Noise!

[Boy22]

Okay so I have a two other diagnoses besides cPTSD, it is complex chronic pain syndrome. The meds I am on do a great job on the most part, but if I am exposed to too much sound it becomes pain - somatiform disorder.

And it is now midday and I still haven't left my bedroom yet. Too many contract lawn people in the houses nearby. Just as one finishes another starts!

This is tedious.

[woodsgnome]

Various forms of noise can drive me batty as well (natural sounds excepted), and to not going certain places, what mass media I can/can't handle, and all the other noise platforms out there. While I've never had any of my noise aversion medically analyzed, it wouldn't surprise me if it fit something similar to what you've described.

This contributed to my deliberate decision of some years ago to find a quiet environment to live in (ok, literally to find some sanity); i.e. a backwoods location. I had the good fortune to find a point from which I could find employment to fit my specialty vocation with a minimum of travel to and fro.

I think this all points to a common element amongst cptsd survivors--the tendency towards ultra hyper-vigilance. While many sounds in general can be problematic, for me the worst is to be in a gathering with several conversations overlapping around me. My already hyper-alert state shifts into high gear and while I usually 'survive' such an occasion, I'm super fatigued by that sort of activity.

[SharpAndBlunt]

Hi, I can totally relate to noise issues. I hate 'hubbub' because I think I often don't feel part of it. Conversations overheard are a nightmare for me. I can't really tolerate conversations half heard through a wall or ceiling either, which I find weird.

When I used to live in suburbia I hated the noise of the neighbours talking in their garden, mowing the lawn, having a radio on while fixing their car etc.

For me it is quite hard to admit but it is like I don't like to be excluded. I feel so miserable a lot of the time and don't like life going on without me?? I also follow other peoples' conversations sometimes when they are in the same room as me and sometimes I overhear things about me I'd rather not. This is a very bad trait / habit and I think for me it definitely has a lot to do with hyper-vigilance and edginess.

I also have sought out a quiet place to live. It is very important to me though I hope one day not to be as beholden to this. I can't take social media either, because even when I'm reading it it physically feels like noise to me, the stress reaction is the same. The press, media, I have the same reaction to, but less so.

I'm afraid I'm just a rather tired and nervous individual.

[Boy22]

Yes, I cannot stand two conversations happening at the same time. Large dinner parties are a thing of the past for now. Indoors we have a table for ten, outside we have a table for twelve.