Mindly Different

Why It Can Intensify With Age or After Injury

Many people assume that sensory sensitivity is something you either “grow out of” or learn to manage better with time. And for some, that is true.
But for many others, the opposite happens.
Sounds become sharper. Crowded spaces feel heavier. Light, touch, movement, or social stimulation start to drain energy more quickly than they once did. What used to be tolerable now feels overwhelming.

This shift is often misunderstood as emotional fragility, aging, or loss of resilience. In reality, it is frequently the result of very real neurological changes that occur across the lifespan – especially in sensitive, neurodivergent, or neurologically injured brains.

This is not a failure to adapt.
It is the nervous system responding to changing conditions.

Sensory Sensitivity Is Not Static

The nervous system is dynamic. It is constantly shaped by development, experience, stress, hormones, health, and injury.
Sensory sensitivity reflects how the brain:

• filters incoming information
• prioritizes signals
• regulates arousal and recovery

These processes can shift over time.
For many people, especially those with neurodevelopmental conditions, acquired neurological conditions, or chronic stress exposure, sensitivity can intensify later in life rather than fade.

Three core neurobiological mechanisms help explain why.

1. Reduced Neural Buffering

In a well-resourced nervous system, sensory input passes through multiple layers of filtering before reaching conscious awareness. These “buffers” help soften intensity and prevent overload.
Key regions involved include:

• the prefrontal cortex, which regulates attention and inhibition
• thalamic gating systems, which filter sensory signals
• inhibitory neurotransmitter systems, particularly GABA

With age, chronic stress, or neurological injury, these buffering systems may become less efficient.
This can happen due to:

• reduced inhibitory signaling
• changes in cortical connectivity
• cumulative micro-stress effects on neural networks

The result is not increased sensitivity because of emotion – but reduced filtering capacity.
More information gets through.
Less of it is dampened.
The world feels louder, brighter, closer, and harder to ignore.

2. Slower Recovery Cycles

Another key change involves recovery time. A younger or less taxed nervous system may return to baseline quickly after stimulation. A sensitive brain later in life often cannot.
Neurobiologically, recovery depends on:

• metabolic clearance of neurotransmitters
• regulation of cortisol and adrenaline
• restoration of ionic balance in neurons
• autonomic nervous system recalibration

With cumulative stress, hormonal shifts, or injury, these processes slow down.
This means:

• stimulation lingers longer
• sensory after-effects accumulate
• rest becomes essential rather than optional

A sound, conversation, or environment may not be overwhelming in the moment – but its effects echo for hours or days.
This is why people often say: “I can still do things… I just need much longer to recover”.
That is not weakness.
That is neurobiology.

3. Plasticity After Injury: A Double-Edged Process

After neurological injury – such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, inflammation, or medical intervention – the brain enters a state of heightened plasticity.
This plasticity allows for:

• functional reorganization
• compensation through alternate pathways
• recovery of lost abilities

But it also comes with increased sensitivity.

Injured or reorganizing networks often:

• require more energy to function
• recruit broader areas to perform tasks once handled automatically
• show heightened excitability as circuits rewire

This makes the system more responsive but less tolerant.
In practical terms:

• background noise becomes exhausting
• multitasking collapses quickly
• sensory environments feel intrusive rather than neutral

The brain is not malfunctioning.
It is working harder with fewer reserves.

Hormones, Stress, and the Aging Nervous System

Hormonal shifts – particularly involving estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and thyroid hormones – significantly affect sensory processing.
These hormones influence:

• synaptic plasticity
• sensory thresholds
• emotional regulation
• pain perception

Life stages such as perimenopause, menopause, chronic illness, or prolonged stress can unmask or amplify sensory sensitivity that was previously manageable.

This often leads to confusion:
“Why am I more sensitive now than I was before?”
The answer is not psychological fragility.
It is biological recalibration.

Hormonal Shifts and Sensory Reactivity

One of the clearest examples of this process can be seen during perimenopause and menopause.

Estrogen plays a significant role in brain regulation. It supports serotonin and dopamine signaling, contributes to inhibitory control, and helps maintain synaptic flexibility in regions involved in emotion and sensory processing.
As estrogen levels fluctuate and decline, many women experience:

• increased sound sensitivity
• intolerance to bright lights
• heightened irritability
• emotional reactivity in busy or noisy environments

What is often labeled as “moodiness” or “short temper” is frequently a nervous system struggling with increased excitability and reduced inhibition. Background noise that was once easy to ignore may suddenly feel physically uncomfortable. Social settings may shift from stimulating to exhausting.

Again, this is not a character change. It is a neurobiological one.

Injury, Illness, and Reduced Recovery Cycles

After a concussion or other neurological injury, the brain enters a state of metabolic vulnerability.
At the cellular level:

• neurons require more energy to maintain balance
• glucose demand rises while efficiency drops
• sensory pathways become hyperresponsive

This is why people recovering from concussion often report that light hurts, noise feels unbearable, conversation becomes draining, and ordinary environments like supermarkets or public transport feel overwhelming.
A person may appear fine externally but experience rapid internal exhaustion. Recovery cycles slow down. The brain needs more time and more quiet to return to baseline after stimulation.

It is a sign of ongoing neural repair.

What Sensitivity Is Really Signaling

Increased sensory sensitivity is not a flaw. It is information.
It tells us that:

• neural resources are finite
• recovery matters more than endurance
• the nervous system needs cooperation, not pressure

Sensitive nervous systems age, heal, and adapt differently – not worse, just differently.
Listening to these changes allows for:

• better pacing
• more intentional environments
• fewer crashes and deeper recovery

A Reframe

If your sensitivity has increased with age or after injury, it does not mean you are losing strength.
It often means:

• your nervous system has less margin for overload
• your brain is prioritizing protection over performance
• your biology is asking for a different rhythm

Sensitivity is not regression.
It is a shift in how care must be offered – by you and by the world around you.

The goal is not to return to who you were.
It is to learn how to live well in the nervous system you have now.

By Nataliya Popova
Mindly Different – Coaching for the beautifully different mind