I become completely overwhelmed when there is any competing noise when I'm concentrating on listening to someone (or TV or music). I literally feel like I'll go crazy, I'm so overwhelmed. I have to either stop the conversation, or ask the other person to turn the music or TV WAAAAYYY down; or if it's another conversation going on, I have to leave the room with whomever I am listening to/talking with. Interestingly, if the other people are speaking in Tibetan (which I don't speak, but is often spoken in our house), it doesn't affect me at all!
Lorraine, I realize that I've never told anyone this before. I've just shushed people, or moved to another room. My love has always been language and classical music -- words, both English as well as multiple foreign languages (most of which I've forgotten!) In my work as a psychiatrist, listening to every nuance in a person's voice was critical. I could catch just the slightest change in speed, in volume, in tone, and know that something important was going on within that beloved one. I hadn't quite put all of those pieces together until now. So thank you. (My husband is Tibetan which is why the language is spoken so much around here -- lots of Tibetan friends and visitors. I think because I don't understand hardly anything they're saying, it doesn't affect my ability to listen and speak in English. Not sure that would be the case with any of the Romance or Germanic languages. I think not.)
This is really so fascinating and magical. I could discuss language for hours, Tibetan, Romance vs Germanic languages, etc. Please be sure to copy and paste this into your writings too. It's very relevant I think.
OK, Lorraine! This morning I woke up thinking that I think I've found why I'm having a writer's block: it feels like everything is just going into a black hole. What's the purpose of writing it all down? No one's ever going to read it. Then I thought: what if Lorraine would be willing to be my "reader"? It may be the last thing in the world that you want to do, but (having finally learned to ask for what I need -- at age 70!), I'm putting it out there. Mind you, I haven't decided that I want to do it. It just came to me. (And I'm feeling really nervous just writing this, I should mention.)
Absolutely! It would be an honor. I proofread a lot of author books before they go to release, free of charge. So many love my feedback, I'm really good at finding pesky typos, continuity errors, and general polish if needed. Again, just write. It will come together. If you want to send me pages to get a sense of how to structure the story I'd be happy to take a look. There's no such thing as writer's block. If you get stuck, meditate for five minutes, using the Calm app or whatever works for you. Then let the "yellow brick road" of your story come to you. It will I promise. Anyway, feel free to email me directly at Levanoff@yahoo.com.
THANK YOU!!! (I will be laid up in the near future with surgery for a total knee replacement (TKA) and am told that the recovery time is slow, so you may not hear from me for a while.) I think that having no one "listening" makes me not enjoy writing. Your generosity is enormous!!!
I am certain that it all has to do with being sensitive in general, emotionally and perceptively. I was just telling my therapist recently that sometimes, I feel imprisoned by the smells I can't control or escape. This has come into stark light as I am a vegetarian with meat-eating roommates!
I have been brought to tears by odors around me, and I find that it is always when I am also feeling exposed/vulnerable generally. I think a reason behind it is that we cannot escape our senses, and so when confronted with sensory input we loathe, while also being unable to escape them, our systems go "NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!"
I do find that having counteracting aromas available helps a lot. I have a necklace that holds a small foam pad that i soak with essential oils. The pendant has openings so i can smell the oils and is long enough for me to pull up to my nose while wearing it. I wear this when I ride the bus (a total smell-o-rama grab bag of olfactory offense) and keep it near me at home when my roomie is cooking his horrendously murdered animals! I share this as a way to maybe suggest some "pink noise" earphone playlists or even that you might try finding a tune or something you can hum or sing into your own ears in order to feel a little more control over what you experience.
I find that taking actions makes me feel better even if I can't *actually* escape the pervasive thing that's distressing me. It empowers me whereas the offensive scent (in your case sound) makes me feel helpless...
As I wrote, ever since there was a term for my ailment, it helped me mentally.
There must be a similar term for the olfactory sensitivity equivalent.
BTW, have you ever seen the Castle episode of the woman with the extra sensitive olfactory? She is a perfume tester or something like that. It's one of my favorite episodes.
For me, I have assumed it has to do with being somewhere along the "spectrum" as they say. I'm also left handed. It's kind of like a mystery to be solved on a case-by-case basis.
I'm happy you have a therapist you trust as an ally. It seems you're finding some good solutions. There seems to be an overlap with Misophonia. For example, the smell of popcorn in the cinema makes me nauseous as well. Every little bit of understanding helps.
Anyway, I'll check Reddit if there's a similar sub for olfactory.
Looks like I DO have misophonia! Apparently though the term indicates sound only (phonia) it can be a condition triggered by any of the 5 senses. I definitely know people who have this condition regarding touch, like one friend who will not even be in the same room with certain fabrics... how very interesting the mind is and how unfathomable its realms!
