Need a really quick answer

So I have my first Uni lecture tomorrow. I probably should have asked this already but I didn’t think I’d need to and now I’m not sure. So I have autism and are sensory sensitive, particularly audio and tactile. I always carry a fidget toy and noise cancelling ear buds. The thing is most non electronic ear buds don’t block out enough sound for me so I have some ear buds that are hard to see and have ANC that really helps.

I wear them all the time but if I don’t play music like every 20-30 mins they turn off. So 1/3-1/2 through a lecture they’ll turn off. I need to wear them in a lecture as otherwise I won’t be able to focus on what the lecturer is saying, every sound closer to me will take priority and I’ll get overwhelmed. I have some Bose ANC over ear headphones I can wear (they’re pink gold). However these are clearly electronic and whilst I wear them a lot as they can be on with no music for hours, will a lecturer think I’m being rude.

I attended an introductory lecture and my ear buds turned off and I couldn’t get them back on quietly, and the noise the other students made was too much as there was a lot of talking, hence why I realised I may need these. I tried emailing my advisor at the uni but the wait for them to read emails is a couple days so I won’t have an answer fast enough.

Even if you don’t have experience with ASD, do you think this would be okay? Would I get away with it or will I have to figure something else out really fast?

Hey I’m sorry noone has replied yet and I sent a quick response. I can’t be of much help tbh sorry 😞
Good luck at ur lecture tomz! I’m starting uni as well but lectures start Oct 3rd so the following week and this week is just welcome week and diff events going on
The ANC earphones sound nice ???

I have a sibling who has autism but I’ve never heard of these headphones etc because he is on a different side of the spectrum u k

Have a quick word with the lecturer when they arrive and quickly explain why you wear them, maybe write down what you want to explain so you can be concise?

with no explanation, yeah a student wearing big headphone during a lecture would be considered rude.

I think you should speak to your lecturer beforehand, that way they will know that you're not trying to be irreverent. If you're anxious about talking to them about this, maybe send them an email at your earliest convenience, if it is an afternoon lecture then they may respond to you before you even attend the lecture.

I would send the lecturer/disability support an email about the situation ASAP

Go up to them at the start with a written note, you've explained the circumstances here beautifully.

Am I right in thinking you'd only need to play music for a minute or two and then take them off again?

I think your need to access the lecture is always greater than whether it looks rude. Really, it should be the uni informing people, not you. When your advisor replies, ask them to email all teaching staff on your modules with the explanation.

Thank you all for your replies. I tried it today and tried to keep the buds on but it didn’t work. It was even worse today and I completely shut down. I tried to book an appointment with my advisor but she doesn’t read emails fast and I can’t find the page for online bookings for next day appointments. I’m going to have to ring tomorrow at 10am when the phones open but I have a lecture 2 hours later, and I’m not sure what can be done in that time. I have 3x1 hr lectures tomorrow and I’m not sure what I’m going to do.

So I have my first Uni lecture tomorrow. I probably should have asked this already but I didn’t think I’d need to and now I’m not sure. So I have autism and are sensory sensitive, particularly audio and tactile. I always carry a fidget toy and noise cancelling ear buds. The thing is most non electronic ear buds don’t block out enough sound for me so I have some ear buds that are hard to see and have ANC that really helps.

I wear them all the time but if I don’t play music like every 20-30 mins they turn off. So 1/3-1/2 through a lecture they’ll turn off. I need to wear them in a lecture as otherwise I won’t be able to focus on what the lecturer is saying, every sound closer to me will take priority and I’ll get overwhelmed. I have some Bose ANC over ear headphones I can wear (they’re pink gold). However these are clearly electronic and whilst I wear them a lot as they can be on with no music for hours, will a lecturer think I’m being rude.

I attended an introductory lecture and my ear buds turned off and I couldn’t get them back on quietly, and the noise the other students made was too much as there was a lot of talking, hence why I realised I may need these. I tried emailing my advisor at the uni but the wait for them to read emails is a couple days so I won’t have an answer fast enough.

Even if you don’t have experience with ASD, do you think this would be okay? Would I get away with it or will I have to figure something else out really fast?

Thank you all for your replies. I tried it today and tried to keep the buds on but it didn’t work. It was even worse today and I completely shut down. I tried to book an appointment with my advisor but she doesn’t read emails fast and I can’t find the page for online bookings for next day appointments. I’m going to have to ring tomorrow at 10am when the phones open but I have a lecture 2 hours later, and I’m not sure what can be done in that time. I have 3x1 hr lectures tomorrow and I’m not sure what I’m going to do.

I would contact the disability support team (they should have a direct phone number) as soon as they open.

I did this. They arent answering and said they won’t be answering and to email them, but that still takes days to get anywhere. I’m not sure whether it’s worth going onto campus as seeing if they’ll speak to me in person even just to book an appointment.

I did this. They arent answering and said they won’t be answering and to email them, but that still takes days to get anywhere. I’m not sure whether it’s worth going onto campus as seeing if they’ll speak to me in person even just to book an appointment.

I agree with all of the above about getting it sorted properly. I do think approaching the lecturer, even if it's to hand them a note is a good idea, they'll be understanding and probably grateful you actually want to listen to them!However, in the meantime, could you record/make a track of 60 mins of silence and listen to that? So then the headphones won't turn off, as they are connected to a device and playing something... Without knowing the model, not sure if this would work. Do the headphones have an accompanying app? Sometimes the power off settings can be altered to make them stay on for longer (you may well have thought of this, but just in case!).

Thank you, I’ll check out the app

Would you apply to my question about your device? Ta