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12->'''General Zod:''' ''What'' have you done to me?!\
13'''Superman:''' My parents taught me to hone my senses, Zod. To focus on just what I wanted to see. Without your helmet, you're getting everything... and it ''hurts''... '''doesn't it?!'''
14-->-- ''Film/ManOfSteel''
15
16One strategy for disabling someone without permanently incapacitating them is to debilitate them by overloading their senses. In some cases, an intensely [[BlindedByTheLight bright light]], a [[EpilepticFlashingLights pulsating light]] or [[LoudOfWar loud noise]] are just as effective as a TapOnTheHead, and can allow easy capture. If that fails, it's another form of LookBehindYou, without having to actually talk to the opponent.
17
18This is a common tactic against those with SuperSenses because it turns a strength into a weakness. Technology or magic may grant {{Badass Normal}}s super-human senses that can be exploited this way. Often exploited against characters wearing night-vision goggles by turning on a light. Used against a machine, this often results in ReadingsAreOffTheScale. In a VideoGame, this is likely to be represented as an InterfaceScrew of some sort. A character with DisabilityImmunity might be immune to this kind of attack.
19
20Hollywood tends to portray this with echoey sound effects, blurred images, or a FishEyeLens.
21
22See also PokeInTheThirdEye, FirstTimeFeeling, and SensoryAbuse. Compare SenseLossSadness; MySkullRunnethOver, which is a mental overload; and TooMuchForManToHandle, which is a power overload.
23
24Not to be confused with [[VideoGame/SensoryOverload the video game]] of the same name.
25
26----
27!! Examples:
28
29[[foldercontrol]]
30
31[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
32* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': When Guts decides to kill a giant sea god thing by hacking through its body to its heart, the heart is so huge that the sheer loudness of the heartbeat alone nearly kills him. He does manage to slay it, but afterward, he is deaf, blind, and completely numb from head to toe, and has to be rescued before the sea god sinks beneath the waves. Fortunately, he recovers his senses with some rest.
33* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Mayuri Kurotsuchi weaponizes this in the final moments of his battle with Szayelaporro Granz when the latter rejuvenates himself in Nemu's body, unaware that he's just absorbed a special drug hidden in her. This drug, called the "Superhuman Drug" by Mayuri, heightens a person's senses to superhuman levels, slowing down their sense of time down to a crawl. Since this is an undiluted version of the drug, its effects are even greater, as by this point, Szayelaporro's senses have been heightened to the point that through his perspective, [[FateWorseThanDeath the mere seconds it takes for Mayuri to very slowly stab his hand and chest feel like hundreds of years]]. [[AndIMustScream By the time the tip of Mayuri's sword finally pierces Szayelaporro's heart, he is begging him to hurry up and kill him]].
34* In ''Manga/Change123'', during the guerrilla mission into the American military base on Okinawa, this kind of tactic is used by Tsukishima against tracker dogs and by Hino against a soldier using NightVisionGoggles.
35* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': When a telepath geass user was exposed to a massive crowd, the character has a mental breakdown.
36* ''Manga/Cyborg009'': In the 2001 series, this happens twice to Francoise/003:
37** In the flashbacks, [[spoiler:003 was thrown into the middle of a battlefield ''right after being turned into a 00-Cyborg'', freaking out over the excessive amount of noise from the weapons firing at her thanks to her enhanced hearing, and barely understanding what was going on. 002/Jet had to pull her out of the battlefield and explain what happened]].
38** The Black Ghost group once uses a special sound bomb to mess with her SuperSenses during an underwater combat. It briefly works.
39* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', Goku nearly passes out when he gets a whiff of [[ThePigPen Bacterian]], a fighter that has never taken a bath in his life and causes people with a normal sense of smell to cover their nose and cry in disgust. Poor Goku even says his nose is so sensitive that he ''can't'' stand even a bit of Bacterian's stench.
40* ''Manga/TheElderSisterLikeOne'': A rare benevolent example from the original doujins, in which [[EldritchAbomination Chiyo]] is heavily implied to be gently overwhelming [[DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu Yuu]]'s mind with [[BizarreAlienSenses pleasures beyond ordinary human perception]].
41* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
42** Kyôka, the leader of the nine demon gates, has the ability to alter a person's senses. She uses this to greatly increase Erza's sense of pain, making her scream in agony with even the slightest of hits.
43** Larcade of the Spriggen 12 plays it the other way, killing his opponents by destroying their minds with pleasure.
44* Several times in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', most notably using ammonia from dynamite to knock out two chimæra.
45* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': The title character is laid low by overpowering smells a few times thanks to his keen doglike nose. It mostly happens coincidentally, though, rather than being intentional on the part of an enemy.
46* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': Kaguya is very sensitive to strong stimuli, particularly loud noises and foul smells. It's apparently genetic, given than [[spoiler:her cousin Maki also can't deal with loud noises]].
47* ''Manga/{{Karin}}'': Used for comical effect when it is revealed that [[VampiresHateGarlic the vampires' famous aversion to garlic]] basically just comes down to enhanced senses, including a very strong sense of smell... so it won't kill them, but they sure will retreat in a hurry, pinching their noses.
48* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Naruto once beats Kiba by accidentally [[{{Fartillery}} farting]] into Kiba's [[TheNoseKnows super-sensitive nose]], ''when poor Kiba had his smell sense enhanced with chakra''. It has since become a RunningGag; any time Naruto farts, Kiba is somewhere within range.
49* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
50** Chopper (being a Reindeer) is susceptible to pungent odours and is nearly knocked out when Nami puts some fancy perfume on, but Sanji [[TheStrategist use this as an advantage]] later on, by asking Nami to spray herself again so Chopper [[TheNoseKnows can find them]].
51** Aisa from Skypeia was born with [[CombatClairvoyance Kenbunshoku Haki]] or "Mantra" which allows her to sense auras around her, but being a small girl, she freaks out when she senses a particularly badass presence (such as Wyper) or when she feels people dying around her.
52* ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'':
53** Comes into play with Gloom, which produces a smell bad enough to knock out people and Pokémon (and it's not even an official move to begin with). This is a rather big problem for Ash when facing Erika's. The only time where it doesn't produce such a smell is when it doesn't feel threatened.
54** Team Rocket uses a foul-smelling gas (made from Gloom) to deaden the sense of smell of Officer Jenny's Growlithe squad so they would not recognize Officer Jenny's scent and thus obey her commands. That's just step one of their plan, which is to trick the Growlithe squad into obeying Team Rocket by then causing Jenny's voice to go high-pitched with helium while they disguise themselves with Jenny's voice and looks.
55* ''Anime/SonicX'': As a bat, Rouge has sensitive ears, and can therefore be disabled by loud, high-pitched noises.
56* In ''Anime/TigerAndBunny,'' Kotetsu attempts to use an ultrasonic grenade to defeat Jake's super hearing. [[spoiler:However, it is just a ruse to overcome Jake's true power, mind reading, and the "ultrasonic" grenade is really a flashbang.]]
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Comic Books]]
60* Domenic of ''ComicBook/ClanDestine'' is prone to this, to the point where he sleeps in a sensory deprivation chamber. At one point he tastes chocolate and immediately passes out.
61* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'': Often, this is how villains defeat Daredevil due to his SuperSenses. ComicBook/ThePunisher has also used it on him.
62-->'''Punisher:''' I rigged ultrasonics up an hour ago. Works like silent whistles do on dogs. Every pooch in the neighborhood starts howling. Even with the earplugs I feel like puking my guts up. What it does to those senses of his -- I can't even imagine.
63* In ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'', Viltrumites' SuperHearing is vulnerable to high frequencies due to their NighInvulnerability not being ''internal'', which leads to particularly [[YourHeadASplode messy results]] with a high enough ultrasonic.
64* In the ''Franchise/MonsterVerse'' graphic novel ''Kingdom Kong'', [[Characters/MonsterVerseKaiju Camazotz]] is on both the giving and receiving ends. His [[SuperScream sonic screech]] causes humans and Titans to suffer disorientation and debilitating pain, and it can affect people miles away. [[spoiler:Captain Burns uses Camazotz' own heightened hearing against him by using her jet to produce a disorienting sonic roar next to his head]].
65* ''ComicBook/PS238'' has a child with the power of noticing patterns; it's so strong that he actually falls under PrescienceIsPredictable, able to figure out what has and will happen with uncanny accuracy. While he can interact with the other students for short periods, he spends most of his time studying in a private room with blank walls to keep from being overwhelmed.
66* In ''ComicBook/{{Sillage}}'', during a prison riot, one of the aliens kills his enemy by injecting him with his hormones. It is a part of a mating ritual for his species, but the sensation is too overwhelming for any other creature -- he basically orgasms him to death.
67* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
68** Spidey can suffer from this, as several villains have succeeded in overloading his SpiderSense and big events such as ''ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga'' can [[MySignificanceSenseIsTingling make Spidey's mind go haywire]] even though he's nowhere near what's taking place.
69** When he got the power of [[Characters/MarvelComicsCaptainUniverse Captain Universe]], Spider-Man freaked out at his senses being able to pick up everything.
70* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
71** Superman and Kryptonians in general have occasionally been hurt by extremely loud noises. Their NighInvulnerability and their super-hearing apparently cancel each other out. When fighting Silver Banshee Supes describes her scream as "ten atomic bombs going off in your skull", ComicBook/BlackCanary and ComicBook/{{Batman}} have been able to make Superman bleed from the ears/nose with sonic screams and sonic weapons.
72** In ''ComicBook/ThePlagueOfTheAntibioticMan'', when Supergirl fights Amalak's energy construct, it explodes in a flash of light more intense than a super-nova, blinding her temporarily.
73--->'''Supergirl:''' M-My eyes! I can't see! Great Krypton! I'm blind!\
74'''Amalak:''' Of course, Supergirl-- And exactly as I planned! Your super-optic nerves may be capable of unique perceptions... but they are not invulnerable to severe shock! I am merely the first person in history to have discovered a means of producing light bright enough to blind you!
75** In ''ComicBook/TheJungleLine'', Clark Kent loses his powers due to Bloodmorel illness; shortly after, his super-hearing returns suddenly and ''deafeningly'' while he is crossing the street and passing by several sources of strident noise: a boombox, a drilling machine, a kid shouting...
76** When Krypto first appears in ''ComicBook/TheSupermanAdventures'', he goes berserk because he can't handle his Super Senses.
77** In the ''ComicBook/Supergirl2005'' storyline ''ComicBook/GirlPower'', Cyborg uses an ultrasonic device to slow ComicBook/{{Superboy}} down.
78** In ''ComicBook/SupermanUpUpAndAway'', after one year without his SuperSenses, Superman is briefly overwhelmed by sensory input from his surroundings and the memories from his youth.
79** In ''ComicBook/SupermanBrainiac'', the Man of Steel eventually wins by knocking the Coluan invader into a swamp, where he's disabled by the overwhelming sensations of all kinds of microorganisms crawling over his skin.
80** In ''ComicBook/TheHuntForReactron'', a member of Perseus Hazard's K-Squad uses a "Screamer" -- a shoulder cannon weapon which fires ultrasonic waves -- to shoot Supergirl and Flamebird down.
81** In ''ComicBook/DeathAndTheFamily'', when Silver Banshee's sonic scream strikes Supergirl, Kara becomes totally deaf for several instants.
82** ''ComicBook/LastDaughterOfKrypton'': Seconds after arriving on Earth, Kara's super hearing starts working. All of sudden, Kara is hearing the noises of a whole planet, and she does not know how to stop it or control it. She shuts her eyes, clutches her head with both hands and falls on her knees while she screams and asks it to stop.
83--->'''Kara:''' ''[thinking]'' Ears '''ringing'''-- Where are these sounds-- "...Please...Stop..." '''coming from'''?!
84** In ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', Lobo knocks ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} out via a psychic stunner. Unfortunately for him, she doesn't stay down for long, and she's real pissed when she regains consciousness.
85** In ''ComicBook/EscapeFromThePhantomZone'', Ben is being cornered by the BigBad's minions. ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} quickly tosses a stun beacon at him and tells him to cover his eyes. The ensuing, blinding flash is so overpowering that all mooks fall to their knees, rubbing their aching eyes and moaning in pain.
86* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW'': When the mutant alligator Leatherhead escapes into New York City he is immediately overwhelmed by the sounds and scents and is forced to retreat into the river. This is because he [[spoiler:spent the last [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld century and a half]] in a sterile laboratory]].
87* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'': Issue #21 reveals that Soundwave has a form of Synesthesia, a neurological condition that essentially causes one to display a "hidden sense" and perceive letters, numbers, smells, and other such things as colored. All in all, it's portrayed fairly realistically even with a moment where Soundwave has to step away from a group of Decepticons because their emotional behavior is causing him to suffer a sensory overlord.
88* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
89** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} has super-sensitive hearing, so many villains like to use [[MakeSomeNoise sonic attacks]] against him.
90** Fabian Cortez uses this on [[Characters/MarvelComicsPsylocke Psylocke]], amplifying her telepathic powers while she's on Genosha, an island full of [[FantasticRacism mutant-haters]]. It backfires in the end, but the whole experience is very traumatic for her.
91** A side-issue of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'' sees Psylocke fighting Daredevil; she is briefly overwhelmed when she tries to read his mind, unable to cope with the sheer scale of what Daredevil experiences on a daily basis.
92** {{Exaggerated|Trope}} by Jean Grey in ''ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga''. To punish Mastermind for the hubris of trying to control her, she briefly granted him omniscience -- the experience was so overwhelming that he was rendered comatose.
93** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean]] herself suffered from this when she was younger. It's brought up again in ''ComicBook/AllNewXMen'' when Kitty has to comfort Jean while she's picking up everybody's thoughts.
94** ComicBook/{{Dazzler}} has an attack of [[LightEmUp multicolored, bright, and strobing lights]] that disorients opponents -- even those without specialized eyesight.
95** Rogue also tends to run into this problem -- with her PowerParasite mutation, she can risk overloading herself with someone else's powers or memories. For example, in an early comic, Rogue (pre-HeelFaceTurn) absorbed [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]]'s WeatherManipulation and nearly destroys the Pentagon since she's overwhelmed by the power and lacks Storm's experience. However, this is DependingOnTheWriter as in some later comics Rogue absorbs [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]'s EyeBeams and uses them [[PowerIncontinence more easily than Scott himself]] -- in fact, she even can turn the blasts off, something Scott cannot do [[note]]Although it should be noted that it's generally agreed that Scott's lack of control is based on some physical or psychological injury rather than his powers not having a 'natural' off-switch [[/note]].
96** Mister Sensitive from ''ComicBook/XStatix'' can be defeated by stripping away his special suit. Even a fine mist feels like thousands of needles. Once, a villain tortured him by lightly scratching a ''pen knife'' across his bare skin.
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Fan Works]]
100* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/202406 and pins scream as they fall to the floor]]'' theorizes that [[Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn Tsuna]] always had [[HyperAwareness Hyper Intuition]], and it's [[BlessedWithSuck why he's so bad at everything]]. From the day he was born, he was suffering from continuous sensory overload, which is why he can't focus on sports or academics. Only Dying Will Mode allows him to filter out the noise.
101* ''Fanfic/{{Daemorphing}}'': In ''Five Artworks About the Andalite-Yeerk War'', the Taxxon art installation ''Steadfast'' is a Yeerk ship filled with stimuli designed to trigger Taxxons' HorrorHunger, such as bright lights, dry air, and earthquake-like vibrations. Some criticise it for being torture for Taxxons but harmless to anyone else, others thing it's a brilliant commentary on how the Yeerks didn't care about their hosts' well-being, and an autistic human says she relates to the overstimulation.
102* ''Fanfic/DailyEquestriaLifeWithMonsterGirl'': One of the anti-centaur weapons the Guards use works on this principle. Centaurs have an extremely acute sense of smell, far more so than ponies, so the Guards use spheres filled with the strongest-smelling substances they could find.
103* In ''Fanfic/DaughterOfFireAndSteel'', [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] gets overwhelmed when she uses her Kryptonian super senses for the first time. Jax-Ur guesses her senses "were enhanced beyond [her] brain's ability to handle it."
104-->Whatever euphoria she felt before escalated tenfold as her lungs completely filled with the alien atmosphere. Then she twitched as the walls seemed to fade right before her eyes. She could see Jax in the other room and even Zod then the two turned into skeletons and then shapes of bright red light. the sound of the engine, machinery, footsteps as Kryptonians wandered the halls of the ship, all roared in Kara's ears. Everything was so bright and so loud, it was all too much. Screaming, she quickly tapped her helmet once more and its shield reactivated. Kryptonian air quickly replaced the alien air as Kara dropped to her knees, slowly regaining her senses.
105* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal has young student Assassin [[TykeBomb Famke Smith-Rhodes-Stibbons]] being educated in how to thrive in conditions where she can neither see nor hear. After her introduction to the Sensory Deprivation Chamber, designed to deprive her of nearly ''all'' her five senses,[[note]]She can still smell things and her ability to feel things is limited but not totally removed; the designer hasn't figured out how to completely negate touch and smell yet.[[/note]] her tutor explains that after an hour in the Chamber, being suddenly returned to the world outside is not advisable as full light and unmuted everyday sound will be physically painful -- she must gradually readjust to normality. Later on, Famke realizes bright light and loud sound can be used as a very effective weapon against somebody coming out of SD.
