Anyone very sensitive to sound/ noise?

[a.n.kirillov]

It is a beautiful saturday in the village/ suburb I live in, and all I want to do is to sit on my balcony and read a few articles I've printed out; but there's a problem: I cannot think straight, as soon as there is a certain number of distracting noises around. We live close to the highway, so that it one constant noise we have; then there's the obnoxious cars and motorcycles that drive by the house all day; then there's a neighbour, intermittently bashing away on some fence post with a big hammer; a little further away, barely noticeable, a dude is sawing metal plates; my direct neighbour is mowing the lawn; upstairs, a baby starts to scream. I simply cannot take too many noises. It is like they can sever my train of thought, so that I forget what I was even thinking about and can concentrate on nothing but the particular noise until it stops.

I haven't always been that way. Sometimes I can handle it better than at other times, but I certainly prefer to have my leisure time when everybody else is either sleeping or off to work and I hate the weekends.

This is a big reason why I think the earth is vastly overpopulated: there is no place I could go where it is truly calm and quiet. People are everywhere, making obnoxious noises, blowing obnoxious fumes into the air, building obnoxious concrete structures—I just want some real nature reserve, where there are no roads, no telephone posts, no airplanes, no trains, no highways, etc... And preferably I would want to live in close proximity to such a place.

Are any of you similar in that regard? It seems very few people understand this.

 

[Epsilon0]

I have often experienced sensory overload caused by noise. It can make me sick to my stomach and cause migraines. When I am fatigued, I find noise very disturbing. I am fortunate enough to live in a quiet area with a forest nearby. I could never endure the chaos of a big city.

When I find myself in situations when I am fatigued and there is noise around me, I use ear plugs. They are not very comfortable - but they take the noise edge off.

What articles are you reading?

 

[MissKatrina]

Sort of. I suffer from sensory overload that is worsened by anxiety. On a good day some sounds, and materials are extremely extremely overwhelming for me and if exposed to them I feel like I'm being tortured. A bit like how nails on blackboard or a high pitch noise from a mic is for most people. When I have anxiety or am stressed- the range of materials I have an issue with gets larger and I'm unable to touch anything. Even my own skin or the air in the room is too much. Drives me crazy.

 

[a.n.kirillov]

Sort of. I suffer from sensory overload that is worsened by anxiety. On a good day some sounds, and materials are extremely extremely overwhelming for me and if exposed to them I feel like I'm being tortured. A bit like how nails on blackboard or a high pitch noise from a mic is for most people. When I have anxiety or am stressed- the range of materials I have an issue with gets larger and I'm unable to touch anything. Even my own skin or the air in the room is too much. Drives me crazy.

That must be horrible, when even the air on your skin becomes i trusive. Then you truly have nowhere to go anymore.

I have often experienced sensory overload caused by noise. It can make me sick to my stomach and cause migraines. When I am fatigued, I find noise very disturbing. I am fortunate enough to live in a quiet area with a forest nearby. I could never endure the chaos of a big city.

When I find myself in situations when I am fatigued and there is noise around me, I use ear plugs. They are not very comfortable - but they take the noise edge off.

What articles are you reading?

Well, we have a lot of "forest", if you want to call it that, but there's still noise. I have access to a hut in a forest, but there's a popular road nearby for motorcycles and it drives me insane. I literally have nowhere to go, especially now on the first real spring/ early summer weekends.

I'm reading into hedonism/ theories of pleasure/ pain. SEP is pretty good for getting an overview of a topic.
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Good idea with the earplugs, I think I will get some right now.
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It makes sense why most people kill themselves at springtime.

 

[Epsilon0]

I agree with you, SEP is a great resource.

I have been trying various ear plugs through the years. Each time I visit a new country I go to the pharmacy and buy a few just to try them out. I haven't found any that are very comfortable.

I even tried noise-cancelling headphones, but I don't like having big headphones on my head, it makes me feel claustrophobic

Sort of. I suffer from sensory overload that is worsened by anxiety. On a good day some sounds, and materials are extremely extremely overwhelming for me and if exposed to them I feel like I'm being tortured. A bit like how nails on blackboard or a high pitch noise from a mic is for most people. When I have anxiety or am stressed- the range of materials I have an issue with gets larger and I'm unable to touch anything. Even my own skin or the air in the room is too much. Drives me crazy.

Hello MissKatrina

I remember your from the new users thread. How are you finding the site so far? All good? Still studying for your exams?

 

[Myforevercharlie]

Very much, especially the last years. I busy stores / events i wear earplugs that filter away the sharp noises, but still can hear conversation. I get angry or disoriented with repeating loud noises like screaming, hard voices and things like that.

