Published on 12, July, 2020
Part of why I got an assessment was to access helpful adjustments at work, because I'm very sensitive to both sound and smell.
Currently the two people that sit next to me at work smell awful, and it's really inhibiting my working ability. They're also loud (talking, tea-slurping, apple eating, etc), but I can cover that by wearing headphones. The smell I cannot. I'm sure the guy on my left doesn't wash his clothes, and the guy to my right has terrible breath.
Does anyone else have this issue? Its' driving me mad, and my work cannot offer me a better place to sit.
So sorry to hear this. It's a really hard situation to be in. Close proximity to people at work has been an issue for me too. One of my first bosses wore nylon shirts and his armpits smelt just like onion gravy. I actually love onion gravy, but in that context it just made me nauseous.
Another colleague used to spray eau de cologne on herself when she went to the loo. It was horribly pungent and got me right in the back of the throat. I was really surprised that a counsellor who did sessions with service users in a former workplace wore really strong perfume. The room she used was very small and I found it overpowering.
Perfume wearing seems to me to be a really strong imposition on other people. A bit like saying "I like this so you have to like it too!" The smelly clothes and body problems are very tricky to handle too. When I had aromatherapy a long time ago I was given a little phial of the essential oils which I had chosen. I sniffed this to summon up memories of feeling relaxed when I got stressed. I might try this again.
It's noticeable that when I get stressed noises and smells are much more intrusive. My tinnitus gets worse too. It's sometimes a useful indication of how stressed I am.