THIS! For me it’s leaf blowers, weed whackers, generators, hammering, backhoes, music playing in the next hotel room, idling trucks… Oh my! There’s more, but I’m going to stop now. Meditation and breathing helps me cope. Also white noise and earplugs. 🙉👂
I've known about the noise sensitivity means other things that others often overlook are available. I didn't know there was a word for it! Thank you for the education and link. My older brother would eat and talk with his mouth open, increasing my irritation further with the orange radiation he was applauding at a table where no one liked orange radiation. A therapist told me years ago that I'm so sensitive and empathic that after two hours with another, I need to get back to myself to reconnect because it's in me to connect so deeply I lose myself. I've had tinnitus now for a while. I went to ear doctors and they said there is no cure for it. I tried one or two sets of pills for it and neither worked. I do realize that it gets more intense when I've spent too long at a screen or gone from one screen to another, instead of getting my butt outside to breathe real air and move this luscious container in which I exist.
Loved this line of yours: That’s an extreme example because the jackhammer noise was so close, for me it vibrated my whole core. If it had been a block away, I could have handled it.
Oh I'm happy you learned about misophonia Lisa! I suffered from noise sensitivity all my life and thought I was just a bad person. My mom's chewing and certain banging in the house would drive me crazy. It's a real thing. Your therapist makes a great point, the guidance about two hours is really smart. Although I love my family, about two hours is all I can take before I need to step away.
My tinnitus started a few years ago and I assumed because of age. You make a great point about the computer, which I'm on constantly!
Is the "Orange Radiation" your word for tRump? Ha ha! Love that.
Yes. I've been so impressed with your positivity, focus, deliberation, liberation, determination, clarity and courage. Thank you for sharing succinctly about the deep and the light!
I become completely overwhelmed when there is any competing noise when I'm concentrating on listening to someone (or TV or music). I literally feel like I'll go crazy, I'm so overwhelmed. I have to either stop the conversation, or ask the other person to turn the music or TV WAAAAYYY down; or if it's another conversation going on, I have to leave the room with whomever I am listening to/talking with. Interestingly, if the other people are speaking in Tibetan (which I don't speak, but is often spoken in our house), it doesn't affect me at all!
KDSherpa, you know, I hesitated to post this piece because it's such a personal experience.
But in my experience, when I mention this ailment to others, I'm surprised how many people don't realize they're not alone.
So I think it's important to discuss.
Just know, you are not alone. Especially with your great sensitivity. You must have a lot of this frustration going on.
But I'd rather be sensitive than completely insensitive.
That's amazing about Tibetan. It's proven that Hindu and other cultures are much more conducive to healing and sensitivity.
Anyway, thank you for your perspective.🙏🏻💕🌸
Lorraine, I realize that I've never told anyone this before. I've just shushed people, or moved to another room. My love has always been language and classical music -- words, both English as well as multiple foreign languages (most of which I've forgotten!) In my work as a psychiatrist, listening to every nuance in a person's voice was critical. I could catch just the slightest change in speed, in volume, in tone, and know that something important was going on within that beloved one. I hadn't quite put all of those pieces together until now. So thank you. (My husband is Tibetan which is why the language is spoken so much around here -- lots of Tibetan friends and visitors. I think because I don't understand hardly anything they're saying, it doesn't affect my ability to listen and speak in English. Not sure that would be the case with any of the Romance or Germanic languages. I think not.)
This is really so fascinating and magical. I could discuss language for hours, Tibetan, Romance vs Germanic languages, etc. Please be sure to copy and paste this into your writings too. It's very relevant I think.
💕
OK, Lorraine! This morning I woke up thinking that I think I've found why I'm having a writer's block: it feels like everything is just going into a black hole. What's the purpose of writing it all down? No one's ever going to read it. Then I thought: what if Lorraine would be willing to be my "reader"? It may be the last thing in the world that you want to do, but (having finally learned to ask for what I need -- at age 70!), I'm putting it out there. Mind you, I haven't decided that I want to do it. It just came to me. (And I'm feeling really nervous just writing this, I should mention.)
Absolutely! It would be an honor. I proofread a lot of author books before they go to release, free of charge. So many love my feedback, I'm really good at finding pesky typos, continuity errors, and general polish if needed. Again, just write. It will come together. If you want to send me pages to get a sense of how to structure the story I'd be happy to take a look. There's no such thing as writer's block. If you get stuck, meditate for five minutes, using the Calm app or whatever works for you. Then let the "yellow brick road" of your story come to you. It will I promise. Anyway, feel free to email me directly at Levanoff@yahoo.com.
THANK YOU!!! (I will be laid up in the near future with surgery for a total knee replacement (TKA) and am told that the recovery time is slow, so you may not hear from me for a while.) I think that having no one "listening" makes me not enjoy writing. Your generosity is enormous!!!
I have this i think but for smells!
