Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (4S)

[Mabel]

Hello all,

I am creating this thread to raise awareness about Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (4S). This is a problem that I have had since I was two years old and it is my goal to make it easier for people who have suffered from this condition to find a the community that understands. This problem can often be mistaken for HSP or other sensory or psychological problems. I believe 4S is a type of sensory defensiveness.

I am bringing it up here in the forums because some people have discovered that they have it by reading some of my posts or my articles.

So what is 4S? People with 4S experience an intense feeling of anger, rage, and/or panic when they hear a “trigger” sounds. The person with 4S is not afraid of all sound or loud sounds but rather has specific, often times soft sounds that they react to very strongly. Many of the worst triggers are bodily sounds such as breathing and eating. One of the universally hated sounds is that of chewing gum. I personally hate gum. It is my hope that when someone Googles the phrase “I hate gum”, that they will find this thread because it feels so much better to be connected with people who understand.

A couple of years ago I found a YAHOO support group that is well over a 1000 members strong that has really been a wonderful addition to my life. It is a very resourceful and supportive group. It is not all just about venting although that can be cathartic at times. There is a lot of really helpful information exchanged. The group includes people with 4S as well as parents with children who have 4S. As you may be able to imagine, it can be a real challenge to navigate the social issues associated with this problem and can lead to secondary problems such as phobias. For example, I used to just hate the sound of gum being chewed but now I have developed a phobia of gum as well.

If you are reading this post and feel that you may have 4S--know that there are resources out there--an excellent one is the YAHOO group. Also be assured that there are actions you can take to improve your problem. I benefitted from CBT to help with the social and fear aspects of the problem. I also improved some of my sound sensitivity--mainly to breathing through careful self-exposure. I became less sensitive to certain types of mechanical sounds such as my neighbor’s air conditioner when I transitioned to a high raw, vegetarian whole food diet. Here are some links and resources including my story. It is been nearly a year since I provided an update on my progress so when I am ready I will write an update and post a link here.

4S: Sound Sensitivity (my story)

SoundSensitive.org: Resources for Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (4S)

Soundsensitivity : Selective Sound Sensitivity (YAHOO Support Group)

Oregon Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Treatment Clinic, Inc. - Soft Sound Sensitivity Syndrome This is the site of Dr. Marsha Johnson, an audiologist in Portland Oregon who coined the term 4S when she recognized it in her patients.

[Mabel]

Here it is! Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome Online

[reiki717]

THANK YOU! I am very sound sensitive and just today I discovered this thread. Going to check out your pages tonight when I get home.

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by Mabel

Hello all,

I am creating this thread to raise awareness about Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (4S). This is a problem that I have had since I was two years old and it is my goal to make it easier for people who have suffered from this condition to find a the community that understands. This problem can often be mistaken for HSP or other sensory or psychological problems. I believe 4S is a type of sensory defensiveness.

I am bringing it up here in the forums because some people have discovered that they have it by reading some of my posts or my articles.

So what is 4S? People with 4S experience an intense feeling of anger, rage, and/or panic when they hear a “trigger” sounds. The person with 4S is not afraid of all sound or loud sounds but rather has specific, often times soft sounds that they react to very strongly. Many of the worst triggers are bodily sounds such as breathing and eating. One of the universally hated sounds is that of chewing gum. I personally hate gum. It is my hope that when someone Googles the phrase “I hate gum”, that they will find this thread because it feels so much better to be connected with people who understand.

A couple of years ago I found a YAHOO support group that is well over a 1000 members strong that has really been a wonderful addition to my life. It is a very resourceful and supportive group. It is not all just about venting although that can be cathartic at times. There is a lot of really helpful information exchanged. The group includes people with 4S as well as parents with children who have 4S. As you may be able to imagine, it can be a real challenge to navigate the social issues associated with this problem and can lead to secondary problems such as phobias. For example, I used to just hate the sound of gum being chewed but now I have developed a phobia of gum as well.

