Childhood What's Up With Noise Sensitivity?

[Stills]

I've always been sensitive to particular sounds, but even more now. Laughter in unison and footsteps and all that crap. Why are most of us startled easily? How the f*ck does this mess with our head so damn much???

 

[omshanti]

I feel you. Noise sensitivity is tough -- we live in a very loud world. You're not alone. I'm also sensitive to noises, especially ambulances, people yelling, vehicles honking or squealing tires. It's worse in the mornings for some reason, when my ears will actually hurt sometimes when I hear certain sounds.

At home, white noise machines help me, as do playing nature/rain sounds softly over the stereo. Out in the world...I just try to step away to a quiet place or breathe deeply.

 

[ladee]

Great question !! Hope someone can explain it. I get so weary of jumping out of my skin a hundred times a day! Sometimes it is worse than others....Makes me look like an old lady about to get the vapors !!!
Hope you get an explanation...

 

[Ruinedforever]

I'm sensitive to loud noise as well. I think sudden, unexpected noises trigger me because I was in a really bad car crash. But I have come to realize that these noises, while startling, are not my trauma happening again. And I have to mentally tell myself that. They are still annoying, though.

 

[iopiop]

I am an ex mental health therapist...with that there is more to this deal than just noise issues.

What i will say is this. Those of us who have this..esp the bad startle reflex! which i am afraid is pretty bad with me...I have found that using a white nose (DOHM) machine, even two in the bedroom, using a face mask while sleep( ebay for 99 cents a piece and actually pretty comfortable) help a lot. Your brain has to have peace. I also recommend aromatherapy or essential oils that are relaxing to you. Personally i love lavender, but whatever allows you to breathe in and feel your body start to relax. Cool, comfortable microfiber sheets, instead of cotton, and comfy but firm pillowtop mattress. All of these and more are designed to give your nervous system a rest. I take vyvanse and it calms me...i have moderately strong ADHD, and wasnt treated until last year and it has made a huge difference personally. I take care to take hot sitz baths, listen to soothing music...etc. Since our nervous systems are on high alert all the time, we have to allow it to see that you can create the quiet, calming environment. If you can afford massages of facials, those help too. Over time, you learn when your body must be attended to. Look at this way, the heightened alert is a gift in some ways, but it can be the bane of your existence if you never nurture the opposite. hope this helps

 

[EveHarrington]

iopiop makes some very good points.

I know my system is more startle-y when I haven't had good sleep or Ive been eating too much junk.

It reinforces in my mind the need for whole body care.

 

[hodge]

I am also sensitive to noise, no matter what, bad sleep, good sleep (though that is rare), no matter what I eat. I have bad startle responses to even expected noises, like the dryer buzzer or the oven blinging when it reaches the temp I set it at. And other stuff. The phone? Forget it. Makes me a near basketcase. Thanks for your post, iopiop, I think I will look into getting a white noise machine.

 

[Silver.]

I have problems with ticking clocks, repetitive motion (like people with crossed legs bobbing a leg) etc. I've always been told it's a side effect of the ptsd. I sleep with a sound machine (white noise) because I have chronic insomnia and am an insanely light sleeper. I do mediation, but mediation is hard enough on its own, and then add not being able to shut up your head, and meditation turns into crazy conversations with yourself lol. But it works for some people. When I am out and about, I have a tablet that a friend bought me so I can read. It helps me ignore everything going on all around me. I think something to keep your focus and avoid the distracting noises all around you is pretty key. It doesn't go away, but it makes it a bit easier.

 

[Approvalseek]

So I've just joined this forum because of some (apparently pretty related) issues that I've been dealing with since I was a kid. Have you or anyone here heard of the term HSP? What you've described sounds to me like over-arrousal. it's also described in the book The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron. I've always known that I was different in the way of my acute ability to be empathic and sensitive to others, but until reading Dr Aron's book, I never realized that's the reason I hated loud noises, am easily startled, feel human tension around me, get overwhelmed by busy environments (which often also happen to be loud) was because I was over-aroused. There are ways to calm this function of your mind by relaxing, moving away from the stimulus, relieving yourself of arousing thoughts.
What's described in the book as a mild but immediately impactful resolve when over-aroused is to slow your breathing to 4-6 breaths per minutes which is about a 7 second inhale, 7 second exhale.
I wish you luck, this has been extremely helpful to me over the months since reading this book and I thought I'd share.

Take away: The Highly Sensitive Person, by Dr. Elaine Aron.

 

[hodge]

Approvalseek, that is a great book. Thank you for bringing it up. I'm also an HSP. Sigh. Yeah, I'd rather be an HSP than otherwise, but it brings with it a lot of challenges even without PTSD.

 

[Approvalseek]

Approvalseek, that is a great book. Thank you for bringing it up. I'm also an HSP. Sigh. Yeah, I'd rath...

Oh I couldn't agree more! being HSP without having parents who realize would be enough for concern, throwing some trauma into the mix is an entirely different story. Having both a mother and father with PTSD (before they met each other) has lead me down some pretty horrific memory lanes. In hindsight, It saddens me often when I think about the toddler/teen/man that my parents could have raised. I think about blaming them so harshly for everything they put their sensitive son through. I also think about how erroneous this is. I want to move on and say I am so thankful for having this lesson taught to me now, rather than never understanding it at all. However... there's still a persistence of holding the abusers accountable.
I feel that Sigh, and i'm there with you.