106* ''Fanfic/EchoesOfYesterday'': Supergirl's super-senses, which she had lost when she arrived in Earth-Bet, return when she's in the middle of a fight. All of sudden she's seeing through people, looking at colors whose existence most people don't know about, and hearing every noise in the city. She becomes so dazed by the overwhelming visual and aural overload than she actually gets hit by two crooks.
107* ''Fanfic/ElementalsOfHarmony'': This happens several times to Ditzy, given her ability to see magic. Usually, it's near Twilight's house, given the ludicrous amount of magic there, but also happens when meeting the Myojin of Seeing Winds, which to her eyes is a blue giant star five feet from her face.
108* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13011466/3/The-Emerald-Phoenix The Emerald Phoenix]]''. During the Heroes vs. Villains exercise, Kirishima suggests he cause a huge ruckus so Toru can sneak past Jiro to the objective. It fails because Jiro admits that she already trained that weakness out of herself.
109* In the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story "Remaining Anonymous" (an adaptation of the cartoon show episode "Nobody Smurf"), Empath is incapacitated by Mystico the magical goblin causing him to hear so many voices in his head at the same time when he was turned into a goblin.
110* After Noa in ''Fanfic/HardBeingPure'' fully mutates, her sight becomes so good that she can see individual bacteria, along with otherwise imperceptible irregularities in nearly everything around her. It's to the point that she can't open her eyes for more than a second, otherwise she gets too much information and becomes unresponsive.
111* ''Fanfic/HildaAndTheHowlingWoods'': This is what happens when a werewolf taps into his or her SuperStrength or SuperSenses without transforming, as sounds and smells become much stronger and therefore ''painful'' since they don't have the lupine wiring to process it safely. [[spoiler:Hilda ends up experiencing some after her first werewolf encounter, foreshadowing that she's one herself.]]
112* Attempted on John during the ambush at Hermit's Rock in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'' after the attempt to put him to sleep failed. The two guys attacking him hit him with a sonic stunner. While this is painful and disabling, a cry of anguish from George in the forest nearby rouses him to stagger between the trees, and the stunner is thus blocked.
113* In ''Fanfic/LostReflections'', Lolli Beats uses her echolocation scream to disable a group of mercenaries.
114* This happens to Izuku Midoriya in ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', who is Kryptonian in this story. At the tender age of four, he goes from hearing through the otherwise soundproof walls of the police precinct to hearing cries for help, atrocities, and disasters from around the world in the span of a few minutes, mercifully passing out after his brain struggled to process any of this. He manages to stop it by hitting himself in the head when he comes to, but the experience clearly shook him. He has refused to use his Super-Hearing since.
115* ''Fanfic/{{Soliloquy}}'': The shrill noise of the precinct's fire alarm going off is enough to send Daredevil into this. He's able to focus once Foggy squeezes his hand. Apparently, Foggy did this every time they had a fire drill in their dorm when they were in law school.
116* ''Fanfic/VoltronDuality'': Keith undergoes this in the first chapter of "Fight the Universe." Luckily, Akira is there to help him.
117* John in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'' is given extremely sharp hearing, which presents a problem for him whenever he's in a city; even the nearly deserted Ta'akan makes it impossible for him to sleep. Luckily, he learns to tune it so he doesn't get overwhelmed.
118* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1915398/1/YuGiOh-The-Shaman-Tournament Yu-Gi-Oh: The Shaman Tournament]]'': The second of Montoya's "Three Hells" (specially designed training areas) is the Hell of Noise, where the air is filled with a ridiculous cacophony, bright lights and garish colors are everywhere, and nothing feels the way it looks. Making this even worse is that it comes right after the Hell of Silence, a week in total sensory deprivation (although Montoya gives the trainee a couple of hours with gradually adjusting light and music to help prepare them). Miranda ends up having to forcibly shut off all of her senses to cross the Hell of Noise.
119[[/folder]]
120
121[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
122* ''Anime/DragonBallZLordSlug'' reveals that this is actually a key weakness of Namekians; due to their SuperHearing, particularly high frequencies such as whistling will cause them immense pain as Gohan accidentally discovers while innocently whistling around Piccolo. This becomes an advantage when fighting the titular Lord Slug who's also a Namekian, where Gohan exploits this weakness, debilitating Slug long enough for Piccolo (who ripped his own ears off) to give energy to Goku.
123* This is a tactic taught in dragon training on ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2010''. Making loud noises disorients dragons long enough for the fighter to strike or head for cover.
124[[/folder]]
125
126[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
127* The protagonist of ''Film/TheAccountant2016'' is an autistic man who is naturally sensitive towards sensations and thus has a nightly ritual where he rolls a down over his leg to loud rock music and flashing lights as a form of exposure therapy.
128* In ''Film/DancingTrees'', the autistic teenager Martha starts talking to a customer at Nicky's bookstore, and follows her out of the store and down the street. At an intersection, she freezes up, overwhelmed by the moving cars and changing lights. Jake and Penny try to take advantage of her confusion to abduct her, but Nicky runs out to bring her back at the last minute.
129* In ''Film/Daredevil2003'', the hero is briefly incapacitated by loud noises on several occasions. They also disrupt the 3D 'radar' effect his SuperSenses give him. Bullseye eventually realises this and uses it to his advantage.
130-->'''Bullseye:''' The Man Without Fear. Looks like [[WeaksauceWeakness I've found something you're afraid of]]. Let's bring on the fear. Let's bring on the noise. ''[whacks pipe organ with a metal candlestick]''
131* In ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald'', the American Queenie goes to Paris in hopes of finding her sister who's there for work. Queenie, being a mind reader, gets overwhelmed by a cacophony of gibberish when she arrives because she's surrounded by people thinking in French and not English. It overwhelms her senses, and she breaks down sobbing in the middle of the street.
132* ''Film/InYourAfterglow'': During a lecture on autism, Leigh plays unpleasant screeching noises to show the audience what it's like to be overwhelmed by noises you can't block out.
133* In ''Film/JackOfTheRedHearts'', a boy who shares Glory's occupational therapist wears ear protectors because otherwise he can hear water moving through pipes. Later, Glory covers her eyes as Jack moves her through a sunny parking lot.
134* ''Film/Jimmie2008'': When Jimmie becomes overwhelmed by the sound of the blender, and later by his parents arguing, he runs downstairs whimpering with his hands over his ears. He watches videos with the sound off for the same reason. His mother explains to his swimming coach that he doesn't talk because his words would be more noise to him. [[spoiler:During his first real competition, he become so overwhelmed by all the crowd noise that he freezes up instead of jumping into the water. Before his second race, his teammates buy him earplugs, allowing him to lead his team to victory.]]
135* In ''Film/KeepTheChange2017'', one of the people at the autism support group wonders if David seems so withdrawn and unhappy because of sensory overload. In fact, he just doesn't want to be there.
136* In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', Clark Kent [[PowerIncontinence suffered from his]] SuperSenses while growing up and had to train to focus them. [[spoiler:Superman takes advantage of the fact that General Zod and his followers have not had time to train their senses by damaging [[PowerLimiter the helmets that they use to filter light and sound]]. Zod is initially overwhelmed by the onslaught of noise and [[XRayVision being able to see his bones through his skin]] -- however, he manages to adapt fairly quickly thanks to his military training and sheer force of will.]]
137* ''Film/Marathon2005'': When Kyeong-sook and Jung-wook start yelling at each other, Cho-won crouches on the ground, covering his ears and trilling his tongue.
138* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': In ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', Spider-Man uses goggles as part of his costume to focus his enhanced senses, which would otherwise prove distracting while he is out crimefighting. In ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', when Spidey takes the goggles off, he is briefly overwhelmed by the chaos around him, and Vulture takes the advantage to beat the crap out of him.
139* In ''Film/MidwinterNightsDream'', Jovana is prone to this. When a group of overenthusiastic sports fans surrounds Lazar's car, she cowers and covers her ears; when the audience applauds after the school play, she stands offstage with her hands over her ears instead of bowing.
140* In ''Film/Molly1999'', after ThrowingOffTheDisability, Molly explains in a lecture that [[HollywoodAutism when she was autistic]], the world was a confusing jumble, and she had to hunch in on small, safe things like ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' or a piece of string. [[spoiler:When she starts being distracted by other people flipping pages in the library, it's a sign that [[FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome her brain is rejecting the implant]].]]
141* ''Film/PacificRim'': Single-highhandedly piloting [[HumongousMecha Jaegers]] causes this, resulting in [[PsychicNosebleed nosebleeds]]. For this reason, Jaegers are mostly piloted by at least two people.
142* This happens briefly to Riddick in ''Film/PitchBlack'' when another survivor accidentally shines a flashlight in his [[InnateNightVision super-sensitive eyes]].