If you are reading this post and feel that you may have 4S--know that there are resources out there--an excellent one is the YAHOO group. Also be assured that there are actions you can take to improve your problem. I benefitted from CBT to help with the social and fear aspects of the problem. I also improved some of my sound sensitivity--mainly to breathing through careful self-exposure. I became less sensitive to certain types of mechanical sounds such as my neighbor’s air conditioner when I transitioned to a high raw, vegetarian whole food diet. Here are some links and resources including my story. It is been nearly a year since I provided an update on my progress so when I am ready I will write an update and post a link here.

4S: Sound Sensitivity (my story)

SoundSensitive.org: Resources for Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (4S)

Soundsensitivity : Selective Sound Sensitivity (YAHOO Support Group)

Oregon Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Treatment Clinic, Inc. - Soft Sound Sensitivity Syndrome This is the site of Dr. Marsha Johnson, an audiologist in Portland Oregon who coined the term 4S when she recognized it in her patients.

Hey WOW! This is me!!! I thought I was just an annoyingly picky person... I personally don't let my kids chew gum... why? Cause it drives me NUTS!

My husband has a weird nose and it's always blocked so he's a heavy breather... the sound drives me INSANE... when he's home I have to listen to my ipod all night so I can't hear him.

I also react badly to hiccuping. I know it's not someone's fault when they hiccup...I know it... but OMG I hate it!

Eating sounds are also annoying. It's not bad when I'm eating, but having to sit there and listen to other people eat is hellish.

The noise of the cat washing is also vexing...and I adore my cat, I really do...but the washing noise really really bugs me...

Wow, now I get to vent about all these things that I thought just annoyed me cause I was fussy!!

I could go on about other sounds that annoy the absoloute heck out of me, but you get the picture

[votoshka]

Somehow double posted...

[Illuminatus]

Did it ever dawn on you people that you don't like the sound of people chewing gum and heavy breathing because it's ANNOYING?

And rather than creating a new, wacky, pointless label for it, you should just learn tolerance instead?

Everyone has their cross to bear. Get a thicker skin and stop making up labels to make yourself feel special.

[Angela]

I don't believe that the condition of feeling intense feelings of anger, rage, and/or panic at the sounds of "trigger" sounds is an illness or physiological.

I believe it's a habit.

[Illuminatus]

Originally Posted by Angela

I don't believe that the condition of feeling intense feelings of anger, rage, and/or panic at the sounds of "trigger" sounds is an illness or physiological.

I believe it's a habit.

^^^ Agreed.

[votoshka]

Look, honestly I never knew about this 4S before. I thought I was just very sensitive. And yes, for years (decades??) I have been doing my best to be tolerant. And I am tolerant for the most part (well I don't SAY much even when I'm feeling angry/annoyed)... but it doesn't change the fact that I actually do experience bizarre feelings of anger at annoying sounds.

I also guess it's hard to explain to people who don't experience it! I've never mentioned it to a doctor or anyone because as I said earlier, I thought I was just particularly sensitive or fussy... it never occurred to me that I have a "condition" lol.

That being said, it is reassuring to know that other people have the same reactions as me to such things! Whether or not it's "real" is beside the point. It's good to find other people who experience the same thing so you've got someone to share it with!! This doesn't mean that I'm about to run off to a doctor or someone to get "diagosed" because I don't give a crap for such things or labels.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by votoshka

I also guess it's hard to explain to people who don't experience it!

I have experienced it. I'm highly auditory, and I know that feeling of just -- anguish - at hearing particular sounds.

There was a guy in a seminar I was in who would eat or chew gum with his mouth open pretty much all the time. Ohhhh, how I suffered. I cringed, I writhed, I sufffffferrrrrrrred.

And my NLP instructor took me aside and in five minutes, he showed me how to make the suffering be totally gone, a thing of the past. Poof.

I'm not one of Pavlov's dogs anymore. At least, not in regards to the crazy-making sounds.

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by Angela

I have experienced it. I'm highly auditory, and I know that feeling of just -- anguish - at hearing particular sounds.

There was a guy in a seminar I was in who would eat or chew gum with his mouth open pretty much all the time. Ohhhh, how I suffered. I cringed, I writhed, I sufffffferrrrrrrred.

And my NLP instructor took me aside and in five minutes, he showed me how to make the suffering be totally gone, a thing of the past. Poof.

