Each of us experience sensory adaptation each morning as we dress for the day. Let's say it is a cool morning, and as you dress, you feel the warmth of your shirt and trousers, as you put them on. Since it is a little cool, you are extremely aware of your clothes touching the body. However, in just a few minutes, and certainly by lunch time, you are completely unaware of your clothes touching your body. Your sense of touch, where your clothes touch your body, has been reduced.
A reduction in hearing sensitivity can sometimes be a advantageous. When entering a popular night club you are keenly aware of the noise. The club is filled with patrons who are talking and laughing, in the midst of other routine sounds such as dishes clanking and the sound of the TV. It may be almost impossible to hear your date, prompting you to raise your voice in conversation. However, within a short time, you will notice that the club noise has faded to background noise. Your hearing has adapted to the noise and you can now hear your date without having to strain.
An example of sight sensory adaptation can be seen when one awakens to a bright light, in the middle of the night. Bright light in the dark of night causes discomfort to the eyes. When a bright light is abruptly turned on, the eyes are very sensitive and will cause one to squint or cover the eyes. After a few moments of allowing a little more light into the eye, the eye becomes less sensitive to the bright light and adapts to the strong light.
Our olfactory system, which regulates our sense of smell, also can adapt to the presence of strong odors. For instance, individuals who work in a slaughter house may have a difficult time adjusting to the odor when they first come to work in the morning. However, in just a short while, though the odor is still quite offensive, they perform their duties, seemingly unaware of the offensive odor that surrounds them all day long.
Our taste buds are quite sensitive -- and sensitive to a variety of tastes (sour, bitter, sweet and salt). However, continued exposure to one or more of these types of taste may cause a decrease in sensitivity to that taste. Individuals who are required to take a particularly bad tasting medicine may note that initially, the medicine tastes so offensive that they might gag or require something to drink or eat immediately after taking the medication. However, over time the individual's taste buds become adapted to that stimuli. The individual is then able to take the medicine without making an attempt to mask the taste with food or drink.