143* The twist in ''Film/AQuietPlace'' is that [[spoiler:the aliens are vulnerable to high-frequency sounds; while they usually use sound to hunt, high-frequency sound overwhelms their hearing and causes them so much pain that they can do nothing but thrash about. This also causes them to instinctively open the plates on their heads, leaving them vulnerable to headshots]].
144* In ''Film/SonRiseAMiracleOfLove'', Barry reads in a textbook that Raun's autism causes him to be unable to handle all the colors and movement of the world, so he blanks most of it out.
145* In ''Film/StandClearOfTheClosingDoors'', Ricky becomes so overwhelmed and confused by the other passengers' Halloween costumes that he faints.
146* In ''Film/TheStoryOfLuke'', Luke is prone to this. At the beginning, he becomes so overwhelmed at his grandmother's funeral that he screams.
147* In ''Film/{{Tremors}}'', Graboids are super-sensitive to sound. This is exploited several times throughout the films and the TV series.
148* In ''Film/UnderThePiano'', autistic child Rosetta becomes overwhelmed in the marketplace and starts banging her head against a crate.
149* In ''Film/WeTooTogether'', Rob covers his ears and cries during a fireworks display.
150* ''Film/WhenTimeGotLouder'': Kayden is easily overwhelmed by small sounds in his environment, and wears headphones to block them out.
151* ''Film/{{Yellowbeard}}'': Harvey "Blind" Pew has incredibly sensitive hearing, so Gilbert blows on a trumpet to disorient him.
152[[/folder]]
153
154[[folder:Literature]]
155* ''Literature/{{Afrotistic}}'': When Noa is overwhelmed by noises and bright lights, she feels like a dark fog is rising up inside her. On the outside, she seems fine, until the fog overwhelms her and she has a meltdown. Mason, one of the Roaring Pebbles, describes the same feeling as gas coming up around him.
156* Jason from ''Literature/AnythingButTypical'' has PDD-NOS and gets overwhelmed almost every time he goes out in public.
157* In ''Literature/ApolloAutism'', Max shares his autistic sons' sensitivity to lights and noises. He notes that his first son Jake is the first person he's ever met who reacts to light the way he does. He eventually realizes that he shares their condition.
158* In ''Literature/ArtemisFowl and the Time Paradox'', Holly incapacitates a villain by {{healing|Hands}} his sense of smell (which he'd been born without due to a congenital defect) -- in the middle of a Tunesian tannery, which smells horrible even at the ''best'' of times. Since he's never smelled anything before, the stench causes a complete sensory overload, knocking him out and inflicting some serious mental trauma in the process.
159* Russ from ''Literature/AspergerSunset'' is prone to this. He doesn't like being outside for the most part because he finds the sights and sounds overwhelming.
160* In ''Literature/AxisOfTime'', when a "temp" (someone native to the [=1940s=]) first puts on an "uptimer" (one of the arrivals from the 21st century) helmet with an HUD displaying lots of information and views from multiple cameras, the man is overwhelmed by it all and asks how anyone can function, let alone fight, with this thing on. The "uptimer" marine who gave it to him chuckles and says it takes thousands of hours of practice to get used to it all and learn to treat it as just another sense.
161* In the ''Literature/{{Bat}}'' series, the titular character wears his sister's old earmuffs to school to deal with sensory overload.
162* Jack from ''Literature/BecauseOfTheRabbit'' loves reading about animals, but he finds their sounds, smells, and movements overwhelming in person. He's almost too nervous to pet Lapi.
163* Tally from ''Literature/CanYouSeeMe'' finds the hallways and cafeteria of Kingswood Academy horribly overwhelming, especially once her friends turn against her and she has no one to distract her.
164* ''Literature/{{Clade}}'': As a young child, the autistic boy Noah lives in a near-constant state of overload from other people's erratic, unpredictable movements and their loud, incomprehensible voices. His sensory processing abilities improve with age and therapy.
165* The title character of ''Literature/ColinFischer'' is prone to this and copes by barking like a dog.
166* In ''Literature/TheCuriousIncidentOfTheDogInTheNightTime'', Christopher is overwhelmed by sensory overload in UsefulNotes/TheLondonUnderground: the noises, the advertisements, and especially the people.
167* ''Literature/DebtOfHonor'' features a device that makes a burst of light that's so bright it causes temporary paralysis. Not mere incapacitation from blindness, but sensory overload so complete that the subjects are entirely overwhelmed.
168* In ''Literature/DevilsAndThieves'', Jemmie's magic sensitivity only leaves her feeling sick and overwhelmed when surrounded by other kindled, due to the overwhelming mixture of smells and the feeling of magic itself.
169* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
170** Angua the Night Watch patrolman has a supernaturally keen sense of smell. One villain comes up with the clever idea of using peppermint bombs to overwhelm her ability to pick up clues that way. This eventually becomes common practice among the more intelligent parts of Ankh-Morpork's underworld.
171** In ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', when the Auditors of Reality assume human form, they are so overwhelmed by their senses that Susan takes them down with [[spoiler:chocolate]].
172* In the ''Literature/DolphinTrilogy'', John, Vinca, and Syn have all been [[RaisedByWolves raised by dolphins]]. When they enter the upperair world, they both become overwhelmed by the incessant din because it's so different from the peace and quiet underwater.
173* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
174** Harry's [[TrueSight "Wizard Sight"]] sense is overwhelmed when he catches a glimpse of [[EldritchAbomination the Naagloshii]] with it. He throws up, staggers to a friend's house, asks for a quiet dark room, and whimpers in there for about an hour. [[{{Determinator}} Then he gets back to work]].
175** Molly casts a spell that creates bright lights, multi-colored and flashing. Harry calls it the One-Woman Rave. This comes in especially useful when the team is up against a ZergRush army of vampires. Molly's Rave only mildly inconveniences her (mostly) human teammates, but the Super Senses of the vampires are overloaded spectacularly.
176* ''Literature/EstherDiamond'': Vampires don't ''need'' to drink blood, but experience this after feeding. Some of them relish it, others are terrified at the prospect considering that they live in the noisy and somewhat smelly Manhattan.
177* In ''Literature/TheEvolutionOfEmily'', Emily takes her autistic sister Olivia to a modern art gallery they've never been to before. The first few paintings they see are bright and aggressive. Then they come across a multimedia installation with loud industrial noises and strobe lights. Olivia screams and covers her ears. Emily asks the gallerly employee to turn off the audio, then leads Olivia back out.
178* Ernest from ''Literature/EyeOfAFly'' finds yelling painful and crowds overwhelming. Things get especially bad when he has an emotional breakdown late in the book and his sensory processing stops working properly, causing every sight and sound to seem painful and nonsensical until he shuts down completely and walks home in a zombie-like state.
179* "Literature/FairestOfAll": As a child, Siofra constantly cried from being overwhelmed. Finally, her mother told her to either stop crying at the sound of scissors being sharpened or leave. [[TheRunaway She took the second option]].
180* In ''Literature/TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher'', one reason why Roderick and Madeline remain in isolation is because their senses have become so acute [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperesthesia due to hereditary illness]] that going out among other people would be overwhelmingly loud/bright/painful.
181* In ''Literature/TheGoldenHamsterSaga'', Freddy's sensitive ears and nose make him prone to this. When he first meets Mr. John, he finds the smell of cat and guinea pig so overwhelming that he falls over backwards, then scurries into his cage.
182* Drea from ''Literature/HarmonicFeedback'' has spent her whole life living in or near cities, with "jarring sirens, drunk people fighting with their lovers on cell phones, six-inch robo-heels chasing the bus, and the scent of piss on newspaper" that she found unpleasantly intense.
183* In ''Literature/{{Haze}}'', Seb makes the mistake of going to a movie with Kristie and Jen. The soundtrack is too loud for him, especially with the lead actress's unpleasant laugh, and the smell of buttered popcorn makes it worse. Kristie takes his hand, but the invasive feeling is the last straw for Seb, who runs out of the theatre.
184* ''Literature/HoshiAndTheRedCityCircuit'': Hoshi has a FictionalDisability similar to UsefulNotes/{{autism}} and uses a [[BrainComputerInterface navis]] to control sensory input. In one scene, she drops most of her auditory filters to eavesdrop. When she's forced to flee the building with no time to put them back up, she quickly becomes overwhelmed and disoriented. When she almost passes out from overload, her emergency auditory filters go up, but by then her nerves are too shot to activate other sensory or linguistics programming. She runs through the city in a daze and blacks out as soon as she reaches safety.
185* ''Literature/HowToFlyWithBrokenWings'': When Willem becomes overwhelmed by sound, his thoughts tangle, and his world turns grey and starts to melt.
186* ''Literature/InASummerGarment'': As a young child, Simon screams at the sound of the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner, and crowds of people. He outgrows most of this after a few years.
