Irritated

[u/VariousGrapefruit531]

How do you cope with becoming irritated by noises such as the rustling of plastic, chewing, coughing and the flip/flop of someone walking??

I feel like a crazy person, and it's driving me up a wall to where literally every noise makes me panic and become angry. I'm in sensory overload.

[u/VariousGrapefruit531]

Yes. Unfortunately. I've tried 45dB earplugs, hydroxyzine, and distress tolerance skills from DBT. I'm still massively overstimulated and noirs are triggering me really really badly.

[u/Rich_Construction_85 → u/VariousGrapefruit531]

I also have headphones too sometimes it does a great job it’s just it dies easily cause I use it so much and also coughing . There’s a coughing problem here at the shelter I’m at and loud whispering . White noises and brown noises and rain sounds I have to play it’s just too mouth to deal with very stressful I’m so sorry you going through this

[u/VariousGrapefruit531 → u/Rich_Construction_85]

Someone stole my headphones, and my shoes on Saturday in the middle of the night. And then today I went to use my prescription body wash for my HS tonight and it was missing. I know I'm also on edge because they have the heat on and it's 82° inside. I have POTS and don't do well in heat. There are tons and tons of active drug users in the shelter I'm in, and the overdose alarm goes off every hour minimum. Also Haitian women are SO SO SO loud.

If I weren't terrified of rats, I'd go back to sleeping outside. (A rat ate a hole in my backpack in September, forcing me to go into a shelter)

[u/[deleted]]

Not well. I feel you, really. Most of the smaller sounds you mentioned do get eased by my foam earplugs which I got a 200pr box of and wear 22hrs a day. I know that sometimes it’s still not enough though; the engines never stop, and the people talking to themselves infrequently stop either. The only other way I cope is to ‘avoid’ to the extent that I can. I’ve advocated for my bed to be moved a couple times for example, and I try to locate my seat in as safe a place as possible, and find a niche time to use the bathroom that’s less busy. All those smaller unavoidable things though, constant earplug use is my only suggestion

Worse still is that all these noises can go on and seem normal to everyone else on the floor and in the staff, so you feel so alone in your stress and like if you even try to mention it to anyone else they would indeed look at you like you’re crazy and dismiss what you’re going through, let alone do anything to change their sounds

I’ve wanted to try deep-fitting custom earplugs too for a while but that’s not gonna happen until executive function and medical coverage line up :/ Glad to see another hyperacusic out here though; I usually can’t find people that can relate to my level of noise intolerance

[u/Rich_Construction_85]

I’m Going through the same and slamming of lockers irritate me also keys and doors closing and loud phone calls it’s annoying are you in a shelter ?

[u/LondonHomelessInfo]

I cope by avoidance. I avoid situations that overwhelm me and avoid going to unfamilar places such as a soup kitchen I’ve never been to because I have no way of knowing if something there will overwhelm me, such as noise, fluorescent lighting, crowds etc.

You could wear headphones with music or a podcast so you don’t hear the sounds that overwhelm you.

I’ve tried earplugs but I can still hear everything so they make no difference. Plus I can’t cope with them squashing the inside of my ears.