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Eustace

The Bane That Is Noise.

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Greetings again.

 

So much noise all of the time: constant whirring tones, sudden clunks, penetrating crashes, incessant barking and coughing, inconsiderate motorists, heavy handed obsessive mothers, four-wheeled travelling youth music blasters, screaming double-decker buses, whining children, fireworks, helicopters, planes ... all, of, the, time.

 

I don't want to live with ear plugs in or headphones on any more, at least I don't want to have to survive by doing things this way any more. The world cannot change for me, I have to change for it considering I am but one of many, and rationality dictates this is the only possible option. As soon as ear plugs come out, there are a host of sounds that build up my anxiety level, distress level ... anger level, so, what I ask firstly, is advice as to how to manage my outbursts that result from exposure to sound.

 

The two types of sound I encounter are as follows: Startling Sounds and Background Sounds. The former happen in a snap-second; sounds that shock me and cause me to instantly react, normally in the form of anger and hitting something to rid myself of the horrible sensation of stress in me. The latter build up and up until I either explode like I do for the startling sounds, or I shut down and go into a zone impervious to the external world. The second question I would like to pose is a double question: Are these reactions normal for someone with ASD, and also - to revisit my first question, - is there any way to manage these reactions to help both me and people I have to deal with, chiefly my parents.

 

Thank you for your time,

 

Eustace.

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Hi Eustace, yes I can sympathise, I have always been very sensitive to lots of different sounds and used to over-react to certain sounds when I was younger. What I found was that when I was younger I would become obsessed with these sounds and fixate on them and could not distract myself from them to such an extent that I could not think of anything else. It has certainly got easier as I have got older, I am now able to distract myself and not focus all my attention on them anymore, so it does get better.

 

Can you think ot something you could do to distract yourself from focussing on the noises that are upsetting you? Have you spoken to your doctor about the problem? it could be that a mild anti-depressant could help you to be less sensitive to the noises and help you to move on from them or at least break the cycle. I used to become very stuck with noises and could not move on from them and would sit frozen listening out for them and waiting for them to begin again to the point where I was losing my mind with the anticipation of them. As I said, as I have gotten older I have been able to focus my mind of other things so I am not focussing my whole attention on the noise or waiting for them to start. I am not saying it is easy, but it is possible.

 

Sorry if I haven't been able to explain myself very well, but hope you might find some of that useful

 

~ Mel ~

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I've found antidepressants have generally lowered my anxiety and irritation levels. One thing I do find gives some relief is my own sounds. I often listen to an MP3 player. I know this is akin to wearing earplugs or headphones, but if I can focus on another sound, that helps, especially a sound that's comforting, reassuring or familiar. It doesn't have to be music, either, if there are ambient sounds you appreciate.

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Eustace, that's exactly how noise affects me, and this is one reason why I dislike towns and modern life so much. Luckily, I live in a quiet place so I don't get troubled by noise at home. If anything, my sensitivity to noise has increased over the years, maybe due to improving in other ways (I don't know if this kind of compensatory aspect actually applies though).

 

Even when at home, sudden noises caused by dropping cutlery or keys are enough to make my stress levels shoot up for a few seconds. As long I'm in control of noise it doesn't bother me, e.g. I sometimes happily play loud music. It's torture to hear others frenetically washing up, the needlessly loud clattering of dishes. When I do it myself I try to take care not to cause any unexpected noise - which may be less efficient but at least it's not stressful. I've always hated vaccuum cleaners, electric lawn-mowers, power tools etc. especially when being used by somebody else. Even when I use them myself, the noise intensely irritates, and I can 'comfortably' use them only for short periods. At least I have control over the 'off' switch. Wailing sirens, motorbikes and jet aircraft (an RAF station near my other place) have a nasty habit of suddenly appearing from nowhere at speed. Aaargh!

 

During the Christmas period I have to endure the endless seasonal kitch of 'cheery' muzak, shoddy plastic 'Santas', gaudy flashing lights, etc. - and bigger-than-usual crowds of noisy people. Needless to say, my excursions into these temples of consumerism are necessarily very brief and involve much fast and determined walking. I know exactly what I need, where I'm going, which aisle to head for, and I endure the ordeal for as short a time as possible. Any kind of hold up, relocating of articles, additional noise, crowding, technical glitch at the till, etc. is enough to send me into panic mode, and I abandon my shopping (anywhere) and leave by the shortest route, having bought nothing.

All this is much easier when I have somebody with me. I don't know why. Maybe it's the distraction of being able to talk to them.

Edited by Mihaela

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Greetings all of you whom have replied.

 

Thank you very much for your replies, and I have read through all of them carefully. I am wholly opposed to taking any medication at all, so that is not even slightly an option.

 

However, recently I have taken up collecting certain cards, of which I can organise in a variety of different ways that in doing so can help me take my mind off of certain things.

 

Thank you again,

 

Eustace.

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Sometimes when people drop something or knock something over or generally do something to cause any kind of unexpected and abrasive noise, I'll have a very momentary sensation of hostility. It's not like I do anything in particular as it's only a brief feeling, but it is there.

 

I also find that buses and motorcycles are rather loud and cause me to have these similar feelings, but to a lesser extent as they're gradual rather than abrupt.

 

As for your own personal condition, it appears that noise affects you to a rather great extent. I wouldn't know what it's like to be bugged by noise all the time, but I usually try to associate background sound with something pleasant. It's not always easy and some noises really can't be associated with anything particularly nice but I think it might help in trying to do so.

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