Surroundings becoming weird and fast/intense/loud

[123que]

I first experienced this weird sensation when i was a child and had a bad fever/illness in bed. Suddenly my entire surroundings in my bedroom became very intense and everything around me became fast and almost louder in my mind, although they weren't in reality.

Ever since then i sometimes (about once every few months) experience this odd sensation and it can become a bit worrying and strange.

The whole room seems to have a new feeling to it- everything im doing whether it be walking or typing seems to intensify and become louder yet the actions are very exaggerated and almost speed up (only perceived this way). I find it very difficult to explain fully but i'm worried it's some early signs of a neurological condition or something?

It usually only onsets when i'm alone and have a lot of silence for a while...?

Does you know what this could be, please?

[mcknjt]

I used to experience this in high school...it was so nice to find this thread and see I'm not the only one. Luckily it stopped after high school and I haven't experienced it in the last five years!

[elirood]

GUYS. I've read the entire thread and looked into everything people mentioned but I didn't think any fit quite right. I think after some digging I've found the answer.  Tachysensia. "People with tachysensia experience episodes where everything appears to be speeding up, and sounds become unusually loud. These episodes are short in duration, usually lasting no more than 10 minutes, and unpredictable in nature, making them difficult to study. They are known by many names, including quick-motion phenomenon, the rushes, rapid spells, and fast feeling." The website I found was https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/tachysensia

[LizXX1616]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I read the article and I believe you really found the answer!

[elirood]

I'm glad. I've spent countless hours looking into this things because it drove me so insane. I hope most of us here can finally be ok with knowing what we might have and that it's harmless.

[elirood]

I've started paying attention even more when it happens to me. Happened last night while laying in bed in a quiet dark room. I sat up and started talking to myself about anything and everything OUTLOUD and it almost immediately went away.

[benji579]

Yes, that is *somewhat* helpful, in that is contains the "fast" and "loud" elements of the episode. However, this explanation is lacking the one - arguably paramount - element:  the apparent "angriness"  perceived  from things during it - be it  thoughts, voices(both own and others') anything really. This was a very significant thing about the nature of the episodes  I had.

[elirood]

Hearing angry voices and thoughts has never been a symptom of mine so maybe, whatever this is, everyone has slightly different experiences or it's different things? I definitely don't know much

[Murry1121]

Hey, the exact same thing happens to be but i noticed it only occurs when i am ill in bed or couch, the trigger first happened to me when i woke up from a short nightmare where boulders fell onto me. (this is the only time i ever saw a nightmare in my life)  when I suddenly woke up i was hot and sweating crying etc felt week and of balance, the ticking of the clock was so loud in my head but i could here it in normal volume. But everything felt like it was in slow motion, so i got up and managed to talk to my mum, but i was overwhelmed by the tapping  of my feet and the creaking of the floor and the sound of her voice , all these sounds were max volume ringing in my head my perception of the room was also altered but in a way it is impossible to explain.

This Happened once more when I was on vacation I was in the living room alone sitting on the couch and my cousin walked in every sound every motion felt slow but loud in my head to the point it irritated me enough for me to ask my cousin to turn off the TV I asked to be left alone in quiet darkness she said okay but on her way out on the other side of the room she said ok but she started drinking water on the compleat other side of the room 5\6 meters btw and every gulp echoed in my head to the point i coulnt stand it anymore it rushed me with anger and frustration felt like she was doing it on purpose, so i thew somthing and the gulit snapped me back into reality.