187* ''Literature/InTwoWorlds'': When Anthony is mainstreamed, he's allowed to leave class five minutes early to avoid the crowds in the hallways. Even with this accommodation, he often has trouble retaining his equilibrium.
188* Charlotte from ''Literature/TheKeyToCharlotte'' becomes overwhelmed at church and starts looking around for a quiet place where she can collect herself before she has a meltdown. To her dismay, every room is occupied. Just before she loses control, Zakaria finds her and takes her to his quiet office, where she calms down.
189* Ginny from ''Literature/TheKitchenDaughter'' gets overwhelmed by the other people at her parents' funeral, at the supermarket, and when Amanda brings prospective buyers to the house. She calms down by hiding in the closet.
190* ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho'' has MundaneUtility for this. The cuisine of Kuman Khalifate is all sweet -- they put honey even in soups and the [[TheNoseKnows Master Scenter]] swears Kuman people themselves smell of honey from such a diet. They have a dish named "The Summit of Sweetness" which is so sweet that it's not perceived as such, since the eater's taste buds are effectively "blinded" to sweet taste -- at least until it's washed away.
191* ''Literature/LittleSenses'' by Samantha Cotterill is a series of picture books targeted at children on the autism spectrum or with sensory issues. The first of these, ''This Beach is Loud!'', is about a young boy who is excited about a trip to the beach, but finds all the sights and sounds overwhelming when he gets there. His father guides him through some helpful strategies to calm down and by the end of the story, he's clamoring to come back soon on the drive home and very nearly overwhelming ''his father'' with his constant chatter.
192* Livvie from ''Literature/LivvieOwenLivedHere'' is highly prone to this, as are her classmates in special ed. Once the whistle startles Livvie into dropping her fork, and the sound upsets some of her classmates and causes them to make noises that upset the others, until the whole class is freaking out.
193* At a wedding in ''Literature/LoveAnthony'', Olivia and Beth both notice an unfamiliar autistic boy rocking back and forth with his hands over his ears before he takes off and runs to a nearby beach.
194* ''Literature/MaddysDolphin'': Sonar, especially low-frequency sonar, overwhelms the senses of SapientCetaceans so that they don't know where they are. In their confusion, some of them beach themselves and die.
195* In ''Literature/AMangoShapedSpace'', Mia, who has synesthesia, sometimes suffers from this in noisy environments because of all the shapes and colors.
196* Elizabeth from ''Literature/MiracleCreek'' remembers Henry covering his ears and rocking at a housewarming party when he was three.
197* ''Literature/MirrorProject'': When Holly first turns on Lynn's robotic eyes, they're so sensitive that the sight of a lightbulb gives Lynn a headache worse than anything the original ever experienced.
198* In ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'', burning tin dramatically increases your senses, so one tactic to use against a Tin Eye (people who can only tin) or Mistborn (people who can burn all metals) burning tin is to use bright lights or loud noises. Even though the person can instantly shut down the burn, it still takes a second for them to recover from the shock.
199* In ''Literature/OnTheSpectrum'', the autistic boy Alastair carries around headphones and a weighted vest to calm himself in case he gets overwhelmed. When he can't handle the smells in a market, Clare wraps her scarf around his lower face so he won't smell anything else.
200* In ''Literature/TheOutside'', Boater spaceships don't have shields to block out light and sound like human-built ships do, so almost everyone aboard is almost incapacitated from overload while entering Jai's atmosphere. Yasira has it worse than the others and ends up in a TroubledFetalPosition, unable to talk or move voluntarily, for some minutes after the landing.
201* ''Literature/ThePlaceInsideTheStorm'': At school, Tara is frequently overwhelmed by all the lights, sounds, and smells, which distract her to the point where she struggles in school. After she runs away, she finds that she can think much more clearly. [[spoiler:The mostly autistic separatist commune where she ends up living is set up to minimize overload.]]
202* Nova from ''Literature/PlanetEarthIsBlue'' struggles with this. She covers her ears in the hallway between classes. Part of the reason she does so badly on every intelligence test is that the classroom noises distract her and make it hard to hear what the teacher is saying.
203* ''Literature/QueensOfGeek'': When Taylor is already worried and stressed, a group of shouting, laughing teenage boys enter the diner and sit behind her. This is the last straw, and she runs back to the hotel room and has a meltdown.
204* ''Literature/RainReign'': In class, Rose Howard is driven to distraction by things the other kids don't notice, like the humming of the teacher's laptop. She's the only kid who screams and covers her ears during fire drills.
205* Emmet from ''Literature/TheRoosevelt'' finds everything extra loud, bright, and distracting. A seam on his sock feels like his brain is being scraped with a trowel, a fan blowing on him feels like crawling ants, and flashing lights and strong smells make him sick.
206* Patrick from ''Literature/{{Rubbernecker}}'' hasn't been to a party since he was five, when he had a meltdown and upset the cake table. Thirteen years later, he goes to a party because the suspect he wants to talk to is there. In the time it takes him to walk across the living room to the relatively quiet kitchen, he becomes so overloaded that he wants to scream. Once he gets the information he wants, he flees the party as quickly as possible.
207* David from ''Literature/{{Rules}}'' hears everything much louder than most people do. He covers his ears at any sudden noise.
208* Morgan from ''Literature/{{Sanctuary}}'' doesn't go out by themself because all the sensory input causes them to space out and wander aimlessly, putting them at risk of getting lost or getting hit by a car. Whenever they leave the house, someone accompanies them.
209* In ''Literature/SecondFoundation'', a Mind Static device is used to "blind" Second Foundationers with PsychicPowers (the "sixth sense"). At full power, the device actually creates a "feedback" effect hurting those psychics.
210* In ''Literature/TheSecretLifeOfKittyGranger'', the same sensitivity that allows Kitty to spot subtle details and changes in her environment and makes her such an effective spy also causes her to be regularly distracted and overwhelmed by colors and noises in her environment.
211* In ''Literature/TheShatteredWorld'' and ''The Burning Realm'', the Deathlings are victims of a curse-born plague that renders their senses so keen they're almost unbearable. They isolate themselves in a silent, mist-shrouded valley to ensure the disease will not spread, and drape themselves in the lightest and loosest of clothing to minimize the pain of being touched.
212* Charlie from ''Literature/TheSomedayBirds'' has an extremely sensitive nose. Smells that don't bother other people leave him gagging and feeling like he might faint.
213* Eddie from ''Literature/TheSpeedOfSound'' is so sensitive to sound that the staff at Harmony House wonder how he survived for eleven years in the outside world before he moved in. He's had expensive acoustic tiles installed all over his room that keep out almost all sound. Whenever he eats lunch, he keeps tissue paper stuffed in his ears to keep from being overwhelmed by the noises of the cafeteria.
214* In ''Literature/StarTrekExMachina'', Spock experiences a bit of this post-V'Ger -- which is not great, especially not for his emotional control, given that as a Vulcan, he already has extremely sensitive hearing and smell.
215* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
216** In Creator/TimothyZahn's novels, Jedi can choose to make any or every sense keener the better to hear near-inaudible noises, see in the dark, identify chemicals by scent, etc. Virtually every time they do so, though, they're half-deafened by someone murmuring quietly to them, a dim light, etc. and have to rapidly ramp their senses back down to normal.
217** In ''Literature/DarkLordTheRiseOfDarthVader'', a group of rogue clones ignores Order 66 and uses EMP grenades to disable their fellow clones who were attempting to ambush the Jedi. As the grenades short out their helmets, that group of clones is somewhat unable to successfully conduct their ambush. This isn't really shown anywhere else as a solution to clones or stormtroopers, however.
218* Grace from ''Literature/TheStateOfGrace'' has a hard time blocking out irrelevant sensory input, especially when she's tired. Her school has set up a quiet room as an accommodation, but it's not as helpful as they think -- it's too close to both the cafeteria and the gym, so it smells funny, and loud, thudding basketballs can easily be heard.
219* In ''Literature/{{Stim}}'', Stef invites Robert to a party. He goes along so he can meet Stef's friend Teena and hopefully get laid. But when he arrives, he finds the party so loud and chaotic that he leaves after a few minutes without even seeing Teena.
220* In ''Literature/TalesOfKolmar'', Marik of Gundar dons an InvisibilityCloak which also lets him see in the dark. However, this also makes any source of light piercing and painful; he likens the full moon to being stabbed in the eye, and is in agony when he suddenly comes upon a lit torch.
221* Jamisia from ''Literature/ThisAlienShore'' was raised on a SpaceStation, so she isn't used to crowds. When she ventures into the marketplace on the metroliner, she becomes severely overwhelmed.
222* In ''Literature/ThisOtherWorld'', Vonika becomes overwhelmed by the bright colors on people's clothes during the ceremony that begins [[{{telepathy}} Ha-Ran]].