I'm not one of Pavlov's dogs anymore. At least, not in regards to the crazy-making sounds.

Oh, well if I could find a way to eliminate the problem then I'm all for that I thought I just had to grin (grimace??) and bear it!

[Angela]

Originally Posted by votoshka

Oh, well if I could find a way to eliminate the problem then I'm all for that I thought I just had to grin (grimace??) and bear it!

When I experienced how easy and fast it is to just let it go, it knocked my socks off.

I mean, I think most people are annoyed by some noises, like someone chewing gum with their mouth open, and it's an annoyance that makes sense -- your unconscious mind is authentically protecting your well-being by keeping you away from someone who spews their bodily fluids all over the place, or by motivating you to stand up for yourself. It could be ecological to have an adverse reaction to something that authentically interferes with your well-being.

But those really mortifyingly awful terrible negative emotions like rage or fury or that special sort of twisty cringy disgust, or being stopped in certain situations, and reactions to things that aren't an authentic threat (not even a small one), once you check out the ecology of them and make sure it's safe to let go of the negative emotion, you can re-file the sound in your brain in a way that leaves you feeling free and present to choice, rather than bogged down or constrained.

Votoshka, you might want to book an hour session with an NLP master practitioner -- that's likely all it would take to transform this, with time left over for eliminating a phobia or your cravings for chocolate!

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by Angela

When I experienced how easy and fast it is to just let it go, it knocked my socks off.

I mean, I think most people are annoyed by some noises, like someone chewing gum with their mouth open, and it's an annoyance that makes sense -- your unconscious mind is authentically protecting your well-being by keeping you away from someone who spews their bodily fluids all over the place, or by motivating you to stand up for yourself. It could be ecological to have an adverse reaction to something that authentically interferes with your well-being.

But those really mortifyingly awful terrible negative emotions like rage or fury or that special sort of twisty cringy disgust, or being stopped in certain situations, and reactions to things that aren't an authentic threat (not even a small one), once you check out the ecology of them and make sure it's safe to let go of the negative emotion, you can re-file the sound in your brain in a way that leaves you feeling free and present to choice, rather than bogged down or constrained.

Votoshka, you might want to book an hour session with an NLP master practitioner -- that's likely all it would take to transform this, with time left over for eliminating a phobia or your cravings for chocolate!

Hey, I might just try that! I have a few things that a good NLP practitioner could work on

[Angela]

I think you'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in one session. Remember: be at cause in the matter of the results you get!

[reiki717]

Originally Posted by Angela

I have experienced it. I'm highly auditory, and I know that feeling of just -- anguish - at hearing particular sounds.

There was a guy in a seminar I was in who would eat or chew gum with his mouth open pretty much all the time. Ohhhh, how I suffered. I cringed, I writhed, I sufffffferrrrrrrred.

And my NLP instructor took me aside and in five minutes, he showed me how to make the suffering be totally gone, a thing of the past. Poof.

I'm not one of Pavlov's dogs anymore. At least, not in regards to the crazy-making sounds.

How? Can you share it with us? I suffer daily working in an office setting.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by reiki717

How? Can you share it with us? I suffer daily working in an office setting.

There are several tools, and if one doesn't work, another will.

One you might want to try is spinning, described here. Allow the sound to enter one ear, spin the sound inside you as described, and then invite the sound out the other ear (or wherever it wants to exit so that you can release it easily and effortlessly).

This one works really well for me.

[Tunguska]

The 4S yahoo group is run by a doctor who seems to like owning and naming a group, without ever providing an actual diagnosis or professional help for the group. The website has been set up and written by an unemployed, uneducated guy called Richard who has serious psychiatric issues. Actually the entire group has serious psychiatric issues. The controlling Dr J won't let you in unless you can convince her your as insane as her precious 4s group, so you can't read the BS that goes on there, but once the website is up and running you can see just how mental this condition and its followers really are.

In fact, one of the group members seems to have so much rage and inability to control himself he's just gotten out of jail. another member blames sexual abuse on all her problems, including 4s. Another one seems to be an agorophobic wimp who whinges about everything in the world, least of all chewing noises - his boss, his coworkers, his apartment, his parents. This 4s group is one big baby crying, waaa-waaa pity party.