I am now 19 and havent felt this sensation again... but your not alone

[benji579]

That episode of irritability you explained at the end sounds familiar , I wanted to say ^.^ It can sometimes happen to me when I'm at the food table with others. Basically, *out of nowhere* I become overly sensitive and irritable to stimuli like smacking when theyre eating, or - even more ridiculously - repetitive hand movements  lool. It just really irks me in that situation and its hard to regain composure and control. So, because of the intensity and its complete robbing of my attention, I know it's not just normal irritation but rather a very distinct type of episode I enter for a while. Anyway, thought your experience sounded similar ^^

[olives_2334]

(I'm an autistic and Adhd individual with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder ) this happens to me too
Everything feels so slow but then loud and then so fast and all my thoughts start to scream and everything gets so scary and I have a phobia from a specific bird so it happens that I feel like it's about to attack me or near of me or above my head flying in circles or toward me although I don't see that just intense feelings and fear and the worst that all of it happens so fast and feels horribly fast and loud and it can last for several mins  In my case I get it very often

[Tedd12]

It happens to me every few months, normally when im concentrating on something. Whenever i get it i normally go and talk to someone and it goes away. Is it some kind of condition of what?

[benji579]

Yeah, I can somewhat relate to that. I feel like it could be more likely to happen if i heavily concentrate on something for long periods of time in complete silence. Its just , thankfully , i dont do that that often lol

[Tpig1228]

i have read that it may be an episode of Depersonalization/derealization the definition does not match perfectly but its the best i found.

[bradora]

i have this to an extent, what i have is called derealisation, its more a sideeffect of drugs, but essentially your world grows and becomes something thats familiar but unreachable, like its a movie, i sometimes get everything going loud but usually i cant hear anything, look up derealisation and have a see if you relate :)

[Akira727]

I had these my whole life 2-3 per year. When I was a kid it felt like a deep feeling of awareness. Some times it felt like a dangerous thing and other times an exciting ride. I just had the biggest episode ever where thing were so loud and fast I couldn’t take it. So I talked to someone and when I talk to someone it always fades away. I talked 2-3 years ago with a spiritual teacher about this and said it’s a conscious connection with another dimension. Spiritual teachers say they can travel subconsciously to another dimension. Well this is the conscious  one so you are in the in the in between. That is why everything seem faster and louder cause in other dimensions things are actually different. In reality I don’t know what is this thing but whatever it is when it gets scary I find that it fades away when I talk to someone. Other times I just enjoy it cause it feels I am more aware than ever! Take care ;)

[Anhel_MF]

I know its been years since this post was made. My husband  has the exact same feeling. We've been together for 7 years now and he has episodes on very regular bases, probably once a week. He has always tried to explain them to me, but never really got how intense they were to him. For the last two month he's been having episodes almost every day, so I decided to search on google and found this.
After all this time... does anyone knows what this is???

[Hudyweiss]

I've just spent two hours reading through this thread and I just want to add my own experiences, many which I've seen here already but a couple no one has mentioned.

I'm 17 now and I've been having these episodes since I was around 5-8 years old. I cant remember the first time i experienced it but i know it was a pretty constant thing throughout my childhood and at some points i experienced it weekly or monthly. They have slowed down and I've only had two since I was 15, the last being around six months ago. The episodes used to last from 5-30 minutes but in the last few years none were longer than two minutes and the last one I was able to get rid of in 20 seconds by concentrating reallly hard on distracting myself.

The main symptoms are hard to describe but it's mostly an intense and fast feeling. I feel like time is moving very quickly and all sounds are much more intense, I can hear very small sounds loudly like people breathing or turning a page. The description of your thoughts screaming at you everything you are doing that I've seen here is so spot on it's scary. It feels like I'm narrating my own thoughts and actions in caps lock or with a megaphone but all inside my mind. My entire body usually feels tense and super aware of all sensations. I haven't seen anyone mention this, but I usually get these during tests in school or when I'm studying and so I'm often holding a pen or pencil and it always feels like I holding on super tight to the pencil like I'm angry but even harder to the point I think my fingers might snap. I also feel like I'm writing super hard and I might rip the paper. The entire time I know that this is not actually the case and sometimes I try to physically hold on the pencil with less force, which sometimes results in me holding the pencil so lightly  I'm about to drop it and it still feels like I'm holding on super tight.
My jaw is also tensed up and sometimes I feel like I'm biting into a sponge or styrofoam with my back teeth. Sometimes I also get a metallic taste in my mouth.

