# Supersensitivity of hearing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supersensitivity-of-hearing/202635 "2003-09-19T17:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supersensitivity-of-hearing/202635/1 "2003-09-19T17:08:19Z")
Whenever I hear some particularly spooky tale, such as a ghost story, one thing that I always notice after hearing it is just how many noises my ears start picking up which I wouldn’t normally do. For example, today, I was watching some program on TV about ghosts, and suddenly noticed that I could hear the clock on the mantelpiece in my living room ticking, even with the television on. This is a hard task to do even without a television on, as well. At the same time, I could also hear the vibration of the brass plate which hangs over the back of our letter box on the front door moving with the slight breeze outside. Does anyone else experience this, supersensitivity in their senses, for example when you are alone somewhere in a spooky environment? Is it connected to the “flight or fight” idea, i.e. scared-\>become more sensitive to stimuli to gain an upper hand in any upcoming confrontation, or is it something completely different? ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supersensitivity-of-hearing/202635/2 "2003-09-19T18:21:55Z")
I am supersensitive to pointless pronouns. When I see someone write supersensitivity of hearing" instead of “supersensitive hearing” I go ape. That is, I have the experience of the going of ape. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supersensitivity-of-hearing/202635/3 "2003-09-19T18:41:33Z")
Right… ---
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supersensitivity-of-hearing/202635/4 "2003-09-19T20:22:58Z")
I doubt “supersensitive” is the right word for it. Pretty much everyone will hear the things you described, if given the opportunity to try. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supersensitivity-of-hearing/202635/5 "2003-09-19T20:46:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by j.c. \* > I am supersensitive to pointless pronouns. When I see someone write supersensitivity of hearing" instead of “supersensitive hearing” I go ape. That is, I have the experience of the going of ape. > > 😉 I didn’t know “pointless” meant “nonexistent”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supersensitivity-of-hearing/202635/6 "2003-09-19T20:47:12Z")
I would imagine the prior to watching the scary movie, your brain filters out background noises such as the clock ticking because it really isn’t important. There’s no need for you to continuously hear the ticking (unless you’re sitting at work in front of the computer counting the seconds anyway). I assume that after you watched the movie, you became more aware of these sounds that were always there in the first place.