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Why do some people dislike quiet so much?

TheCatWoman

I was reading Marriannes thread about hospitalwaiting rooms and how uncomfortable and noisy they are and though why do some people get so freaked out by silence? Or even just by there being no noise producer like radio or tv? I've met so many people who the first thing they do when they walk into a room is turn on the tv or a radio, as the person who's either turned them all off or never put them on, why are their needs for noise so much more important than my preference and sometimes need for there to be as little as possible?

I keep getting told that I should get noise cancelling headphones, but I've been told that they cancel every noise but that of the human voice, but what if I dont' want to hear next doors kids screaming or the innane chatter of DJ's and tv presenters?

I often wonder if the people who need to have background noise all the time are actually afraid they might have to listen to themselves for once and would their heads explode if they did? Many peoples heads nearly explode when I tell them I'd go on silent retreats and be with other people and none of us talking, the only people who really envied me were those with small children who's constsnt chatter made them unable to finish a thought from one end to the other without interuption.

Parents
  • TheCatWoman said:
    I'd go on silent retreats and be with other people and none of us talking,

    I take it that this means that the people attending were silent and didn't use any technology that made noise? Could you hear the sounds of nature? Did you communicate with others by writing?

    I like quiet but sometimes if I'm in my living room and cannot hear any noise at all - no wind, rain, birds etc, it seems too quiet and I'll want some classical music on low. I've also got used to having a fan on in the bedroom when I go to bed, and find it difficult to get to sleep without that background white noise.

    Most people are NT, which means that their brains can filter out data which isn't important to them, so they can't really hear the background stuff that overwhelms an autistic person and it doesn't bother them. Also, I read that NT people get a hit of feel good chemicals in the brain when they see human faces (a theory as to one reason they like socialising so much) So perhaps they get a similar reward from hearing human voices?

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  • TheCatWoman said:
    I'd go on silent retreats and be with other people and none of us talking,

    I take it that this means that the people attending were silent and didn't use any technology that made noise? Could you hear the sounds of nature? Did you communicate with others by writing?

    I like quiet but sometimes if I'm in my living room and cannot hear any noise at all - no wind, rain, birds etc, it seems too quiet and I'll want some classical music on low. I've also got used to having a fan on in the bedroom when I go to bed, and find it difficult to get to sleep without that background white noise.

    Most people are NT, which means that their brains can filter out data which isn't important to them, so they can't really hear the background stuff that overwhelms an autistic person and it doesn't bother them. Also, I read that NT people get a hit of feel good chemicals in the brain when they see human faces (a theory as to one reason they like socialising so much) So perhaps they get a similar reward from hearing human voices?

Children
  • in reply to Lotus

    WE were all silent and there wasn't the tech to make noise back then, it would have been a bit pointless if people did have tech on that would disturb others. 

    We didn't communicate in writing either, there might be a quiet verbal request to pass something down the dinner table as that is quieter than the elaborate gestures that some tried.

    I guess most of the people attending were NT, I don't know Autism wasn't such a big thing then, but some had problems and others didn't, some tottally freaked out projecting all kinds of stuff onto others, we did have a little conversation, but the point was to get to know people without talking and making all the judgements that come with it. If you only have visual clues to go on about who someone is and what they're like then the vibes they give off are really important, it's like you get to know the person inside out, seeing the inner being before knowing anything about their worldly circumstances.