They all seem to have an inability to control themselves when they hear gum chewing, and Dr Johnson goes pscyho whenever anyone from the Misophonia group/website tries to make a comment. Dr Johnson is INSANELY jealous of the misophonia group, and there's a real battle between 4s and misophonia for people trolling the internet in search of their intolerant reaction to gum, chewing, eating, life in general.

Stay clear of 4S and its mental members. Stay clear of Dr johnson and her rage at misophonia members. Stay clear of Richard's dumbass website and content - he's a headjob with too much time on his hands.

4S or BS???? You decide.

[Illuminatus]

Originally Posted by Tunguska

4S or BS???? You decide.

My vote has already been cast!!

[Tunguska]

whats not surprising is the group is the same-old same-old year in and year out. And nothing will be any different over on their "new" and improved website. Run by the same yet insane people that are on the yahoo group. Interestingly they have a shop linked to their website, so maybe Richard's finally trying to make a buck instead of holding out his hand and crying poor me, Ive made up a name for my petty issues and I cant work because of it.

[Angela]

I think that "selective sound sensitivity syndrome" is a misnomer. It's actually "selective thought sensitivity syndrome" -- that is, it's not the sound that has the person feeling angry or disgusted or pained, it's the person's thoughts about those sounds that generates those emotions.

It's demonstrated again and again in the blogs and forums on the subjects -- the person will notice that certain thoughts will make the feeling better or worse, much as with OCD. If you practice believing "the sound of gum chewing makes me sick," you are practicing self-hypnosis; you're practicing programming in a reaction of sickness whenever you hear that sound.

The difficulty can be that these bad-feeling thoughts can start very young, and the person has been practicing believing thoughts that feel bad for so long that they feel like reality.

Sometimes they're mostly habitual, and sometimes they're deeply and unconsciously emotional in nature. For the habitual thought thinkers, certain techniques will make the problem disappear in a flash. For the people who have emotional root causes, techniques will take the edge off or even help them cope and survive in a very powerful way, but until they resolve the emotional conflict, the discomfort will tend to come back -- either in the form of a nauseating sound or something else entirely will arise to take its place -- because that "sensitivity" has a positive emotional purpose -- to preserve and protect the person -- albeit a very outdated and ineffective way to accomplish that purpose, and one that creates all kinds of issues in the person's life, their relationships, their satisfaction and fulfillment.

If you find yourself very attached to the problem -- like believing that you ARE 4s or identifying with it in any other way -- chances are pretty good that there's an emotional component to it. You may find that you feel resentment towards people who chew gum or unwrap candy or breathe loudly -- that you feel they *should* have the courtesy to stop when you ask them to, and if they don't, there's something wrong with them, or that you are having a bad time. In that case, the idea of disconnecting the symptoms may feel very alarming to you, and what I'm saying here about techniques that allow the symptom to disappear in an instant could even occur for you as insensitive or mean or threatening -- like there's something wrong with me or something bad happening here.

One of the main problems that can come with believing your thoughts about sounds is that you can actually generate powerfully exactly what you're most resisting: the lack of power or control. You try to impose control on your environment or the people around you, and the environment and people react in kind, right back to you, like the people who are irritated by your irritation, or, resisting your conscious or unconscious attempts to control them, they find it funny and aggressively do it TO you. Which has you thinking more bad-feeling, out of control thoughts, which has them reacting to your reaction, etc., in a downward spiral.

One that made me laugh is the woman who was ENRAGED by her husband's snoring, and when he suggested separate rooms so that they could both get undisturbed sleep, she was even more FURIOUS that he wouldn't just figure out a way to stop snoring!

The good news is that you have all the power in the world to interrupt and resolve the problem, and even in the case of an emotional root cause, you're not sentenced to years of therapy or a protracted period of dealing with it -- it's possible to release the underlying root cause and resolve the inner gunk that has you habitually thinking thoughts that feel just awful whenever you hear your trigger sound -- and has you thinking that that habit and those thoughts are who you are, like it's a medical condition or an unavoidable genetic component of your identity. When you're inside of that *reality,* it may seem hopeless -- I know, I've been there.