Until I found this thread I don't think I realized that this always happened when everything was quiet but thinking back it happened a lot during tests or while I was reading a book in a quiet place. I never had a name for this when it happened and I also never told anyone about it. For some reason I never thought of sharing this I dont know why. I was never scared when it happened only a bit intrigued and for a while when I was about 12 I thought it could be a sign of me gaining superpower that I needed to learn how to control.

Any help in figuring out what this is would be much appreciated, just for some more context, I do have anxiety and I experience panic attacks pretty often, this is very dissimilar in all aspects. I also had a very high fever as a child (104) but I dont associate this with showing up with or right after the fever though I suppose it did begin sometime after, I don't see any connection though.

[LizXX1616]

I'm 17, and when I was younger I would have these occasions where I would be sitting alone and suddenly everything I touched felt felt textured. Almost like the texture your fingertips have after being in water for a long time. And if I was holding anything it felt really heavy even though it wasn't. And of course the fast surroundings and enhanced noise and thinking. It would last a typically about a minute or three.

Now that I'm older, the strange feeling in my fingers hasn't presented itself again. But I still have times when I'm alone and everything is silent and suddenly, boom, sped up surroundings, enhanced noise, and loud thinking. Like, "I'M GOING TO PUT MY PENCIL DOWN NOW AND STAND UP!"

Just a few minutes ago I was lying in bed and on my phone when suddenly it felt like my vision was zooming out even though there was no change to anything was looking at. And my phone felt really heavy and my hands felt larger too. This has happened several times but not in a long time.

[negreb]

I have been following this question for years.  

The thing that allowed me to find it in the first place was the heading "Surroundings becoming weird and fast/intense/loud".

These are not symptoms of TLE or AIWS.  It is something different.

Come on neurologists of the world!  Surely there is a neurologist out there looking for a Doctoral thesis topic that could discover what this actually is.

[benji579]

I've had these episodes also for a long time; ever since  i was a child. I have done some personal research  into this ,and thanks to that and personal experiences with various "episodes", Im quite confident in my findings: these are some types of seizures. Look up Simple Partial seizures.

yes, as others have mentioned here, i also had these during fevers typically, as a child, which leads me to believe that in such contexts, these are Febrile Seizures. However, as people - including me -  clearly have these even when not under any fevers, even still in their 30s, it would be quite logical to think that they exist also as non-febrile seizures.

The good question is, "Are these epileptic or not?"

Either way, I would advise readers that are experiencing these frequently and find them becoming bothersome, to go to their dr and express strong suspicion that this is neurological and therefore insist to have an MRI and EEG scan done at a neurologist. And obviously, kindly share with us here what transpired : )

As always, all the best, and God bless.
Benjamin

[avgchlo]

So I’m not sure if I experience the same thing because to me it’s almost an eerie feeling to everything. Like things either sound much faster or much slower than they should sound and every word is enunciated almost. Maybe even a dreamlike feeling? Especially if I turn on music or tv while it’s happening to get it to go away, everyone’s voice sounds slightly different in the way they’re talking, either abrasively loud or weirdly soft and quiet and again, enunciated almost. Been happening since I was little and still will every now and then (i’m 19 now), but it’s hard to explain unless i’m in the moment. Thing is, once I’m in the moment and do try to explain it, it usually goes away. I think it really bugged me when I was a kid but now it really fascinates me. Huh. Let me know if this is how y’all experience it too!!

[avgchlo]

Now that I reeeeaaaally think about it, I’ll also hear random words in the abrasive tone if it’s completely quiet, but I think It’s my thoughts i’m bearing that way and not just random voices like others have said.

[avgchlo]

Now that I reeeeaaaally think about it, I’ll also hear random words in the abrasive tone if it’s completely quiet, but I think It’s my thoughts i’m bearing that way and not just random voices like others have said.

[karimalahmed]

this happened  my 8 year old son when he had a fever and then he was getting bumps in his mouth and everything!

