Sensitivity to Sound?

[spryte]

Do any of you experience sensitivity to sound? I had been chalking this up to me being an HSP (highly sensitive person) but I'm noticing more and more characteristics of that that cross over with c-ptsd as well. The sound issue has been getting worse this last year or so.

[spryte]

bheart - sorry VF?

Yes, I feel like I've always been sensitive to people raising their voices, which is no surprise considering how much my mother screamed and raged at us. I'm extremely uncomfortable even raising my own voice. I have a really hard time talking to people who are hearing impaired for that reason. My ex and I had a terrible time because he's got hearing loss.

But yes, loud talking...my office gets so loud sometimes with everyone talking and laughing and I just want to crawl under my desk and shove erasers in my ears. It is NOT helping that I moved into an extremely loud apartment complex two months ago. THAT has been a serious exercise in building my resiliency, complete with conflicts with upstairs neighbors and listening to him rage around when he's upset.

[Rrecovery]

I'm so very sensitive to loud talking, loud noises and OMG noisy neighbors  I had a month long EF (with a sinus infection manifesting) when I thought the neighbor I was going to move next to was going to be crazy loud.  She isn't. 

I also chalked up this sensitivity to being a HSP.  I now see that HSP and Cptsd are two distinct conditions, but they can definitely feed into each other.  Perhaps this should be a separate thread but I wonder if being a HSP is part of why one victim of an abusive childhood develops Cptsd and another child doesn't.

[spryte]

bheart - I am changing jobs here at the end of the month and I'm going from having my own office with a door that I can close, to being in a cubicle. I am very nervous about it. I went to the office at around 3:00 on a Friday and it seemed calm and peaceful, but you never know. I'm also not sure whether or not I'll be able to listen to music at my desk (or in headphones since it's a cubicle environment, I wouldn't want to bother anyone else) which I can do here and which keeps me sane. It's going to be a big adjustment.

Rrecovery - I'd be interested in a thread about HSP. I've often wondered why my childhood effected me so much more profoundly than it did the other kids in my family. I have a brother, and three cousins who have a BPDm who all seem much more functional than I am. And, I don't know if it's still me minimizing my experiences, but I know there are people who have dealt with much worse than I have, who seem to have much more resilience than I apparently did.

I don't have many memories from when I was a kid, so I don't remember whether or not I exhibited many HSP characteristics - but then...it seems that the abuse started so early that I don't think there's any way to tell, even if I HAD memories. All I know is that I score really high on the HSP test, and I'm not so certain that I agree with the supposition that it's something that you have to be born with. Considering the neuroplasticity of the brain (which works both ways) I think there's a lot of room for the development of HSP in relationship to things like c-PTSD.

[globetrotter]

Spryte:
I am going through that exact same thing. My last day in an office is tomorrow and Monday I come in to a cube. I'm attached to my earphones and Pandora or Spotify, but even that gets overstimulating and I can only take it in doses. They are pumping white noise through the building to help (this is all the result of a big remodel) which kind of bugs me...like a form of mind control...but those already in the new sections say it really helps to deaden sound. I'm more bothered about the loss of privacy and simply having people closer to me all day, observing my comings and goings, personal phone chats, etc. It seems every company has its obnoxious loud ones, but have found management is usually agreeable to moving people to quieter spots if that's what they need for better productivity.

Interesting idea re: HSP being a result of developmental impacts. As an artist, I think I was born with it, but I think it was Rain who said that as an HSP, we tend to absorb abuse much more intensely.

[Rrecovery]

I am also an artist and a musician and I am certain my sensitivities to pitch and colors, etc. is just part of the real me 

[Unconcious_Ghost]

Glad someone started this topic of sound issues.
Over time, I now have a severe irritation to sound...screaming, obnoxious, mouthy kids are the worst.  Having to put up with noisy neighbors in hotel hallways, TV's in other rooms, etc...severely intolerant to it.  I simply cannot stomach or withstand listening to people on cell phones, through walls (hotels, apartments), etc.  -Many of my fellow disaster workers would also get top floor rooms that didn't 'border' other rooms as much as possible. 
My best salvo is being anywhere I don't have to be bombarded by the cacophony of noises generated by the human race.  Getting FAR FAR back into wilderness areas & camping solo is what works best for me.  If I could live far back in the mountains/boonies, I'd be a happy person. 