 

[MissKatrina]

That must be horrible, when even the air on your skin becomes i trusive. Then you truly have nowhere to go anymore.

Yep. It's a challenge. Thankfully the worst of it doesn't last beyond a few days and I can simply avoid the worst materials/ sounds. I've had it as long as i've known and can live with it. Just a bit difficult buying clothes and receiving gifts.

I agree with you, SEP is a great resource.

I have been trying various ear plugs through the years. Each time I visit a new country I go to the pharmacy and buy a few just to try them out. I haven't found any that are very comfortable.

I even tried noise-cancelling headphones, but I don't like having big headphones on my head, it makes me feel claustrophobic



Hello MissKatrina

I remember your from the new users thread. How are you finding the site so far? All good? Still studying for your exams?

Hello Epsilon. How are you doing? :) I'm studying as we speak. I got an extension for my dissertation as I want to perfect it before submitting and now just focusing on exam revision. Exams are exactly a month from now. I have a policy to not let being suicidal interfere stop me studying. Handy especially if I fail CTB or decide to postpone it.

 

[Epsilon0]

Yep. It's a challenge. Thankfully the worst of it doesn't last beyond a few days and I can simply avoid the worst materials/ sounds. I've had it as long as i've known and can live with it. Just a bit difficult buying clothes and receiving gifts.


Hello Epsilon. How are you doing? :) I'm studying as we speak. I got an extension for my dissertation as I want to perfect it before submitting and now just focusing on exam revision. Exams are exactly a month from now. I have a policy to not let being suicidal interfere stop me studying. Handy especially if I fail CTB or decide to postpone it.

Good luck with the dissertation. I remember how stressful it can be! What topic are you writing about?

 

[MissKatrina]

Good luck with the dissertation. I remember how stressful it can be! What topic are you writing about?

Thank you! It's about why healthcare professionals chose their degree/ career and how they feel about their success once working in practice.

 

[Soulless_Angel]

Not read all the replies, but loud noises can trigger my anxiety, unesp unexpected one, only learnt this what was part of my triggers recently, stupid things like the Thurs night clap for carers, if I am not aware of the time it really sets me off (our neighbours are over the top loud)
I don't like loud noises due to my child hood upbringing, my mother thought nothing of scaring me with saucepans banging and stating the world was ending, amongst other things, its only of recent its coming out and causing me issues I would rather deny!

Weirdly enough though, loud music calms me

 

[Epsilon0]

Thank you! It's about why healthcare professionals chose their degree/ career and how they feel about their success once working in practice.

Ok, so basically your method is interviews, right? Or maybe you did a study of previous research.

Not read all the replies, but loud noises can trigger my anxiety, unesp unexpected one, only learnt this what was part of my triggers recently, stupid things like the Thurs night clap for carers, if I am not aware of the time it really sets me off (our neighbours are over the top loud)
I don't like loud noises due to my child hood upbringing, my mother thought nothing of scaring me with saucepans banging and stating the world was ending, amongst other things, its only of recent its coming out and causing me issues I would rather deny!

Weirdly enough though, loud music calms me

Oh no, that sounds awful.

 

[MissKatrina]

Ok, so basically your method is interviews, right? Or maybe you did a study of previous research.

Some interviews but mostly questionnaires. I have a total of 251 professionals. And then other people are doing a similar project in other Universities. Findings will be put together and there'll be a systematic review.

 

[Epsilon0]

Some interviews but mostly questionnaires. I have a total of 251 professionals. And then other people are doing a similar project in other Universities. Findings will be put together and there'll be a systematic review.

I always found measuring attitutes, feelings, motivation etc. very tricky. The problem with interviews and questionnaires is that people "perform" whether they want to or not. They know they are being studied and that influences their behaviour. Furthermore, even if they have total anonymity they still want to "do good" which lowers even more the accuracy and truthfulness of the answers.

In my experience that's usually what opponnents usually comment on during dissertation defence. Have you thought about how you might answer questions about the validity of your method?

 

[Soulless_Angel]

Ok, so basically your method is interviews, right? Or maybe you did a study of previous research.



Oh no, that sounds awful.

Not so long ago , we have a massive thunder storm, it sent me into a major panic attack it was horrendous
https://peacefullyerratic.home.blog/2020/02/19/782/

 

[MartyByrde]

I find the worse my mental health, the more sound I notice, and my responses to it are all negative.

