Managing Sensory Overload With Multiple Sclerosis - Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Information, and resources

Multiple sclerosis can lead to a feeling of sensory overload, which in turn might lead you to quit a job, stop driving, and avoid events you’d like to attend. Here’s how to overcome sound and noise sensory overload and enjoy your life.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

Medically reviewed by Farrokh Sohrabi, MD

Lights too bright? Sounds too loud? Scents too strong? You might be suffering from sensory overload, an aspect of multiple sclerosis symptoms that can make the chaos and noise of everyday life unbearable at times. Sensory overload is not just an annoyance — it forces some people to leave a job if they can’t find relief from the stress of hyper-stimulated senses or to stop attending social events because they all seem too noisy and bright.

Washington, D.C., resident Yvonne Brown (pictured top left), 50, is living with sensory overload caused by multiple sclerosis. She had to sideline her career before she realized that sensory overload was the reason she was having difficulties at work.

“I was an audio engineer, and I just couldn’t mix all the tracks any longer,” Brown says. Though she knew at the time that she had multiple sclerosis, she had not yet realized that her condition was related to why she was reacting to the stress of sounds and lights. In fact, it wasn’t until she nearly tripped on a pair of shoes she simply couldn’t see (because of visual overload) that her doctor began to talk about sensory overload. Not long afterward, the loud noises at an MS fundraiser in a gymnasium triggered an MS episode requiring her to be carried out of the room. When she had to leave a department store because the scent of sample perfumes nearly knocked her flat, Brown knew sensory overload was a significant issue that she had to address. But, says Brown, an advocate for multiple sclerosis, “I refuse to let multiple sclerosis destroy my joy in life.”