Published on 12, July, 2020
Up until now, noise did not appear to bother me. Now, I am becoming more upset/triggered/bothered by noise. At work (teacher) I am fine, but at home, with two young and often noisy children, I am constantly on edge with noise. Today the noise almost pushed me into meltdown, but lying flat on the floor helped.
What makes this more baffling for me is I love spending spending time listening to loud music through headphones, which I am doing as I type!
Noises I actively dislike are motorbikes passing by, cars backfiring, high pitched noises, multiple conversations happing at once, to name but a few.
I never used to be like this. I am contemplating some earplugs, like Loops, to shut out the sound.
My sound sensitivity started at age 16ish but got worse slowly I'm now 35 and instead of just sound hutting my ears in echo rooms I now dislike too many noises at once I now have to be in the right environment for loud music ... my tinnitus and loss of left ear hearing made it even worse
I have a theory that loud music, which for me is often very bass driven, shuts out everything else, which is a sensory seeking thing for me. Its the unpredictable nature of "other noises" I am struggling with. Eating sounds are starting to others me too.
Yes, the unpredictable ones are worst. A sudden silence break at a louder than expected conversational volume. The oscillating randomness of a trapped fly. The sudden roar of an extra loud car or motorbike revving past at speed. That TSSS! that busses do when their hydraulics kick in. All these things and many more trigger my very low startle reflex. I find myself jumping ten feet into the air (figuratively), my heart racing, while others equally close by don't bat an eyelid.