For example, thunder can be a really cool sound to me. There was just a clap as I was typing this, and having had a shit morning already, I was annoyed by it surprising me. Wtf? Then I feel my levels of tension, misery, anxiety, etc. increase.

And yeah, way too many fucking people! I love seeing the photos and vids of animals coming into areas where the humans are quarantined. We really have made a mess of things.

 

[Nem]

Sounds are more harsh when I'm really depressed. This must be due to inflammation throughout the body, thus has to be a connection. Drs are too stupid to look for the obvious and instead throw out meds that can contribute to more inflammation
Peace/hugs

 

[mediocre]

Yes I have Aspergers so I suffer from sensory issues and one of them is noise.'i like to open my windows sometimes when it's warm but often have to close them again because of noise. Traffic, children squealing, dogs barking...

 

[ArtsyDrawer]

Audiogenic epileptic here.
There are days where stepping on a crunchy leaf or gravel, or pretty much any sound makes me sick. Not a throw into a seizure, but it feels more and more like it's coming.

 

[Matthias_k]

Yes. I'm lucky enough to live in a very quiet place but even so I wouldn't be able to sleep without earplugs. Every night for almost 15 years. And It gets worse with every passing years. For daytime I bought some very good noise-cancelling headphones, but I use it only if really necessary.

 

[raisondetre]

I feel exactly the same way so you're not alone in this. I have ADHD so it's already hard enough to focus even without external distraction. I love the outdoors and nature too, but my aversion to noise, sound, people, and the stimulation they cause is leading me to become increasingly agoraphobic :/ . The world definitely is overpopulated. One of the reasons I hang on is the possibility to live in such a place you describe, a tranquil, and peaceful cabin in the woods where I'd gladly accept the sounds of wind, birdsong, and critters pacing carefully along the forest floor...

I currently use a noise machine that runs all day with white noise, to block out TV and talking sounds from my disregarding, loud family. I also use earplugs when I sleep and I have noise cancelling headphones for the day, though they're uncomfortable to wear and I hate having to block out noise with more noise/music. All these "solutions" aren't really solutions, they just help me cope, I suppose

 

[Aonewayticketplease]

It depends on the type of noise. Barking dogs, birdsong or anything like that is not a problem and I don't notice it unless someone brings it to my attention.

Any sound that is man made such as music or the woman with industrial strength vocal cords in the flat underneath me is annoying. It amazes me that most people don't seem to notice this noise pollution.

 

[http-410]

Yes, especially man-made noises increase my dissociation and worsen my mood severely. The worst thing is when you can no longer escape these noises and neither earplugs nor noise-cancelling headphones or both combined can help.

I had to listen to drilling machine noise for months almost every day from morning till night plus construction noise. Combine noise with insomnia and you will go insane. When my insomnia was as its peak, I hallucinated construction or drilling machine noises when I fell asleep and immediately woke up again. I couldn't sleep (among other reasons) because I knew I would be woken up by the noise. I remember how I once just rode away on my bike in a dissociative and exhausted state despite a thunderstorm to escape the noise.

I can't stand chewing noises either. TV and radio are unbearable also. I can only sleep with earplugs and during the day I usually wear noise-cancelling headphones.

 

[BitterlyAlive]

I'm sensitive to certain noises. Furniture scraping, loud footsteps, raised voices, bangs or thuds. I jump and am immediately super anxious. Bleh

 

[checkouttime]

When someone rubs a knife of fork on their teeth, im getting shivers now!!!

 

[BitterlyAlive]

When someone rubs a knife of fork on their teeth, im getting shivers now!!!

Aghhh or scratches their nails on the rough bottom of a bowl or mug. It makes me want to vomit lmao

 

[checkouttime]

Aghhh or scratches their nails on the rough bottom of a bowl or mug. It makes me want to vomit lmao

Definately gives me the chills, even when it happens on TV!

 

[Worthless_nobody]

Oh my gosh yes!!! I cannot stand going into stores, restaurants or watching tv commercials for this reason. I get severe sensory overload. I have never been diagnosed but I definitely suspect I have misophonia. Certain sounds just drive me mad. I use a fan sounds white noise machine everywhere in the house and outside to drown out noises.

 

[checkouttime]

I use a fan sounds white noise machine everywhere in the house and outside to drown out noises.

is that for tinnitus ?

 

[Worthless_nobody]

is that for tinnitus ?

Yep! I use it for that too. It helps a lot. I don't even hear the ringing unless the white noise machine is off.

 

[checkouttime]

Yep! I use it for that too. It helps a lot. I don't even hear the ringing unless the white noise machine is off.

thats interesting to know i never heard of it.might have a look at that :)