Anyone cruise with a child that doesnt like loud noises?

[Melissa&Shawn]

My DD (almost 5 for our upcoming trip in March) is terrified of loud noises. Fireworks are a no-go for us. Last cruise she was 2.5 and we were almost 100% potty trained. The first potty trip with the super loud flushers terrified her and she went back to pull-ups for 3-4 months afterwards. Thankfully I brought an emergency pack with us! Now she is much older but worried on how she will be with the loud noises onboard. Especially the toilets.anyone else with this sensory type of issue?

 

[KEichman]

I can't give you a direct answer, as my dd-11 is outgrowing this issue, and while noises still bother her, it's not as much as when she was your daughter's age. So the toilets didn't bother her during our two cruises, when she was 10 and 11 (yay). But here's some things we learned from traveling with her when she was younger, especially since at 5, your daughter is probably small enough to set off the automatic toilet flush when she wriggles just a bit on the toilet. WDW taught me early on to carry around big round stickers to use on the toilet sensor, so the toilet wouldn't inadvertently flush while she was sitting on it, and I could even have her step out of the stall before I removed it, so she was a good distance away from the flush.

In addition, noise-dampening headphones (we bought ours on Amazon for about $15) have been a God-send, although not the most attractive. Our daughter still uses these at movie theaters--especially during the super-load previews--and because of them, she can watch fireworks with no problem.

 

[braysmommy]

My DS has the same sensory problems. For him I bought Peltor ear protectors for our trip last year to Disney World and he was able to enjoy the rides and even fireworks with them on. We had tried earplugs before with no success but he really likes these.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Last year I had posted concerns about my DS and the muster drill alarm.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2739366

I told him about the drill and there will be an alarm, but we can hold our ears. They did make an announcement that the alarm would sound, so we held our ears and it was fine for him.
Also, we watch fireworks from our veranda and he held is ears or went inside.
The toilet was a non issue, for us at least. I really don't recall them being loud.
Good luck!

 

[jjje]

My son has Asperger's and sensory issues. He wears ear plugs pretty much the entire time we are on any vacation. They don't block all noises but they help make loud and/or unfamiliar noises less harsh.

 

[Gdes1]

I made a similar post a while back and received lots of great info (some via PM) from other parents. My 3 1/2 year old DS has the same issues...it doesn't seem like the sensory problems friends of his have, and it's not Asperger's, but he really doesn't like loud noises and public restrooms are a problem.

I was also worried about the theaters (before our cruise he had never been in any kind of theater) and I was really worried about the Disney tendency to have loud music or a show just start up anywhere (like during dinner). I had no idea if there would be loud music or something in the Kids Club.

Anyway, we also bought the noise-dampening headphones on Amazon for about $12. It took me a while to get him to trust them enough to try them on (he was convinced they would make noise, not block it out). He finally put them on and loved them. And, I can stand near him and talk in a normal voice and he can still hear me.

On the ship, wee carried them with us always and if something loud started to happen (show at Animator's, microphone use in kids club, deck parties, etc) we'd ask if he wanted them. He wore them to the live theater shows but was able to go without them in the movie theater.

We left them at the Kids Club when he was there and told him to ask the counselors if he needed them. The tough part was remembering to pick the headphones up when we picked DS up. DH hardly ever remembered. On the plus side, DH didn't gain very much weight because of all those trips he made back to the kids club to get the headphones!

We were on the ship 14 nights and the headphones really worked out for DS and now we use them in other situations. Hope that helps.

 

[Brancaneve]

If you are on the pool deck while at sea and especially on the sail away party, there will occasionally be a very loud horn that plays a few notes of "When you wish upon a star." As an adult, I jumped every time and had to cover my ears. Unfortunately, they don't give much of a warning!!

 

[ilovedisney1982]

My DD (almost 5 for our upcoming trip in March) is terrified of loud noises. Fireworks are a no-go for us. Last cruise she was 2.5 and we were almost 100% potty trained. The first potty trip with the super loud flushers terrified her and she went back to pull-ups for 3-4 months afterwards. Thankfully I brought an emergency pack with us! Now she is much older but worried on how she will be with the loud noises onboard. Especially the toilets.anyone else with this sensory type of issue?

My DS was two went we went on our Disney Cruise. He does have a slight sensory issue, so we prepared him before the trip. DH and I said there was nothing to be scared of, and we even "practiced" flushing the toilet, blasting the stereo, and turning on the blender to show him that there is nothing to be scared of when he hears a loud noise. He was a bit paranoid toward noises the first two days, but we were fine once he got over it! Have fun on your cruise!!

 

[luv2sleep]

Mine is pretty noise sensitive. General loudness bothers him as well as toilets, hand dryers and fireworks. He didn't enjoy the loud deck parties either. We still had fun. We just didn't do any of the parties or the fireworks show.

 

[txgirl5]

I can't give you a direct answer, as my dd-11 is outgrowing this issue, and while noises still bother her, it's not as much as when she was your daughter's age. So the toilets didn't bother her during our two cruises, when she was 10 and 11 (yay). But here's some things we learned from traveling with her when she was younger, especially since at 5, your daughter is probably small enough to set off the automatic toilet flush when she wriggles just a bit on the toilet. WDW taught me early on to carry around big round stickers to use on the toilet sensor, so the toilet wouldn't inadvertently flush while she was sitting on it, and I could even have her step out of the stall before I removed it, so she was a good distance away from the flush.

