Ever feel like every day sounds and lights are just too much? The hum of the fridge, background chatter, or even bright overhead lighting can feel overwhelming—almost like your senses are on high alert.
For some people, this is not just a fleeting annoyance. It is a constant, exhausting battle with noise, brightness, or even certain fabrics feeling unbearable. It is not just “being sensitive” or “getting older.” Often, chronic inflammation is the root cause.
Inflammation does not just affect joints or digestion—it can deeply impact the nervous system, heightening your sensitivity to sensory input like sound, light, touch, and temperature. This is especially true in chronic conditions like long COVID, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune diseases, where neuroinflammation (inflammation of the brain and nervous system) causes exaggerated sensory responses.
How Inflammation Affects Sensory Processing
Your nervous system typically acts like a filter, helping you tune out unimportant background noise or lights so you can focus. However, when inflammation is present, this filtering system starts to fail.
Chronic inflammation can lead to neuroinflammation, which increases the brain’s excitability. Cytokines—chemical messengers involved in the immune response—can overstimulate neural pathways, making every day stimuli feel intense, irritating, or even painful. This phenomenon is often referred to as central sensitization.
This hypersensitivity is common in:
Long COVID: Lingering inflammation in the brain can interfere with sensory processing and amplify sensitivity to light, sound, and even social settings.
Fibromyalgia: Often associated with neuroinflammation and central sensitization, leading to pain and increased sensory awareness.
Autoimmune diseases: Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis can involve nervous system inflammation, altering the body’s ability to filter sensory input.
People affected may experience:
Light sensitivity (especially to fluorescent or LED lights)
Noise intolerance (like ticking clocks, overlapping conversations)
Touch sensitivity (discomfort from clothing seams or fabrics)
Temperature discomfort (even mild changes can feel extreme)
This can also lead to secondary symptoms like headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, brain fog, and social withdrawal due to overstimulation.
Sometimes, neuroinflammation does not look like pain—it sounds like buzzing or feels like anxiety.
What You Can Do to Calm Sensory Overload
1. Lower Inflammation with Diet & Lifestyle
Anti-inflammatory foods: Omega-3-rich fish, turmeric, ginger, leafy greens, healthy fats
Cut back on processed food & sugar
Balance blood sugar: Stable glucose levels help regulate nervous system activity
2. Support Your Nervous System
Magnesium (especially glycinate or threonate): Helps calm nerve activity
B vitamins: Support neurotransmitter production and nerve health
Adaptogens (Ashwagandha, Rhodiola): Help buffer stress-induced inflammation
3. Reduce Sensory Overload in Your Environment
Use warm, dim lighting or blue-light-blocking glasses
Invest in noise-canceling headphones or white noise machines
Wear comfortable, non-irritating clothing
Limit screen time in the evening
4. Regulate Your Stress Response
Vagus nerve stimulation: Breathwork, humming, cold exposure, gargling
Gentle movement: Yoga, walking, grounding barefoot outside
Prioritize quality sleep: It is crucial for lowering brain inflammation
Case Study: Ana’s Story
Ana, a 34-year-old graphic designer, struggled with severe light and sound sensitivity, frequent headaches, and persistent brain fog. Office lights gave her migraines, and normal sounds felt unbearable. She had also experienced long COVID and was now dealing with fatigue and joint pain.
Testing revealed chronic inflammation, gut dysbiosis, and unstable blood sugar. With a personalized plan—an anti-inflammatory diet, magnesium and probiotic support, and daily nervous system regulation—Ana saw a huge shift in just 3 months. Her sensitivities eased, her energy returned, and her focus improved.
Her case highlights how treating inflammation at the root can restore nervous system balance.
Final Thoughts
If every day sounds and lights feel unbearable, it is not “in your head.” It is in your nervous system—and inflammation might be driving it.
You do not need to wait for a diagnosis to start feeling better.
Book a free discovery call and let us create a personalized plan to reduce inflammation, calm your nervous system, and help you feel like yourself again.
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References
Basu, S., Dasgupta, P. S., & Bhattacharyya, P. (2016). Sensory abnormalities in neuropathic pain: role of neuroinflammation and central sensitization. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 11(4), 664–683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11481-016-9670-1
Mazza, M. G., De Lorenzo, R., Conte, C., Poletti, S., Vai, B., Bollettini, I., … & Benedetti, F. (2022). Neuroinflammation and cognitive functioning in long COVID-19 patients: a hypothesis. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14, 843640. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.843640
Slavich, G. M., & Irwin, M. R. (2014). From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: a social signal transduction theory of depression. Psychological Bulletin, 140(3), 774–815. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035302
Zhou, Y., Yu, F., Duong, T. Q., & Thomas, R. J. (2023). Neuroinflammation, central sensitization, and cognitive dysfunction in chronic pain conditions: A narrative review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 147, 105084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105084
Yours in health,
Katherine Roy, MS, APRN, FNP-C