[oozewithease]

Hi I'm 15 years old yeah this has been happening to me for at least last 2-3 years, and when this thing happens to me everything gets intense in my head not hearing other voices but my own and its not telling me stuff, its just when i think like if I say 'what's going' on or 'hello' in my head it feels/sounds very loud and fast and I start to feel uncomfortable lets say this happens when I read a book every word I read will feel and sound fast in my head but I'm not trying to read faster if I try to talk slower in my head it slows down but still feels very intense, I went to a doctor about this and they said it sounds anxiety related but they're not sure what it could be, but does feel nice knowing others are feeling the same thing.

[Dotho]

Hey kid, I have it too. It would happen to me when I was little and I was sick. It sounds like even a soft little noise is like angry or aggressive right? Like even if you were to think "I love you", it would be loud like angry yelling, and even a little fast with an echo. I'm glad I found this because I always thought I was the only one that expirenced it. I could never explain it to anyone and even Google searches over the years haven't explained it until now. It happens to me every so often even now at 30 years old. Usually when it's real quiet and I'm lacking sleep.

[avgchlo]

Yes!! Same here. Almost always happens when it’s very quiet and I haven’t heard something in a while. So weird we all have this with no explanation!!

[kosmikstrip]

i experience this too! i actually don’t feel crazy knowing everyone here experiences this as well lol. it’s been happening since i was a kid but as i got older it became more intense and happens more frequently. i’m 22 now and just tonight i just experienced it. first i start to feel small and my body starts to feel really really heavy like i’m glued to whatever i’m laying/sitting on. then everything speeds up.. sounds, motions, voices, etc. and when i move it’s like i’m moving too fast and when i talk it’s like i’m talking too loud and too fast. i feel like reality isn’t real. i feel like i’m not all here.. when i was little i thought of it as super powers because i can hear more and move fast lol. it lasts for 10-20 min for me. it’s happened before while i was driving and that was the worst. my doctor said it could be derealization. but since y’all are saying fevers might be a cause.. when i was 17 my fever was 108. i was having seizures and i had to be hospitalized for 2 weeks. they never told me why my fever was so high. doctors were shocked and couldn’t believe i was still alive cause i could’ve been brain dead. so that could be why that “feeling” intensified after that.

[benji579]

Hey man.  thank you for sharing. I've had these alien sensations too, but thankfully theyre quite rare for me. Im 25. I think these are seizures- a certain type  part of a seizure disorder called TLE(Temporal Lobe Epilepsy).   If these become bothersome, you can go to neurologist and have EEG and MRI done. Regardless whether those scans show anything, you will likely be able to get certain meds that reduce the frequency of these, or even completely remove them out of your life.
God bless

[OliviaNinja]

I’ve had this as long as I can remember and I’m 33. It just happened now, which is why I looked it up. Mine is primarily that everything seems louder and faster. Like if I brush my hair with a slow stroke it feels like I’m brushing like a maniac, and every little thing sounds loud. It usually only lasts 5-10 minutes. It almost always happens when I’m getting ready (hair and make-up). Bizarre. Tonight was while I was washing my face and flossing!

[benji579]

Hi Olivia, thanks for sharing. Do you feel like anything in particular triggers it for you, or just spontaneous? And how often do you have it? And lastly, do you have other type of  odd kind of experiences? Thank you

[benji579]

Hi Olivia , thanks for sharing. If you dont mind, how often do these occur? and are there other weird feelings and experiences you have also? Thank you, and have a good day.

[benji579]

Sorry - i wasnt able to see my older message to you, so i assumed it hadnt been sent. hence the duplicate

[Gue556]

I’ve had this happen to me ever since i was a kid. It stopped happening to me when i was around 14. I’m now In my early 20’s and it’s happened 2 times in the past 6 months. Just the surrounding seeming faster and louder. I would love to find out what it is. But for the people who get scared when it happens. Talking to someone else usually makes it stop

[specialmom]

Hi there.  Welcome to the forum.  So, a couple of things come to mind.  First, there is something kind derealization and depersonalization.  This happen with anxiety.  Or my other thought is if you have some sensory issues which would be neurological.  It would be a little strange for that to just bump into place. But with sensory issues, everything seems 'more'.  I have a son actually with sensory integration disorder and environments can be very over stimulating.  He would describe it as Too loud and too fast.  ??  tell me more and I'll try to help!

