Hyperesthesia

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Hyperesthesia

Hyperesthesia means having an unusually strong reaction to senses. Things like sounds, tastes, or textures can feel much more intense than normal. When the sense of touch is extra sensitive, it's called tactile hyperesthesia; when sound is extra sensitive, it's called auditory hyperesthesia. In pain, hyperesthesia can mean you feel more pain than usual, often with allodynia (pain from non-painful touch) and hyperalgesia (increased pain from painful stimuli).

In psychology, some researchers describe hyperesthesia as an "exaggeration of the senses" seen in some gifted people, where sensory information reaches the brain quickly and is processed fast.

Feline hyperesthesia syndrome is a real condition in cats, especially breeds like Siamese, Burmese, Himalayan, and Abyssinian. It can affect cats of any age but is more common in adults. It shows up as brief periods of unusual behavior lasting about a minute or two and can be hard to detect. A related symptom is seen in dogs with canine distemper disease.