I found this interesting, too. I have two sons who are very sensitive to sound. My older son (who will soon be six) has a hard time functioning in loud/chaotic situations. At birthday parties he sometimes seems to stumble around, completely zoned out. He just can't seem to tune the sound out. His preschool teachers recommended that we prioritize finding a kindergarten where he could be in a very small class because they were concerned that he wouldn't be able to function in a large, busy classroom. I'm pleased to say that while we did find a school with very small classes, my son seems to be getting better at functioning around noise, even if he does prefer quiet. In fact, his kindergarten teachers don't seem to have noticed how noise sensitive he is so I take that as a sign that his ability to self-regulate is improving.
He is extremely creative. A psychologist who worked with him for a year and a half even said that she thinks he may be a "creative genius" (her words, not mine). He is a divergent thinker who is obsessed not only with figuring out how everything works but also how to make it better/faster/stronger. At the age of three, he was obsessed with Rube Goldberg machines and loved to talk about the elaborate ones he was designing in his head. Because his fine motor skills weren't as strong, he expressed his creativity mostly through talking (incessantly) about what he wanted to build/create and would integrate lots of detail about whatever he was interested in at the time. When he was four, he was obsessed with elements and materials science so he included details of what kind of element each component of his imaginary contraption was made of (complete with explanations of the physical properties of each element and why they were used for that component). Until recently, he wasn't interested in drawing or other expressions of creativity typical for five year olds. He does collect junk from the streets and makes stuff with it (old e-waste, bits of metal, screws, etc.)_
My three year old is also sensitive to noise but in a different way. He just cannot physically stand loud noises and gets very upset by them. He hates flushing toilets and vacuums and the noisy generators of jumpy houses. When we go to events that other toddlers seem to love, he complains about the noise and demands that we leave. His expression of creativity is developing but he seems to share his big brother's love of story telling and he also collects junk and loves to make art. He's very into building and easily spends a couple of hours a day by himself, building with Legos and other toys like that. I didn't realize this was so unusual but people who meet him constantly comment on his building skills and focus so I'm guessing this isn't common for kids his age?
I have read that noise sensitivity is a common trait for gifted kids.
