I don't know how to deal with my sound sensitivity

[westdomemizatrix]

sorry for the wall of text,
I'm out of options and honestly i don't know what to do or who to seek.
I don't even know if this is a mental problem or a genetic one.
I will try to explain my situation the best i can...

I have this sound sensitivity where i can't deal
with unexpected sounds they all make me anxious and panicking.. even as normal as they would sound for normal people. even a microwave popping popcorn would startle me and i would get out of kitchen to avoid that.

on stormy days i keep checking the weather radar over and over again with extreme anxiety and panic. and the same goes for new year's eve where there are fireworks, firecrackers loud car exhausts...
last year, i spent new year eve crying and panicking over firecrackers + fireworks near my place
Some dogs barks i can't also stand..

I use ear muffs and ear plugs on those occasions but its never enough, the fear is always there along with the anxiety.

I don't even know how to explain why i fear this, i just can't tolerate the sounds i used to tolerate traffic, especially motorbikes, nowadays i can't..
I've been trying to understand what would be the cause of this but i can't find an answer. i already did an hearing exam, brain exam and nothing unusual was found.

I also used to take meds for my social anxiety, escitalopram and lexapro but i stopped taking them because i got slightly better and to get rid of the side effects which made me sleepy all day.

last time i went to my psychiatrist and explained her this, she prescribed me benzodiazepine and didn't help at all.. and i only have an appointment with her again on the next year...

I don't know how am i supposed to live like this, sometimes i wish was deaf

what should i do?

 

[Movingforward10]

Do you have a diagnosis of anything? Not that I pretend to be an expert in anything, but I wonder if the way to deal with it changes depending on what causes the startle/overwhelm? For example, if it is a trigger because of PTSD: then it would be working on triggers. But if it was a neuro diverse issue, then the way to manage might be different (idk)?

 

[AngelKeeperJ]

sorry for the wall of text,
I'm out of options and honestly i don't know what to do or who to seek.
I don't even know if this is a mental problem or a genetic one.
I will try to explain my situation the best i can...

I have this sound sensitivity where i can't deal
with unexpected sounds they all make me anxious and panicking.. even as normal as they would sound for normal people. even a microwave popping popcorn would startle me and i would get out of kitchen to avoid that.

on stormy days i keep checking the weather radar over and over again with extreme anxiety and panic. and the same goes for new year's eve where there are fireworks, firecrackers loud car exhausts...
last year, i spent new year eve crying and panicking over firecrackers + fireworks near my place
Some dogs barks i can't also stand..

I use ear muffs and ear plugs on those occasions but its never enough, the fear is always there along with the anxiety.

I don't even know how to explain why i fear this, i just can't tolerate the sounds i used to tolerate traffic, especially motorbikes, nowadays i can't..
I've been trying to understand what would be the cause of this but i can't find an answer. i already did an hearing exam, brain exam and nothing unusual was found.

I also used to take meds for my social anxiety, escitalopram and lexapro but i stopped taking them because i got slightly better and to get rid of the side effects which made me sleepy all day.

last time i went to my psychiatrist and explained her this, she prescribed me benzodiazepine and didn't help at all.. and i only have an appointment with her again on the next year...

I don't know how am i supposed to live like this, sometimes i wish was deaf

what should i do?

You might Google “misophonia.” I have it somewhat and anxiety makes it much worse. Repetitive sounds are the most triggering.

 

[Friday]

what should i do?

Misophonia (what you’re describing) has a tremendous range of causes… structural & medical causes, neurological causes, psychological disorders & conditions… most of which have very different treatments. So, step one, would be determining if the cause is structural (born with it, or the result of an injury or infection), acquired (an ongoing infection, for example, not just of the ear), neurological, and if so what; or psychological, and if so what disorder or condition this is symptomatic to.

1. ENT / Ear Nose & Throat doc.
2. Neurologist
3. Diagnosing Psych Professional (Psychiatrist, NP, PsyD, LCSW)
4. Specialist in your disorder/condition