Oh that's so interesting Em! Apparently, these sense overloads can overlap so I wonder if it's related.
I am certain that it all has to do with being sensitive in general, emotionally and perceptively. I was just telling my therapist recently that sometimes, I feel imprisoned by the smells I can't control or escape. This has come into stark light as I am a vegetarian with meat-eating roommates!
I have been brought to tears by odors around me, and I find that it is always when I am also feeling exposed/vulnerable generally. I think a reason behind it is that we cannot escape our senses, and so when confronted with sensory input we loathe, while also being unable to escape them, our systems go "NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!"
I do find that having counteracting aromas available helps a lot. I have a necklace that holds a small foam pad that i soak with essential oils. The pendant has openings so i can smell the oils and is long enough for me to pull up to my nose while wearing it. I wear this when I ride the bus (a total smell-o-rama grab bag of olfactory offense) and keep it near me at home when my roomie is cooking his horrendously murdered animals! I share this as a way to maybe suggest some "pink noise" earphone playlists or even that you might try finding a tune or something you can hum or sing into your own ears in order to feel a little more control over what you experience.
I find that taking actions makes me feel better even if I can't *actually* escape the pervasive thing that's distressing me. It empowers me whereas the offensive scent (in your case sound) makes me feel helpless...
Em, it is so therapeutic for me to discuss.
As I wrote, ever since there was a term for my ailment, it helped me mentally.
There must be a similar term for the olfactory sensitivity equivalent.
BTW, have you ever seen the Castle episode of the woman with the extra sensitive olfactory? She is a perfume tester or something like that. It's one of my favorite episodes.
For me, I have assumed it has to do with being somewhere along the "spectrum" as they say. I'm also left handed. It's kind of like a mystery to be solved on a case-by-case basis.
I'm happy you have a therapist you trust as an ally. It seems you're finding some good solutions. There seems to be an overlap with Misophonia. For example, the smell of popcorn in the cinema makes me nauseous as well. Every little bit of understanding helps.
Anyway, I'll check Reddit if there's a similar sub for olfactory.
Hugs!
Sometimes I think "the spectrum" just means how sensitive we are to the world around us and its effects on our internal state...
Thanks for all these wonderful suggestions and for your understanding!
Hugs right back!!!!!
Yes! Absolutely, for me it's a spectrum of sensitivity.
Sleep well my friend💕
Looks like I DO have misophonia! Apparently though the term indicates sound only (phonia) it can be a condition triggered by any of the 5 senses. I definitely know people who have this condition regarding touch, like one friend who will not even be in the same room with certain fabrics... how very interesting the mind is and how unfathomable its realms!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.huffpost.com/entry/misophonia-is-much-more-than-sound-rage_b_58417b8ee4b04587de5de91f/amp
THIS! For me it’s leaf blowers, weed whackers, generators, hammering, backhoes, music playing in the next hotel room, idling trucks… Oh my! There’s more, but I’m going to stop now. Meditation and breathing helps me cope. Also white noise and earplugs. 🙉👂
It's so personal. For me, amazingly, I can sleep right through my hubby's high decibel snorting, but I cannot stand his chewing!
Yes, meditation has helped me to stay mindful. Noise canceling earplugs especially on planes are a life saver.
Sending healing hugs!
I've known about the noise sensitivity means other things that others often overlook are available. I didn't know there was a word for it! Thank you for the education and link. My older brother would eat and talk with his mouth open, increasing my irritation further with the orange radiation he was applauding at a table where no one liked orange radiation. A therapist told me years ago that I'm so sensitive and empathic that after two hours with another, I need to get back to myself to reconnect because it's in me to connect so deeply I lose myself. I've had tinnitus now for a while. I went to ear doctors and they said there is no cure for it. I tried one or two sets of pills for it and neither worked. I do realize that it gets more intense when I've spent too long at a screen or gone from one screen to another, instead of getting my butt outside to breathe real air and move this luscious container in which I exist.
Loved this line of yours: That’s an extreme example because the jackhammer noise was so close, for me it vibrated my whole core. If it had been a block away, I could have handled it.
Oh I'm happy you learned about misophonia Lisa! I suffered from noise sensitivity all my life and thought I was just a bad person. My mom's chewing and certain banging in the house would drive me crazy. It's a real thing. Your therapist makes a great point, the guidance about two hours is really smart. Although I love my family, about two hours is all I can take before I need to step away.
My tinnitus started a few years ago and I assumed because of age. You make a great point about the computer, which I'm on constantly!
Is the "Orange Radiation" your word for tRump? Ha ha! Love that.
Yes. I've been so impressed with your positivity, focus, deliberation, liberation, determination, clarity and courage. Thank you for sharing succinctly about the deep and the light!
That means so much to me Lisa. We all help each other. I truly believe that.