In addition, noise-dampening headphones (we bought ours on Amazon for about $15) have been a God-send, although not the most attractive. Our daughter still uses these at movie theaters--especially during the super-load previews--and because of them, she can watch fireworks with no problem.

I did this too.. carried around those small post-it notes everywhere. Worked like a charm and DD would remember to ask me for them if I forgot to stick one over the sensor.

My daughter at ten years did not like the sound of the fireworks. We were on top deck. I would assume that if you were lower or further away from the action it would not be so bad. I never thought of ear plugs or headphones. I could see that working well. Might find some before our next cruise for the fireworks.

The muster drill hurt my ears, but DD never complained about it. She is outgrowing some of it too.

 

[luv2sleep]

Mine can't tolerate the headphones touching his ears. It's challenging. We just have to avoid stuff.

 

[Melissa&Shawn]

Wow all fantastic ideas!! We bought those ear muffs just recently for fireworks but I forgot I can use them for not just that. Honestl never thought about wearing them on rides...but that was an issue with DD too. She might get some weird looks wearing them to the potty but she won't freak out. At 2.5 she started throwing herself against the bathroom door trying to escape...it was awkward and scary. I even used a post it note but its also everyone around us when it flushes. Guess they will just come with is everywhere. . She loves dance parties but will lose if when it gets too loud. Completely forgot about the muster drill!!! Thank you all for reminding me. Ugh, that would be terrifying for her without the muffs. . Love the saying of when your child gets upset or stressed about something you've already talked about. Going to use that a lot. Because DD gets stuck talking about fireworks and won't let it go. Thanks everyone. Fantastic advice and information. And I'm comforted that I'm not the only one going thru this.

 

[Weedy]

The potty's on the ships are not auto flush, but they are VERY loud.

 

[luv2sleep]

My son was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. Someone mentioned autism here. I hope you guys don't mind me asking but since the loud noises is the common theme here, have your children had formal diagnoses of anything? My son is getting formal neuropsych testing soon. He also has phonic tic behaviors and also his ped thinks he has ADHD. I'm not sure I'm convinced and I'd like better answers. Hence the testing. I'm a pediatrician and that only seems to complicate matters because I can't accept simplistic answers that haven't made sense to me so far. It's all been so vague. It's frustrating. He is turning 6 in less than a month and the toilet flush thing is as much of a issue as its always been. Other issues seems to be coming on or getting worse.

 

[Conorama]

Just one more vote for the Peltor ear protection - known as "actual noise earmuffs" in our house. I will say that at 4.5 Dude is getting better with noises, but we still travel with the ear muffs. No diagnoses, here, and I work in the medical field too, and I don't think he has anything ... except he's definitely on the sensitive end for sensory stuff - including smells, bright lights, and tactile things (tags on clothes, etc.) - it's all getting better (except the response to smells), though, which is part of why I'm not worried.

And, yes, they have been worn to the bathroom. Better than having a semi-naked boy hurl himself into the hall to get away from the noise!

 

[KarenR122]

DD, 6, has major sound sensitivity issues. She takes the noise better if we prepare her so we made sure that the muster drill, any shows, annoucing the princesses at the meet and greet were in her daily plan so she knew what was coming. We also carry noise cancelling headphones with us at all times just in case. She had a few issues with the Crush dinner and wore her headphones for a part of it. The muster drill was a nightmare but the CMs were very good and it was over fast so we just dealt with it. The horns when the boat was leaving ports were also an issue but again were over fast until one day they played all the horn songs and it was never ending. My DH and I were laughing because as soon as we thought it was over another one started. But again this was only a tiny portion of the cruise and we were prepared for it. She also had issues with the toilet flushing but we just let her not flush and we did after she washed her hands and shut the door. Once the door was shut it wasn't too loud. She had a great cruise overall, we are going again in August, and these issues are things we deal with on a daily basis so it really didn't affect our day.

 

[buglady11]

My daughter has seizures and is sensitive to loud noise - she wears ear plugs at movie theaters so I appreciated reading the info on this thread. Recently we forgot the ear plugs for a college basketball game. She was uncomfortable but easily satisfied to borrow her dad's stocking cap to cover her ears.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Peltor ear protection is our favorite too, they go everywhere with us on our cruises! DS has Auditory Processing Disorder, Asperger's and ADHD, so is very sensitive to noise and hates surprises. He put his ear protection on and runs around happily, enjoying the movies, shows and everything! The one thing he found overwhelming was the main dining rooms, so he often had room service and went to the kids club while we ate...

 

[Brooksmakingmemories]

So thankful to run across this thread, it will be a lifesaver on our cruise in March. Our daughter, age 2, is terrified of loud noises. While I had already mentally prepared for the fireworks, I had not given consideration to all the other events. Thanks so much!

 

[mousebrat]

I've mentioned on a similar thread that our issues are not nearly as bad as they once were, but our DS7 with Asperger's still has anxiety about loud sounds. What we learned with him is that volume alone was not the real issue. He actually enjoys hearing a pipe organ. His problem was with noise that was chaotic or unexpected. Loud music was fine because there were no real surprises. A clap of thunder or glass breaking, though, can set him off. For vacations, our greatest resources have been online videos. You can find videos of the fireworks, the horn, the lifeboat drill, and, yes, even the toilets flushing. We can introduce these sounds in a controlled-volume situation that helps with desensitization and letting him know what to expect. When he hears the noises on the ship, everything is exactly as he expected it to be and we have not had any problems.