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Person sitting quietly amid visual noise: sensory gating

Notes on Clarity

< Notes on Clarity

Why Do I Feel Like I Have 50 Tabs Open?

The Science of Sensory Gating

Jaye Turrietta, PsyD, BCBA-D | Clinical Perspective | 4 Min Read

Imagine you are trying to work in a room where a window is stuck open. Outside, there is construction noise, traffic, and a dog barking. For most people (neurotypicals), their brain automatically gets up and closes the window. After a few minutes, they stop hearing the construction. It fades into the background.

For an autistic brain, that window often stays wide open. You hear the first hammer strike. Then the second. Then the third. Your brain processes every single instance of the sound as if it is new, urgent information.

This isn’t a lack of focus. It is a biological difference in how your brain filters incoming data, one that is well-documented in the neurophysiological literature.[1] And it is physically exhausting.

The Broken Bouncer: Why Your Brain Can’t Filter the Noise

Clinically, this is known as Sensory Gating Deficits. Think of it as your brain’s built-in “bouncer” failing to check IDs at the door. Your brain has a built-in mechanism designed to filter out irrelevant information before it reaches conscious thought. When a fan hums or a light flickers, a neurotypical brain tags it as “safe/irrelevant” and suppresses the signal. This pre-attentive filtering process is called sensory gating, the brain’s automatic mechanism for reducing its own sensitivity to repeated or redundant stimuli.[2][3]

In many autistic adults, this gating mechanism works differently. Sensory processing differences are estimated to affect between 30% and over 96% of autistic individuals across studies.[4] As of DSM-5, hyper- and hypo-reactivity to sensory input is a core diagnostic criterion for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

  • The Result: Your brain treats the hum of the refrigerator with the same neurological priority as a person talking to you.
  • The Cost: You have to manually process everything.

Hardware vs. Software: Why “Mindset” Won’t Fix Sensory Overload

This is where many adults get stuck in a cycle of shame. They think, “I just need to be more resilient” or “Why can’t I do things like everyone else?” But sensory overload is a Bottom-Up process. It is raw data flooding your nervous system before your conscious mind even has a chance to react.[1]

Trying to use “mindset” (a Top-Down process) to stop sensory overload is like trying to hold back a flood with a profound quote. It doesn’t work because the issue isn’t your attitude; it’s your neurology.

Why You’re Exhausted: The Hidden Energy Cost of Sensory Filtering

Processing all that extra data burns glucose. It takes measurable, metabolic energy to filter out the world manually.[3] If you spend 8 hours in an open-plan office suppressing the sound of phones, lights, and chatter, you aren’t just “working.” You are running a marathon of cognitive inhibition.

By 6:00 PM, you aren’t just “annoyed.” You are depleted. This is why you might hold it together perfectly at work (Masking) and then collapse or have a meltdown the moment you get to the safety of your car or home.

From “Sensitive” to “High-Input”: Reframing Your Neurological Reality

Understanding that you have Sensory Gating Deficits changes everything. It moves the conversation from “I am broken or lazy” to “I have a high-input processor.” It validates that you need different tools, like noise-canceling headphones, low lighting, or quiet recovery time, not because you are “sensitive,” but because your brain requires them to function at its best.

For many adults, the most exhausting part of having a “high-input” brain isn’t just the noise, it’s the effort spent pretending it doesn’t bother you. This is known as Social Camouflaging, and it is a primary driver of autistic burnout.[5][6] Research consistently identifies camouflaging as emotionally exhausting for autistic adults, with significant consequences for long-term mental health and wellbeing.

If the “Open Window” experience sounds familiar, it’s time to look under the hood. The first step to understanding your neurology is identifying how much energy you spend hiding these sensory struggles.

Take the Preliminary Pattern Screener to help visualize the hidden costs of masking and determine if further clinical investigation is warranted.

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References

  1. [1]Patil, O. & Kaple, M. (2023). Sensory Processing Differences in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review of Underlying Mechanisms and Sensory-Based Interventions. Cureus, 15(10), e48020. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10687592/
  2. [2]Schulz, S.E., Luszawski, M., Hannah, K.E., & Stevenson, R.A. (2023). Sensory Gating in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Scoping Review. Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 51(7), 1005–1019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-023-01058-9
  3. [3]Marco, E.J., Hinkley, L.B., Hill, S.S., & Nagarajan, S.S. (2011). Sensory Processing in Autism: A Review of Neurophysiologic Findings. Pediatric Research, 69(5 Pt 2), 48R–54R. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3086654/
  4. [4]Ben-Sasson, A., et al. (2019). Update of a meta-analysis of sensory symptoms in ASD: a new decade of research. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49, 4974–4996. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04180-0
  5. [5]Hull, L., et al. (2017). “Putting on My Best Normal”: Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), 2519–2534. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5509825/
  6. [6]Cook, J., et al. (2025). The Consequences of Social Camouflaging in Autistic Adults: A Systematic Review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050656525000288