[MStuart53]

I just had this experience today and I thought I was crazy. Everything gets so loud and spaced out, however i dont notice any time or speed changes. I am currently on medication for anxiety and depression and I also have ADHD. It seems the ADHD could possibly be a factor? Also when i close my eyes I sometimes feel this pressure and I get an odd sensation where objects I imagine feel sort of “compressed” in some sort. It’s very hard to explain but it definitely feels sort of depersonalized.

[mabIII90]

The same thing happens to me like maybe every 3-6 months sometimes more frequently sometimes not iv noticed it happens to me alot when I'm driving which is scary cause it makes it hard to focus when it's going on but its not always when I'm driving sometimes it happens at night when I'm laying in bed when it happens to me it first feels like everything (almost like time itself) starts going faster and faster and faster like 0 mph to 500 mph in like seconds then I begin to hear voices that I can't understand but I recognize them and they get more and more intense and loud like they are filled with rage are screaming they often start out like normal yelling but speed up and as they speed up they intensify and get louder sometimes it sounds like my father in some sort of argument but as I said I can't understand them like as if they were playing backwards but they are not and the third thing that happens sometimes but oddly not every time is I begin to feel this uncontrollable rage towards nothing really all of this happening simultaneously and lasting 5 to 10 mins maybe I don't really know it's hard to time it cause you kinda lose track of time and just like someone else stated is a previous comment I too was diagnosed with ADD at a young age and also I used to suffer from severe and frequent ear infection as a child with would usually lead to a fever don't know if this description is similar to what you've experienced but I hope this can help and let you know your not alone

[bittucker]

I'v had this once or twice in'the last year or so, but it always happens when its perfectly quite. I have no idea what it is, but my best guess is your brain sifting through conversations you've heard in the past trying to make up for the noise you hear regularly. The reason i think this is because if i listen closely and go into my closet or dark room the voices are familiar,like my mom or dads voices. i'm just relay glad i'm not the only one with this Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

[MissKerrigan]

Hey,

I'm quite happy I have found this forum because this happens to me every so often, but when I was a child, it happened all the time. I called it "loud and fast" because that was the only way I could explain it to my parents.

I often thought it had something to do with anxiety, as I have been diagnosed with a general anxiety disorder. When I describe it to my doctors, they don't seem to know what it is and relate it to the anxiety. I still don't have any true answers as to what it may be. I searched this forum because I just had that sensation, but it's less frequent now.

Thank you for the insight!

[Jonnydreamer]

Ahh, I was just telling my brother about how this used to happen to me and he found this forum!

Yes, i had this happen to me several times a year up until around the age I finished puberty.

The world around me would become 2x or 3x the normal speed and all sounds would become "Hyper Aggresive" while my movements and actions would become Slow Motion. Lasted for 8-10 minutes.

It never scared me. So it had nothing to do with anxiety. I was very used to it. So I would just kind of wait for it to run its course. I kind of enjoyed it sometimes as well and thought it was kind of exciting.

Haha. Glad im not alone. Im 30 now and it hasnt happened since I was about 15 years old.

I have never had any sort of mental or epilectic issues. Only ADHD. I was not under the influence of any medications when these experiences took place.

[Turco]

Great you found us! There are different levels of epilepsy and I think we are suffering a very low level of it. The "temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE)" is a seizure disorder that can start with a fever during childhood (like many cases here) and manifest in many different forms. What we are describing here is just one of these forms. A light, uncharted and very interesting one. It changes our time perception!

[bittucker]

I call bull on that. its a cerebral implant doctors give when your born, lol.

[bellemarithe]

hi @Jonnydreamer! we have the exact same experience minus the ADHD! I'm 21 now, i dont experience it now as often as I did in my childhood and teenage years... I still have nothing in mind when asked what triggers it... what about you? what do you think causes it?

[Robjac04]

I'm a 12 year old boy and have the same problem. Could it be connected to ADHD? It bet it could as a DVD is when your brain functions differently than others. I also get it in the morning every so often.