I and my daughter (and my mother for that fact) all suffer from this same issue. I agree with many others here, a hearing test will only assess if they can hear, not if they are sensitive to loud noises. My daughter when tested at the hospital after birth got a resounding "well we know she can hear!!" from the nurses because of her strong reactions to the test. To this day, she still covers her ears in a public restroom because the loud toliets and hand dryers are too much. I try to avoid/empathize/prepare her for situations that are loud (parades, indoor play areas, etc) and used to carry ear plugs with me to help. It seemed she was worst about not being able to cope with the loudness from 2-4, in the last year she has gotten better about it, she still avoids it and reacts, but she now can cope enough not to have a meltdown. I once asked here for help with the public bathroom (it got to the point where she refused to even enter one) and the nice mammas here suggested the earplugs and a post-it notepad to carry in my purse- the post-its go over the sensor/eye on the toliet, so that it doesn't flush until she is ready (with hands over ears). I don't blowdry her hair, I let it airdry, because I know she wouldn't be able to handle it - she still runs the other way when I am drying mine! On the upside, my mom is now nearing 65, and while her peers are loosing their hearing, hers is hanging in there... so I hope that happens for me too :-)