Noise intolerance, hyperacusis: totally stressed

[Karen]

I actually love the sound of mine. It's funny that even with over sensitive hearing, we still have our own personal likes and dislikes, isn't it?

Yes, it is! I think the best thing to focus on now is what you can control. Even wear old-fashioned earphones that go over your ears, and play something you find soothing - might help both block out the external noise, and help you focus on something else. I find those big headphones way more comfortable than the "ear-bud" things, I must have really small ear canals, as they never fit me right, anyway. Even if you play soft soothing music or ocean sounds - you can find all sorts of stuff free online and sometimes even just language lessons - the voce repeating phrases over and over - can distract you enough from external noises and make you concentrate on what is coming out of the headphones instead ...

[Kirsten]

Yes, it is! I think the best thing to focus on now is what you can control. Even wear old-fashioned earphones that go over your ears, and play something you find soothing - might help both block out the external noise, and help you focus on something else. I find those big headphones way more comfortable than the "ear-bud" things, I must have really small ear canals, as they never fit me right, anyway. Even if you play soft soothing music or ocean sounds - you can find all sorts of stuff free online and sometimes even just language lessons - the voce repeating phrases over and over - can distract you enough from external noises and make you concentrate on what is coming out of the headphones instead ...

I can also listen to the music on my mp3-player, that would be soothing and I wouldn't hear the noise. But when I'm reading or writing, I cannot listen to any music, it's distracting me too much, and that's a huge problem in the summer time when it's loud. I love writing in the evening hours (some kind of biography, but only for myself, to cope with certain things), but I simply cannot do that at the moment. The other day, when I was helping a friend with a translation job, I tried ear plugs, but they made me feel as if I was under water, and I couldn't work that way.

So, yes, I got a single dad with two boys about 7 and 8 and one of the first things he did was buy them bb guns.

How very annoying!! Reminds me of that boy in the neighborhood. Another thing I hate are those bobby cars. Their wheels are making horrible sounds on the pavement, they're terribly loud. Always hated them.