I can relate to all that you are saying. I too startle so easily, any loud noises, even quiet noises behind me. At work they always say they can't believe I had 5 kids and jump at every sound. I never thought about it being connected to neuropathy.

As for your AC, could you get central AC, which only comes through your register vents...it's quiet because all the noise is outside.

WOW! I "thought" I would be able to relate to this thread. "NOT!" You guys are way too deep for me on this subject reading stuff I'd never heard of and understanding very little.

I can share relating to over stimulation with sensory information overload. I notice when I leave the security and comfort of my home and to go Walmart, Costco, and mall, grouping of people like church, my symptoms go into high gear. I experience a majority of the symptom DejaVu speaks of in addition to disorientation, confusion, imbalance even sitting on my scooter.

Allow me to provide a visual for you. While my wife and I were watching the final battle scene in Avatar, on his worse day without meds, I would make Michael J. Fox look like he was in stasis and frozen in time. My wife will actually move one seat away. I'm assuming she is in fear of her life due to the flailing arms and legs.

I find movie theaters way too loud for me now that I am older.

Also I cannot tolerate the ear buds from my MP3 player for long.
My brain sort of starts "screaming" turn it off!

I however can listen to music if I plug the MP3 into a boombox, and I like music in the car. I CANNOT however come to this board or type while music is playing on the computer, like some people. It seems to affect my ability to form thoughts and type them out. I can however, draw and do art work, while music is playing--and it is often helpful!

I think pain signals just scramble your brain somehow.Loud fast moving booming movies, are out of my sphere now. The first 3 Star Wars with Darth Vader's rise to power, with all the wars and crashing around I can only stand for about 20 minutes!

Pain wears me out and makes me tired. Noise just tires me out faster!

Deja I think you mentioned something for me too about being overwhelmed. I don't enjoy a lot going on and like a low key environment which noise does not represent to me. I know for me it is very key to keep calm and mellow if that is possible through pain. For air I could never tolerate a window unit. Well I live in South Florida but even with my air vents they are directed in a certain way so it does not hit me hard or my pain increases. I have been also mentioned migraines cause of my eye pain as well as ear pain but I dont think I have them. My ear pain is separate from my noise sensitivity.
Darlin 10 grandkids and 5 kids. Wow. I am an only child and single as an adult right now. I come from a background of quiet so I think that has something to do with it too.
Mrs D when you go to the movies make sure to sit in the middle not on the edges cause that is where the speaker is. I used to sit on the end so I could get out easier but the sound is too loud. Sometimes for me music ear phones help and sometimes they bother. So I try to go with the flow.
Gosh looking back at this and what I wrote really makes me feel like I am falling apart.
Hang in there all