223* In ''Literature/TroyRising'', when Tyler Vernon activates his neural implant, he is immediately overwhelmed with [[AdvertOverloadedFuture online advertising]], to a level that he cannot hear himself think. He has to be instructed in putting up the correct level of spam and other filters in his 'plant so that he can communicate yet not see things that don't interest him.
224* The title character of ''Literature/TruemanBradley'' has Asperger syndrome and finds UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity so loud and overwhelming that he wonders if moving there was a bad idea. To deal with it, he makes special sunglasses that block his peripheral vision and carries around a portable music player.
225* In ''Literature/TheTuningStation'', Ted and his AlternateUniverse self Chris can [[IntangibleTimeTravel replay]] events from both their timelines at once, with the option to turn the sound on or off. When Chris turns on the sound from both timelines at once, Ted falls to the ground with his hands over his ears, overwhelmed by two sets of sights, smells, and sounds.
226* ''Literature/{{Uplift}}'': Acceptors, being designed as living {{Everything Sensor}}s, are somewhat prone to this.
227* In ''Literature/{{Underdogs}}'', Kate becomes so overwhelmed by the sounds and smells of the prison slum New London that she can barely function. She remembers how her nonverbal brother James used to SelfHarm and not realize he was doing it because he was so flooded with sensory input.
228* Myron from ''Literature/WestMeadowsDetectives'' hates all the noise of the cafeteria, until Hajrah shows him the quietest part of the room. Later in the day, he's constantly distracted by the vanilla perfume of Mrs. Chu, his teacher in the mainstream classroom.
229* David Drucker from ''Literature/WhatToSayNext'' is autistic and wears big noise-cancelling headphones in the hallways and during lunch to avoid overload.
230* In ''Literature/WhenMyHeartJoinsTheThousand'', Alvie gets a job as a cashier at Clucky's Chicken. Things go okay for the first hour, until the place starts getting crowded. Alvie becomes so overwhelmed by the noises and smells that her vision starts to warp. She runs outside and ends up in a TroubledFetalPosition behind the dumpsters. Needless to say, she doesn't work another shift there.
231* The title character of ''Literature/XandriCorelel'' is autistic, so she finds crowds exhausting and overwhelming and eye contact physically painful.
232* ''Literature/YouLookDifferentInRealLife'': While walking through Manhattan, Rory becomes increasingly overwhelmed. When some kids run into her a few seconds after a fire truck and an ambulance drive past, she screams, throws herself at the nearest wall, and curls up in a TroubledFetalPosition.
233* ''Literature/ZenobiaJuly'': When Zen first starts public school after years of homeschooling, she's overwhelmed by the movements, noises, and smells of the other students between classes.
234[[/folder]]
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236[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
237* In one episode of ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy'', Lex Luthor develops a device which overloads Superboy's super-hearing.
238* ''Series/{{Alphas}}'':
239** Rachel is prone to this. Her ability to drastically increase one sense at the cost of diminishing the others kicks in unexpectedly, causing her to avoid sex, keep things obsessively clean, and insist on preparing food herself so she'll have control over everything that's gone into it. The CantHaveSexEver element caused her significant angst, but she finally did get over it with a sympathetic boyfriend -- the implication was that it was less a case of physical inability to bear the sensations than a fear of letting herself become so utterly helpless with someone that she didn't trust absolutely.
240** A GadgeteerGenius Alpha weaponized this trope by MacGyvering a strobing and sonic overload device from office electronics to escape from custody. Fortunately, Rachel reacted quickly enough to funnel her sight and hearing into taste, leaving her well enough to immediately start tracking her.
241* In the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[Recap/AngelS01E22ToShanshuInLA To Shanshu in L.A.]]", Wolfram & Hart raise a demon who inflicts Cordelia with a spell that increases her empathic powers. Instead of just receiving the "messages" from the Powers That Be, Cordelia feels the suffering of everyone, which overwhelms her and drives her into madness and catatonia.
242* PlayedForDrama in ''Series/{{Astrid}}'': the title character is autistic and has severe problems dealing with an excess of noise in particular. Astrid routinely wears construction-grade hearing protection when she has to go out on the city streets, and gets sent into a full-blown burnout in "The Haunting" when a careless remark about the BodyOfTheWeek's very public sudden death causes her to be swarmed by reporters badgering her for information.
243* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', an unintentional version of this happens to latent telepaths when their powers "blossom", [[PubertySuperpower usually around puberty]]. Their formerly dormant powers become very active, and since they have no practice filtering the cacophony, they hear every thought of every around them. If this happens in a crowded area, such as at a marketplace, their clairaudience is "deafening" like a rocket engine. Talia also once describes two telepaths making love, which creates a feedback loop of pleasure that can quickly cross into pain if they aren't careful.
244* In the ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury'' episode "Cruise Ship to the Stars", the powerful Sabrina is defeated when Buck and friends use a type of sonic emitter on her, which causes her to [[spoiler:change back to Alison]].
245* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E18Earshot Earshot]]", Buffy temporarily develops mind-reading abilities as her [[spoiler:"aspect of the demon"]]. This power, which she cannot control or turn off, slowly increases in intensity, expanding her "hearing range" far beyond those standing right next to her. Eventually she becomes overwhelmed by hearing everyone's thoughts all at once, nonstop, and passes out.
246* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
247** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites The Sensorites]] have these as a side effect of their psychic powers and generally feeble physiology. Their hearing is particularly prone to this, and they experience physical pain when people shout at them or clap loudly. Bright lights, flashing lights and darkness are also physically painful to them.
248** An interesting case in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor Vincent and the Doctor]]" -- Creator/VincentVanGogh sees the world with far more vibrancy than everyone else. However, this perpetual sensory overload is a major cause of his depression and [[spoiler:eventual suicide]].
249* In the ''Series/FatherTed'' episode "[[Recap/FatherTedS3E3Speed3 Speed 3]]", Ted and Dougal are spying on the KavorkaMan milkman Pat Mustard, hoping to expose him as an adulterer. Dougal, listening to the house Pat's visiting with a listening device, announces that he's going to up the volume on the microphone, "it'll be so loud I'll be able to hear a pin..." right as a van drives past the car they're sat in. Dougal winces in pain and faints.
250* In ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'', the Strategic Response Unit regularly use flashbangs to incapacitate suspects. On some occasions they will also use a special riot shield with flashing strobe lights and speakers emitting loud high frequency noise.
251* The villain of the ''Series/GetSmart'' episode "Spy, Spy, Birdie" hates noise so much that he wears red earmuffs everywhere and is constantly admonishing people not to "shout" even if they're speaking normally. His goal is to destroy modern society, thus returning the world to a quieter time.
252* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
253** In one episode, Mohinder tortures Sylar by holding a tuning fork to his ear, over-sensitizing his SuperHearing.
254** The person he stole his Super-Hearing from, a mechanic named Dale, ran into this as well, having to blare music at severely loud levels to drown out the regular noises of her day.
255* ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'': In the TV movie ''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'', the Kingpin, despite being unaware of Daredevil's heightened senses, chances on the idea of using light and sound to disorient him; it works much better than expected.
256* ''Series/ThePunisher2017'': In "[[Recap/ThePunisher2017S02E10TheDarkHeartsOfMen The Dark Hearts of Men]]", Frank Castle storms Billy Russo's hideout only to find himself in a dark room where he's then disoriented by strobe lights, then ambushed and captured.
257* Done unintentionally in an episode of ''Series/QuantumLeap''. Sam has leaped into a [[BlindMusician blind piano player]], but someone spots him (Sam) reading something, which makes her think that he (the pianist) is a fraud playing up the blindness for sympathy. She tries to expose him later, but fortunately, he had been dazzled by a flashbulb going off in his face moments earlier, leaving him really blinded long enough to pass her "test".
258* This happens occasionally in ''Series/TheSentinel'', like when Jim is driven to distraction by the pain of a minor wound on his hand because of his super-touch sense.
259** In a two-part episode, an evil Sentinel finds an ancient South American temple used by tribal Sentinels to boost their powers by taking a bath (ItMakesSenseInContext). Unfortunately, she ends up taking one too many baths, and the overstimulation causes her brain to burn out. They cart her away as a vegetable.
260** In one episode, Blair teaches Jim how to control his pain sensation, which Jim does fairly well on the first try.
261** In another episode, a doctor cleans out the wax build-up in Jim's ears, causing him to be constantly distracted by every tiny noise, such as someone tapping a pencil or whispering from the other side of the office. Blair gives him some white noise earbuds that help drown out the sounds, but Jim later adapts and learns to filter out the unnecessary sounds.
262* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark was overwhelmed when his super hearing first manifested. Loud noises consistently cause him discomfort, and he [[PowerIncontinence loses control]] of his super hearing once under great emotional trauma [[spoiler:when he thought Chloe died]]. Interestingly, the noise track used in that occasion [[MythologyGag was similar]] to the one in ''Film/SupermanReturns''.
