He sounds a lot like how my DS used to be.

Things bother him intensely. He'll be sent to near hysteria over almost nothing. Tags on his clothes, socks not on correctly, a drop of water on his top. Yesterday he was in hysterics because I spilt a couple of drops of milk on the ground.
My DS had mega meltdowns over the tags (cut them all off!), socks still cause a panic sometimes (BUT THEY ARE TWISTED!!!!), there was a time there when basically anything set him off. It was not long after he turned two when it was most apparent. He would not play with other children, or leave my side at playgroup even though we had been going since he was a little baby. He also was/is a nail biter and flapped his arms when he got agitated. I was thinking it could be more that just his personality.

But then: Just around the time he turned three, he suddenly went from being shy and reserved to super confident. No longer sitting away from the crowd - now he is dead center. DH and I have been amazed. It all happened over a couple of months. Not sure why but I think a lot of it was the confidence from starting kindy and staying by himself - seemed to be a massive boost to his self-esteem. So now he is very social and not at all worried about new situations/people. He is still....highly strung....and the little things can still tip him over but if you had told me a year ago that he would be this way now I would have laughed.

So it could just be a phase, something that will correct in time.