in any situation. However, when the brain receives too much information or it struggles to focus on one thing it can trigger a fight, flight or freeze response. It can also cause a number of physical and emotional symptoms. Physically, sensory overload might feel like discomfort, intensity and agitation, with the heart speeding up and the breath becoming faster. Some people experience headaches or other pain in their body too.
On the other hand, emotional responses to sensory overload can be any emotion from mild stress, all the way up to anxiety, fear and panic. When someone has experienced a physical or emotional response as a result of sensory overload, it is quite natural to feel exhausted and a deep need to rest as their nervous system recovers and comes back into balance.
Ways to prevent sensory overload
Anyone can experience sensory overload, whether they have a sensory impairment or not. However, if you are caring for someone with a sensory impairment, here are some ways to help them avoid experiencing sensory overload.
Whilst it is not always possible to determine what causes someone to experience sensory overload, there may be specific lights, sounds or other sensory cues which are more likely to cause overstimulation than others. These specific sensory cues can be considered triggers.
Being aware of certain triggers can be useful as it means that you can both take steps to avoid certain situations, or put measures in place to ensure the trigger doesn’t become overwhelming. For example, implementing simple ways to reduce the impact of a certain trigger, like minimising background noise, keeping spaces and walls clear and uncluttered, and sitting rather than standing on public transport, can be beneficial.
Of course, it isn’t always possible to predict when a triggering situation might arise, and so having a range of strategies in place can be useful.
If the triggering situation is unavoidable or something which they experience regularly, some individuals find it helpful to build resilience to it. This does not work for everyone but supporting someone to intentionally experience a challenging situation for a short amount of time can help them to manage their emotional responses and practice their calming strategies to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Over time, these situations can start to feel more manageable.
Sensory overload is caused by an overwhelming amount of information being processed by the senses and so creating a calm, quiet environment can help someone to avoid reaching sensory overload in everyday situations. When thinking about the places the person you care for might visit, you might consider adjusting the lighting, sound levels or space to move around to create a more relaxed environment. For example, visiting somewhere at a quieter, off-peak time can be less overwhelming.
Someone will always feel more secure in a familiar environment too, so visiting somewhere in advance can help.
Sensory overload takes place because the brain becomes overwhelmed with too much to process at once, and so taking regular breaks to disrupt this seemingly endless flow of information can be very helpful. Sometimes just a couple of minutes of rest or a few deep breaths in a calmer environment can help someone to reset and prevent sensory overload from escalating.
There are a range of tools available to reduce the impact of sensory overload. Noise cancelling headphones, tinted glasses and coloured overlays for computer screens can all help, and the person you care for will be able to let you know what would work best for them.
Tactile feedback can also help someone feel more safe and confident in stimulating environments, and that might mean feeling the presence of a reassuring hand on their arm, using a cane to feel the ground beneath their feet, or focusing on a stress toy in their hand. The person you care for will have their own preferences.
Ways to support someone through sensory overload
Sensory overload can affect someone’s ability to cope in everyday situations. This can cause changes in how they feel and behave which can not only be challenging for them, but for those around them too. There are however a wide range of things you can do to support them as their carer.
When supporting someone with a sensory impairment, there may be a number of ways that you can empower them to manage situations in order to avoid sensory overload. One way to do this is to encourage them to maintain boundaries they feel comfortable with. For example, asking people not to touch them, only staying in certain environments for a specific amount of time or taking a break. This can help to reduce some of the anxiety and frustration that comes with sensory overload, helping them to regulate their emotions and behaviours more quickly.
If you are aware that the person you care for is experiencing sensory overload and showing behaviours which are out of character, as their carer, they may need you to advocate for them, help them get out of the environment, and support them in managing their physical and emotional responses.
Taking steps to reduce anxiety and promote opportunities for relaxation in their everyday lives can help to alleviate many of the symptoms of sensory overload. During a stressful situation, the person you care for can draw on the relaxation techniques that suit them best, supporting themselves to feel calmer and more grounded.
Simple breathing exercises take a few minutes to learn, and are useful to practise every day, not just in the midst of an episode of sensory overload. Regular practice of simple breathing and relaxation techniques supports the nervous system, calming and strengthening it so it feels more robust and is less easily triggered.
You can support the person you care for by practising some simple breathing and relaxation techniques with them - this will benefit both you and the person you care for, and be something very positive to enjoy together.
Stress toys, pleasant music or nature sounds, warm baths, soft lighting and weighted blankets have all been known to be effective in reducing the effects of sensory overload.
It is also important that, after an episode of sensory overload, you both take time to rest, relax and recharge. This can help you to prevent the impact of sensory overload affecting you both long term.
If sensory overload is having a significant impact on the person you care for, reducing their ability to engage in life and do the things they enjoy, you might consider accessing specialist support. Speaking to your GP is a good first step, and they will be able to signpost you to a specialist, or a condition specific organisation.
It can also sometimes be helpful to talk to others in a similar situation, to ask advice and learn from their experiences such as in peer support groups. Counselling and other talking therapies may also be an option.