263* When the young cast of ''Series/SpaceCases'' switch species, human Harlan gets Andromedan Radu's super hearing... and goes crazy from the agonizing physical pain caused by "hearing everything", with that everything "magnified about a million times". It takes Andromedans years of practice to filter out all this noise and focus only on what they want to listen to.
264* In ''Series/Supergirl2015'', Kara first started wearing her glasses to control her SuperSenses[[note]]The lenses are made of lead, which blocks out her XRayVision[[/note]]. By the time the series began, she has already mastered her senses, but keeps wearing the glasses anyway as part of her ClarkKenting.
265[[/folder]]
266
267[[folder:Multiple Media]]
268* ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'':
269** Whenua manages to save Nuju and himself from a [[GiantEnemyCrab mutant Ussal Crab]] by spinning his [[ThisIsADrill Earthshock Drills]] fast enough to make a deafening hum to stun the crab, since it had enhanced hearing.
270** Onua managed to subdue a Subterranean Worm by making a painful sound that was effective due to its enhanced hearing.
271** Dalu's weapons, the Chargers, are designed to increase the senses of their targets to the point where they simply give up... [[MindRape or experience a full mental breakdown]], as they peer into [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow worlds not meant for any being to see]].
272[[/folder]]
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274[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
275* One issue of ''Adventurer's Club'' (an early house organ published by Hero Games) features a villain with hypersenses. He became a villain because it was the only way he could pay for his sensory deprivation chamber, and without it, he would have gone insane.
276* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
277** The 2nd Edition supplement ''The Complete Thief's Handbook'' recommends using aniseed or dog pepper to throw off dogs that track by scent.
278** In 2e, the spell Color Spray shoots a cone of really bright colored light, which either leaves targets stunned for a round or knocked out, stunned or blinded for several rounds, depending on what they roll for their Will Save. The implication is it causes some kind of seizure or the like. In 5e, this is downgraded to simply blinding the target until the end of the Caster's next turn, with success or failure depending on how many HitPoints the target has remaining.
279* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'':
280** Hypersensitive senses, particularly pain, are among the unpleasant symptoms that a simsense addict will have to cope with if they try to break the habit.
281** The Chaos spell overloads the victim's senses with a cloud of sensations, including blinding sights, loud sounds, fierce odors and tickling. This causes major distraction and severe penalties to all of the victim's actions.
282** This could easily happen to someone who uses a defective simsense chip (which simulates a pre-recorded sensory experience), or one with its safety constraints modded off, flooding the user with dangerous levels of sensory input.
283** This happens when one is "brainfried" from a matrix attack.
284* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', the first trait of Auspex gives you awesome ''super senses''... unless you get a light shined on you, or if a loud noise goes off. Then it just hurts.
285* Used by devotees of Slaanesh in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
286** ''40K'''s Noise Marines use Doomsirens and Dirge Casters to completely overwhelm the target's senses via LoudOfWar.
287** Slaaneshi cultists themselves, what with [[SenseFreak using Sensory Overload as a form of worship]], are more or less immune to it (the aforementioned Noise Marines use hot pink and jet black on their armor as it's one of the few color combinations to still catch their eye). Using it to torture them is of course pointless, so in Warhammer one Sigmarite came up with a potion that completely deadens them to sensation, breaking them far more efficiently than any beating.
288[[/folder]]
289
290[[folder:Video Games]]
291* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV Stormblood'': Imperial pilus Fordola rem Lupus is given [[EmpoweredBadassNormal an experimental treatment]] to artificially imbue her with the Echo, granting her the ability to figure out where attacks are going to be before the attacker starts moving. Urianger soon determines Fordola's specific manifestation of the Echo is an acute sensitivity to aetherial fluctuation, and produces a device to generate a sudden burst of aether in order to disorient her in combat.
292* In ''Videogame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', HK-47, an [[RoboticPsychopath assassination droid]], recommends sensory overload as one of the ways to kill a Jedi warrior, who are able to deflect blaster bolts and strike with extreme accuracy when their mind is focused.
293* Two examples in the ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series:
294** In ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKainSoulReaver Soul Reaver]]'', Raziel visits the Silenced Cathedral, a vast building housing a steam-powered sonic weapon that the humans intended to use to wipe out the vampires.
295** In ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKainDefiance Defiance]]'', Raziel battles his last remaining vampire brother, the bat-like Turel, by striking gongs to deafen and stun him.
296* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', the ArcVillain of ''[[DownloadableContent Project Overlord]]'' is revealed to be [[spoiler:David Archer, an [[DisabilitySuperpower autistic mathematical savant]] who dislikes loud noises. [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Cerberus]] had the ''[[SarcasmMode wonderful]]'' idea to stick his mind into the [[MindHive Geth consensus]] in an attempt to control them. The resulting continuous noise was ''extreme torture'' and drove David mad, causing the entire plot of the DLC.]]
297-->[[AC:QUIET, PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!]]
298* [[LoudOfWar Screamer Pods]] can be used to this effect in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' while hunting Diablos; the noise will force it to stop burrowing underground and briefly incapacitate it.
299* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
300** The move Extrasensory inflicts damage on the target by forcing them to experience a sensation they didn't have before.
301** While downplayed compared to the anime, the ability Stench was buffed in Gen V to have a 10 percent chance to cause the target to flinch when attacked for this reason. It also repels wild Pokémon if the Pokémon with the ability is the first one in the party.
302* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'':
303** The PSI King [[spoiler:Helmut Fullbear]] has spent decades as a literal BrainInAJar deprived of sensory input. After being placed back into a human body, he is immediately overwhelmed by the sensations that the physical world has to offer, which are simultaneously wonderful and painful to him. Raz has to enter his MentalWorld, the PSI King's Sensorium, to help him get his senses back under control (as well as to help him recover his memories).
304** When Raz first meets Compton Boole, it immediately becomes clear that Compton also suffers from this due to low self-esteem and {{Power Incontinence}}. To avoid any outside stimuli, Compton has been living in a Psychoisolation chamber, and immediately gets overwhelmed when Raz brings him three bees to communicate with (Compton had only requested [[ExactWords "a couple"]]). This is also reflected in Compton's mental world, which takes the form of a cooking game show full of garish colors, time limits, loud music, and puppet judges who constantly bombard Compton with {{Backhanded Compliment}}s (and that's when Compton makes a ''good'' dish). Thankfully, with Raz's help, Compton manages to get his confidence back up and regain control of his powers.
305* In ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', Lickers are zombies who have mutated into extremely deadly, but {{eyeless|Face}}, creatures who [[SenseImpairedMonster rely on their extremely acute hearing to find their prey]]. This means they are quite vulnerable to the "bang" part of a flashbang, which renders them unable to track their prey. It doesn't leave them completely helpless, though, as their response is to blindly swipe around them, so anything that gets to close will be hit.
306[[/folder]]
307
308[[folder:Visual Novels]]
309* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', Athena had to wear special headphones when she was younger because otherwise, she'd be overwhelmed by all the emotions she hears because of her super-hearing. This is later used against her in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' by the main prosecutor of that game who cruelly cultivates negative emotions in the crowd so as to overload her super hearing with negative emotions. Thankfully, Blackquill is there to snap her out of it.
310* ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'':
311** Kubitarou is destroyed by luring her in front of a speeding train, but it's not the impact with it that kills her; she instead evaporates when the train's bright lights shine upon her, triggering her oxyopia.
312** Akira's {{psychometry}} allows him a glimpse of a victim's past by touching their blood. When he tries it in the Miroku Mansion's attic, he's overloaded with images due to the blood pool belonging to multiple people, and he fails to glean anything useful from it.
313** The Killer Peach has an acute sense of smell that she uses to identify her victims. When facing off against her, Akira makes use of this to overload her with a scent and cause her to be disorientated.
314[[/folder]]
315
316[[folder:Webcomics]]
317* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Grace has a [[http://egscomics.com/comic/tsos-16 remote tactile sense]] that she can't damp down but can [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2012-10-17 turn off]] by shapeshifting away the anatomy that enables it. If she didn't, she would experience this [[http://egscomics.com/comic/tsos-17 in crowds]].
318* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
319** Hinted at this rather cleverly when heroine Agatha loses the locket that has been keeping her Spark (and emotions) suppressed, with the color scheme going from a muted near black and white to garish full-color gradients, and then finally settling into a more balanced palette. The [[Literature/AgathaHAndTheAirshipCity novelization]], lacking pictures, makes this transition more explicit.
320** Tarvek defeats a bunch of Spark Hounds that were sent to murder him and slaughter those he is with by coming up with a projectile that overloads their sense of smell, sending all of those his with it reeling and falling off the airship they are on as they try to run from something that is on them.
321* ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'': As [[PsychicPowers an esper]], Faith's senses are naturally attuned to perceive that which can't be detected by the natural senses. Her psychic acuity is such, that she could still tell something was off, while under the effects of [[spoiler:Cerise's amnesia spell]]. However, this ability also acts as a double-edged sword, such as when she was psychically assaulted by an indirect attack from [[spoiler:Hecate]], which ''hadn't been'' intended for her. Regardless, Faith not only [[http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/so_have_i_spoken sensed it]], [[http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/the_motion_carries it caused her to have seizures and briefly pass out.]] When she regained consciousness, she'd been left physically weakened and [[BroughtDownToNormal temporarily without her powers.]] While she didn't know who'd been responsible for the attack, she could sense it'd been the work of something ancient, dark, and powerful.
322* In ''Webcomic/{{Widdershins}}'', O'Malley's AuraVision is painfully overstimulated by seeing large numbers of people or spirits. However, in the "Green-Eyed Monster" arc, the Sight gets [[spoiler:temporarily transferred to Thackery]], and Mal gets [[SenseLossSadness equally frustrated]] by ''not'' seeing spirits or auras everywhere, to say nothing of [[DisabilitySuperpower how weird he finds ordinary color vision to be]].
323[[/folder]]
324
325[[folder:Web Originals]]
326* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1364 SCP-1364]] suffers from this to a huge extent -- ''everything'' hurts it, bright lights, loud noises, water, being touched, everything, and yet [[TheWoobie it still just wants a hug]].
327* ''WebVideo/TwitchPlaysPokemon'' interprets the game's crash at Lavender Town as Red breaking down and fainting after [[HearingVoices hearing more voices than he was used to]] and subsequently panicking. Later on, he more or less refused to leave the Pokémon Center for a while, probably to try and get his bearings again.
328* The ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' has a couple examples, ranging from flashbangs grenades to a massive sonic emitter [[spoiler:on Halloween night]] that sent afflicted folks -- many with super-hearing -- into various types of seizure.
329[[/folder]]
330
331[[folder:Western Animation]]
332* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'':
333** The [[MonsterOfTheWeek Music Destroyer]] in "[[Recap/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehogS01E011SonicsSong Sonic's Song]]" was designed by Dr. Robotnik to go into an UnstoppableRage. Robotnik created the Giant Robot Mech with super-sensitive ears, programming him to destroy music by stealing instruments and capturing anyone who gets in his way. Sonic eventually made the robot explode by playing very loud rock music.
334--->'''M.D.:''' Oooh, too much... music! Music overload!
335** In "[[Recap/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehogS01E06SonicBreakout Sonic Breakout]]", because the prison built by Dr. Robotnik is so complex, Sonic and Tails go around and set off all the security alerts, overloading the computer system. The prison starts to crumble and fall apart.
336--->'''Computer:''' Unauthorized entry on Corridor 3, Sector A... Uh... Uh... I mean, Corridor 52, Sector G... No... No... Uh... Gate Sensor B... No... I... I mean... D-Level... Uh... Device D-6... Uh... ye...
337* The super-smelling Shirshu from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is completely blinded when several liters of perfume are spilled onto the floor beneath him. Lashing out blindly with his poison tongue, he manages to hit Zuko, and then his own mistress.
338* In the ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' episode "[[Recap/BobsBurgersS7E18TheLaserinth The Laser-inth]]", Bob and Gene attend a rock n' roll laser light show Bob enjoyed as a teenager. Unfortunately, as soon as the show starts, Gene becomes overwhelmed by the loud noises and flashing lights; thankfully, as soon as Bob notices, he immediately takes Gene out of the show. Once the two manage to get back in, Bob makes Gene some earplugs out of a napkin to dampen the noise, allowing both of them to enjoy the ending.
339* The ''WesternAnimation/DeadEndParanormalPark'' episode "[[Recap/DeadEndParanormalParkS1E3TrustMe Trust Me]]" has the park staff attend a team-building exercise led by a man named Harmony. While everyone else seems to enjoy the exercises, main character Norma (who has autism) is shown to quickly get overwhelmed due to her hypersensitivity to outside stimuli, much to her embarrassment. [[spoiler:This makes Norma a primary target for Harmony, who is actually a demon named [[FunWithHomophones Harm-Many]] who is feeding off the staff's fears. In the end, however, Harm-Many is defeated because it turns out that Norma has so much anxiety inside her that Harm-Many ''[[TooSpicyForYogSothoth explodes]]'' trying to consume it.]]
340* In ''WesternAnimation/HerculesTheAnimatedSeries'', a monster steals the heroic traits of all the heroes around. Hercules has a flash of inspiration and asks the heroes' robbed of their super vision and hearing what the worst part about them is; "Bright lights" and "loud noises" are the answer and two of several {{Achilles Heel}}s [[AssimilationBackfire that the monster stole in the process]].
341* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' GrandFinale "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS3E13Destroyer Destroyer]]", Darkseid uses [[AgonyBeam the Agony Matrix]] on Superman, which overloads the ''pain'' sensors of his body. As in, all of them, at once. It bypasses all natural defenses (since it doesn't actually ''damage'' the body) and would have killed any lesser being simply by shock.
342* Master Yao from ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'' has been cooped up in a meditation box for so long, he gets excited when he comes out with childlike eagerness. Anything mundane to normal people is like a treasure trove for him.
343* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': The one-shot villain Mr. Mime from "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS1E11JustAnotherManicMojoMimeForAChange Mime for a Change]]" seems to be physically pained by bright colors and loud sounds. His touch can drain color, sound, and general life from everything around him, leaving the world silent and in DeliberateMonochrome, just the way he likes it.
344* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS6E7GiantSquidwardNoNoseKnows No Nose Knows]]", when Patrick finally gets a nose, he takes his new sense of smell too far when he (ironically) starts a crusade against everything smell, to the point of disrupting the lives of [=SpongeBob=] and the others. To get him to stop, [=SpongeBob=] and the others subject his nose to a concentration of stink so powerful that it destroys his nose.
345* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': One of Darkseid's earliest attempts to defeat Superman involves high-tech tanks that amongst other weaponry use high-pitched focused sound to great effect against Superman's super-hearing. Blood can be seen pouring out of Superman's ears in the aftermath.
346* ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' has Jazz's sonic overload attack and Reflector's disorienting lights.
347[[/folder]]
348
349[[folder:Real Life]]
350* In UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, after a destroyer dropped a pattern of depth charges, its sonar was deaf for several moments, giving a crucial window of escape to a fleeing submarine. For this reason, Allied warships also used other weapons systems which used rockets or mortars to lob volleys of projectiles into the water, effectively being anti-submarine artillery.
351* [[TrickBomb Flashbang grenades]] are designed specifically to cause sensory overload to both hearing and vision, incapacitating a target.
352* Sensitivity to light and/or sound is also a common symptom accompanying migraine headaches.
353* Autistic people can be hypersensitive towards certain forms of sensory input (e.g. sounds, lighting, tastes, textures). Exposure to their sensory triggers can overwhelm them swiftly to the point of causing a meltdown, leading to this trope.
354* Sensory processing disorder, a condition in which sensory input is processed in unusual ways compared to the norm, can lead to this in cases where the affected person is hypersensitive to certain types of input.
355* A rare (estimated about 200,000 sufferers in the US) and little studied or understood auditory disorder called misophonia exists. The name literally means "hatred of sound", and it causes sufferers to experience intense fight-or-flight responses when exposed to a vast array of normally innocuous everyday sounds, referred to as "trigger sounds". Perhaps the trigger most commonly heard of by in passing is hearing another person chew. A sufferer being exposed to a trigger sound for 1 minute has been compared to a normal person being exposed to fingernails on a chalkboard for 1 hour. The current believed cause is an over connectivity between the auditory nerve and the limbic center of the brain.
356* Some people insist that SWAT teams and special forces units on hostage recovery missions use, basically, high-powered laser pointers to temporarily blind and disorient the hostage takers. After all, shooting a hostage taker may still give him time to kill the hostage, but blinding him may have a higher chance of success to both recover the hostage and take the bad guy alive. There are ethical issues to consider, such as the fact that a laser at too high a power can permanently blind someone.
357* There is, of course, the infamous defense mechanism of skunks, which overwhelms the noses of almost every creature nearby and whose stench only gets stronger when washed. The only natural predators of skunks are a few species of birds of prey, who have little to no sense of smell.
358* EpilepticFlashingLights, which overload vision [[BrownNote to the point of causing seizures]]. Weaponized on tactical lights with strobe mode, which are often very bright as well.
359* Dazzlers are a form of optical jammers used by a number of armies which operate by blasting incoming missiles with laser light in order to confuse the on-board sensors, rather than shooting it down with expensive anti-missile munitions.
360[[/folder]]
361

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