[spryte]

I can't tell you how much I've been fantasizing about living in a cabin in the woods...far far away from other humans.

I would like to know more about how these sensitivities develop though, and whether or not they can be reduced rather than just managed. It's simply not practical to keep finding ways to avoid sound and I can't imagine letting it continue on and get worse. I have enough triggers for my anxiety, I don't need another one.

I've seen that sound sensitivity is definitely a symptom of PTSD, not just c-ptsd, so maybe there is a therapeutic way of dealing with it. Maybe some kind of desensitization/exposure therapy?

[Unconcious_Ghost]

Yeah, I don't know what therapies would work to help alleviate the 'din of the human race.'  I understand its not 'their fault' and the problem lies within me and it's my pathetic responsibility to figure out how to manage it.  I can no longer go swimming at public pools, attend concerts, or be around public places. 
In my world, I look at it like being 'burnt out' and just too fatigued at a certain level to withstand much.  So, I find solace and peace in the outdoors.  As the cookie cutter symptoms go with 'doesn't enjoy activities you once did'...that fits me to a tee as well.  I used to fish, hike, run, etc all the time.  It's now a sad struggle to get back to it.  But 'sound' irritancies is a big deal to me.  Best thing I can do to avoid being confrontational with innocent humans at this point is to simply stay away from them.  -Which bleeds right into social isolation & distancing, which further injures my quality of life.

[spryte]

*nod*

I look at it like being 'burnt out' and just too fatigued at a certain level to withstand much.

Do you notice that your sound sensitivities are more pronounced during some times than at others?

I know that if my anxiety has already been sparked off by something, or I'm feeling "burnt out" or "overwhelmed" or too tired, they are definitely worse. So, for me, "reducing them" definitely looks like good self-care. Although, obviously, any of those states ^^ can't always be avoided no matter how much good self-care I do.

Hmm...I might do some exposure therapy experiments on myself soon. Usually I do whatever I can to avoid avoid avoid when sounds are bothering me. Turn music up, go into another room (if there are people screaming at the pool right outside my kitchen window) put headphones on, close my office door. I know from experience that the more I cater to my sensitivities, whatever they are, the worse they actually get. Maybe we can build "auditory resiliency" haha.

[Unconcious_Ghost]

As I've shared before about my commonalities with combat vets who really suffer from PTSD effects...they also 'head for the hills' to get relief.  For them and 'noise'...well, their prior reaction to dealing with irritating subject matter, -is met by highly violent action.  So, they REALLY have to quarantine themselves to wilderness and/or quiet, rural settings where they feel comfortable 'defending' themselves. 
I agree with your terminology of 'auditory resiliency.' I just avoid human caused noises with a vengeance by either tuning them out (headphones & music) or tailoring my activities to steer clear of having to be bombarded by unwanted sound sources.

[Rain]

and I am actually wearing road construction headset to nearly totally block sound right now.

[globetrotter]

..this creates an interesting visual for me, Rain...are you in an office environment? :-)

I find I auto-filter when I can but when I become cognizant of my surroundings (i.e.: idiot in the office next door), it can be pretty overwhelming depending on where I am. Agree with sounds of nature are wonderful and birds, wind and streams can chat it up to their hearts' content!

[Bluevermonter]

Thanks for all ur comments so far.  My ex had to mute the tv between commercials, could not go to parties, malls, movie theaters without wearing earplugs.  She was bad at identifying everyday transient sounds, and where they came from.  so a plane, car backfire, tree falling in the forest, someone dropping a bag, would startle her and she would flinch and duck until I told her, "oh, it's just the neighbor trying to start his chainsaw," for example.

"What was that noise?" was a question she asked several times a week.

She could not handle loud voices, especially those in my family, where there are lots of hard of hearing old ladies, as well as boys running around like maniacs.

It's as if she had superhero hearing, except that everything she heard was dangerous.

[schrödinger's cat]

It's as if she had superhero hearing, except that everything she heard was dangerous.

I think that's a good description of hypervigilance. That's it in a nutshell.