Too Much Noise

I am sensitive to noise, especially high-pitched continuous noises (some vacuums), or very repetitive noises (typing, mouse clicking, pencil tapping).  I seem unable to tune them out.  Fluorescent lights have always bothered me, things that beep bother me, and television commercials (why are they so annoying?  and louder than the show itself??).  Then there is the sound of other people eating, which I  can't stand when I'm not eating.  Especially crunchy foods.  Why do these things irritate me?

Then.  11 years ago.

On the plus side, I can hear the mouse in the house and know to put out traps.  On the negative side, the mouse in the house wakes me up in the middle of the night if he comes in my room to chew on something. *shivers*  I used to think it was just a mom thing - someone needs to hear the baby getting restless in the next room, right?  But now, I think there is more to it than that.

There is a scientific term for this hearing sensitivity that makes it feel more legitimate.  Have you heard of it?  Misophonia

So, in order to survive my afternoon "quiet time" - when I'm trying to read or concentrate on something between homeschooling and evening activities - I need to block out as much sound as possible when I'm indoors*.   (For some reason, when I'm outdoors, noises don't bother me, unless a big truck goes down the highway nearby.  There's no mouse clicking, pencil typing or lights out by the pond, so that could be it.  I also think the earth grounds me, and is calming to all my senses, and I like the sounds of birds and squirrels.)  My quiet time comes when my son gets his own computer time, so that's when the incessant clicking starts.  Yeah, its not a very big house, so I can hear it from anywhere.  We recently got some noise-cancelling headphones and my husband put batteries in them and stuck them on my head one day when I was getting irritated.  It did help some, and when I hooked them up to my phone for an audiobook, it was even better.  Hooray!

Now.  Actually, about 15 months ago.

Have you tried noise-cancelling headphones?  What's your favorite brand?  I have trouble finding anything that's comfortable enough, and I despise ear buds of all kinds because they hurt.

I know I usually write about my son's sensory issues, but its time I admit that I have some of my own!  My husband does, too, so all together we make an interesting bunch.

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