I can’t remember the first time, I’ve cultivated it for a very long time. But when I was still learning I had loud clairaudience. Despite the noises were more like whispers, it felt like having a bag over my head, or my brain stuffed with cotton. I prefer to use other methods since it sometimes gives me a headache.
I use a variety of methods myself, and when I first started auto writing/drawing it was a pretty amazing experience seeing my hand write in different handwriting or feel the tug of something pull the pencil along.
My preferred method is spirit board, in tandem with clairaudience. It relieves my head, while I can skip over words I “hear” to form complete sentences.
I have a post for methods of communication here, if it’s helpful: