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Swallowing/chewing sounds

Geeky Gothic Guy

I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but anybody got any tips on how to cope with it? Certain sounds just drive me up the wall, one of them is swallowing/chewing…it drives me absolutely mad to the point I’m literally pulling my hair out, what’s left of it. 
I find my partner to be particularly loud when slurping/seallowing drinks, and I often have to sit blocking my ears with my fingers or using earplugs, it drives me insane, and to be fair I probably drive her insane too with my unreasonable reaction.

Anybody got any long term solutions? Or psychological tricks I can use to try manage it? There’s plenty of other sounds that drive me absolutely insane, but because involves my partner I want to be able to try and manage it better.

thankyou

Parents

  • When it comes to the crunch you are not alone.... can drive me crazy too.  Others eating crisps while we're watching TV!!!   For me if the food is good then I don't notice other people's eating sounds so much.  I have pointed out to my children that it is considered rude to chew with the mouth open. My partner picked up on my saying this and is aware of how much it aggravates me.  It is one of the weirdest things to get stirred up about tho' perhaps?  I can get an insight into why sensitisation to loud noises is relevant.   But why the heck eating noises???  Will ask a search engine and get back on that :-)

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  • When it comes to the crunch you are not alone.... can drive me crazy too.  Others eating crisps while we're watching TV!!!   For me if the food is good then I don't notice other people's eating sounds so much.  I have pointed out to my children that it is considered rude to chew with the mouth open. My partner picked up on my saying this and is aware of how much it aggravates me.  It is one of the weirdest things to get stirred up about tho' perhaps?  I can get an insight into why sensitisation to loud noises is relevant.   But why the heck eating noises???  Will ask a search engine and get back on that :-)

Children
  • in reply to Phased
    Phased said:
    For me if the food is good then I don't notice other people's eating sounds so much.

    Now that you mention it, I find visiting a restaurant quite hard to tolerate, except for the bit in the middle when I'm eating. I often hyperfocus on food, particularly nice flavours and textures, and the rest of the world fades away. The downside is that I look up and see someone's questioning expression and realise I haven't heard a word they were saying. (She's gotten used to it over the years and just starts again.)

  • in reply to Phased

    PS = suggestion from google is miss.wiring in the brain regions that triggers a "fight or flight" response.  Personally I was the youngest of five in a household where the tiny kitchen table didn;t seat the whole family.  So I ate alone a lot as a child - hmmm... maybe a link.  Thanks for the discussion stimulus  

  • in reply to Phased

    OK - so google suggestions are: telling others about it (hmmm.... how to not make friends an influence people.... and after all eating together is one of the best forms of socialisation out there...)

    Noise cancelling headphones or sound management (not great for dinner table conversation!)

    CBT or similar to manage emotional responses (OK - chosing to focus on something else I reckon works sometimes)

    Lifestyle adjustments - reckon this is the biggest one for me ... If I'm not so stressed or "wired" that it's a lot easier to both not notice it or not care so much...