Curious - How Much Does Unexpected Noise Affect You?

[LGC]

I often wear the orange earplugs. They dim the noise enough that it doesn't set me off so badly ... I bet if you brought in a few sets ( we can get them in a box for $10) your coworkers would be grateful!

Then it can be "the same for everyone" in a slightly better way. :)

 

[Tswevnz]

Yea I did that too LGC :) but it didn't do much I'm afraid. However my situation is not really that important (it will hopefully be finished soon) - I'm just genuinely keen to hear how other people react / cope with noise after sustaining PTSD

 

[NovemberStar]

I HATE IT. I feel very angry and frustrated.

 

[Wyakin]

I am very reactive towards unexpected noises. Anything from slamming doors, rattling keys, the walkie-talkies right down to someone calling my name when I don't expect them to is too much for me at the moment. I cannot listen to music where I work as I need to be aware of what is happening around me so instead I tend to sing to myself. I was getting neck ache from my head whipping around so much to try to find the source of every sound around me. If everything starts to get too much I take myself off somewhere quiet, easy to do on a 10 acre farm and calm down before heading back in to the noisier parts of site. The hardest part is recognising it is all getting too much before it has gone too far.

 

[Pencil]

Noise makes me instantly violently angry. I want to assault the drivers of Harleys. I have fantasies of doing evil things to people who can't place cutlery in a drawer but have to throw / bang / violently shove (? how do they manage to make so much noise with cutlery?) it in.

 

[Jezanna]

I just had a epiphany as to why I'm so sound sensitive. It's because I'm constantly "checking" to make sure there aren't any noises that signal danger. I get panic stricken when the radio or tv is on too loud.i never put it together till just now!

 

[nycowboy]

AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!! Any unexpected noise drives me into a TOTAL hypervigilance mode that is exhausting and well, just TERRIBLE. Noise invades my space, and I was someone who endured a lot of bullying when I was a kid. Thankfully I have a therapist.

The orange earplugs are GREAT. But, they take a bit of fiddling to get in your ears correctly.

 

[y5L]

I sleep with these great headphones (called sleepphones) that play white noise so I'm not disturbed at night by any of my 3 roommates or the noises of our not so classy neighborhood. They also have a "concentration" version of their white noise that I'll play sometimes when I am taking a sensory break.

One of my roommates also has a yappy little dog... generally I don't mind the little pooch- in fact sometimes he's a pseudo-therapy dog for me, but I jump a mile every single time he barks.

Also at work people think it's fun to jump out and scare me, because they know how jumpy I am. I play it off like it's funny, too, so I know I'm not helping to deter them from doing it again. And really, I know it is all in good fun, with no malicious intentions. So once I get over the initial startle response, I really can laugh with them.

Does the startle response lessen over time??

 

[shimmerz]

I dead out faint when an unexpected noise happens. Not much fun for the people who support me. Yes, @y5L for me I am much less sensitive but it is still pervasive.

I am also affected by unexpected peripheral visions (left side mainly) but also behind me. They key for me is the unexpectedness. I get dizzy if something is expected but out and out faint when it is unexpected.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Shrieking children are the WORST! Yes, I understand that kids will be kids, and I have accepted that, however I have come across parents that think shrieking (not screaming or crying, but high pitched shrieking) is soooo cute! Yeah, I've wanted to punch a few parents because of this, because no, it is NOT cute for your child to misbehave like that and YES, I'm going so far as to say that teaching your child that bad behavior is acceptable in public makes you a bad parent. Once when a kid did this, someone else actually told the parent to make their child be quiet. (He was the owner of the place, so yeah, he had a right to say it.) Shrieking kids are the last hold out....I have been able to calm myself down after hearing other loud and unexpected sounds. But fortunately the kid shrieking issue is getting better over time.

 

[LGC]

@y5L ... My startle response has eased a lot in the past 3 yrs ... So yes, there is hope! :)

 

[joeylittle]

That's nice to read, @LGC; I've had a horrible time managing startle for the last 8 months, and currently certain types of noise send me into an aural or physical memory. It feels like it won't change. Good to be reminded it can. :)