Published on 12, July, 2020
I am most comfortable with complete silence.
I wonder if this is the autism at play?
When I was growing up our house was always noisy and I think I was traumatised by it.
There were no quiet refuges - I even shared a bedroom until I left home.
My mum had to have sound on all the time. I believe she was autistic but I think she had an under sensitivity to noise, which I'm pretty sure I've read can also be an autism thing.
Then I had a series of shared flats, which were noisy, then bedsits until I purchased a quiet flat in my 30s.
Then I lived in a nice Victorian house on my own which still had some noise, as it was on a busy road in Portsmouth and terraced.
Nowadays I am lucky.
The last 15 years I have lived in a very quiet detached house where once the windows are closed there is no outside (or inside often) noise at all.
My husband is a quiet person + spends a lot of time in his studio outside.
It's taken me a long time to get to this quiet place in my life - I am now 61.
How do you respond to noise/silence?
I grew up in a fairly quiet house. The only real noise was talk radio.
I like peace a lot of the time, especially whilst working from home. My son, autistic and ADHD has noise most of the time, even You Tube on phone at the same time as gaming. I can't cope with two things at the same time. Also we had new neighbours 6 months ago and they have changed heating system, rewired, added an extra toilet, new kitchen, removed some ceilings etc. so there have been a lot of sudden drilling noises and as he works during the day, when he is there it can go on until 9. I don't cope well with sudden noise. Fortunately he has been working this week.
I love it when I go for a walk early and the only sound is birdsong.
The time I like a bit of noise is listening to peaceful music before I go to bed or if in the house alone
It sounds like your neighbours work has been hell. I find it hard when the radio is on in the kitchen and the tv is on in another room, I have to turn one off. My wife loves Eastenders, they all shout at each other. My son will also watch videos on his phone with the sound on, I often just disappear upstairs.