I think one very powerful way to begin making the shift is to let go of identifying with the problem -- thinking that it's who you are. Kind of like the support groups for people who are socially anxious () -- maybe start up a new group for people who used to practice thinking thoughts that had you feeling bad, but are now practicing deliberately thinking thoughts that feel good on purpose -- and supporting one another in releasing the bad-feeling thoughts, rather than supporting one another in believing them.

[KyleSteward]

My child (2 and a half years old) has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), which seems related to the sound sensitivity that you mention.

SPD is one of those umbrella terms that covers a lot of different variations - it can refer to over-sensitivity to sensory input, under-sensitivity, and many suffer from over-sensitivity one day and under-sensitivity the next. It can affect any of the senses or a combination of them. Most people think of the traditional 5 senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste), but we actually have more. For instance, your proprioceptive sense "tells" your body where it is in space (close your eyes and move your hands around, you "know" where they are). Your vestibular sense relates to balance and coordination.
SPD, like many disorders of the brain, affects people in varying degrees. Some may live perfectly normal lives with just a few quirks (like my perfectly normal friend who gets irritated unless the seems in his socks are just the right way). Others may be so affected that it controls every aspect of their life. In children, more severe cases often interfere with development.

For the record, I'm the type of person that believes that the overwhelming majority of ADHD cases are just kids who need better discipline. I also believe that most cases of depression aren't biological at all in nature and I'm not really fond of depression medication. But that's for another day.
However, this is a real disorder.

Treatment is not really too terribly difficult. Fortunately for us, treating a two-year old is a lot more effective and easier than older children or adults. However, I think occupational therapy can be advantageous for any age.

Our son has issues with his proprioceptive, vestibular, and tactile senses. So he is overly sensitive to his hands being dirty, he'll spin around, he'll crash himself into couches - all which seem like random, unrelated behaviors but are telltale signs of SPD to a trained professional.
The spinning and crashing actually come from him unconsciously trying to "fix" his own brain by seeking out strong stimulation of those senses. I can assure you that since he's only two this is totally on a primal level and has nothing to do with any cognitive understanding of his vestibular or proprioceptive sense.

The therapy consists of exposing him to input purposefully designed to help his brain adjust. They do spinning in swings (for vestibular sense), playing in ball pits and pillow pits (to give him deep pressure for proprioceptive and tactile sense), play with play-do, walk over tiles of differing textures.
The hallmark of his therapy is regular "brushing" of his skin with a surgical brush. It has some technical name, but I can't remember it.

Anyway, sorry for the long talk - but I would talk to someone about SPD. Seek out a good occupational therapist. They're normally trained at both diagnosing and treating SPD.

[KyleSteward]

Originally Posted by Angela

I think that "selective sound sensitivity syndrome" is a misnomer. It's actually "selective thought sensitivity syndrome" -- that is, it's not the sound that has the person feeling angry or disgusted or pained, it's the person's thoughts about those sounds that generates those emotions.

It's demonstrated again and again in the blogs and forums on the subjects -- the person will notice that certain thoughts will make the feeling better or worse, much as with OCD. If you practice believing "the sound of gum chewing makes me sick," you are practicing self-hypnosis; you're practicing programming in a reaction of sickness whenever you hear that sound.

The difficulty can be that these bad-feeling thoughts can start very young, and the person has been practicing believing thoughts that feel bad for so long that they feel like reality.

Sometimes they're mostly habitual, and sometimes they're deeply and unconsciously emotional in nature. For the habitual thought thinkers, certain techniques will make the problem disappear in a flash. For the people who have emotional root causes, techniques will take the edge off or even help them cope and survive in a very powerful way, but until they resolve the emotional conflict, the discomfort will tend to come back -- either in the form of a nauseating sound or something else entirely will arise to take its place -- because that "sensitivity" has a positive emotional purpose -- to preserve and protect the person -- albeit a very outdated and ineffective way to accomplish that purpose, and one that creates all kinds of issues in the person's life, their relationships, their satisfaction and fulfillment.

If you find yourself very attached to the problem -- like believing that you ARE 4s or identifying with it in any other way -- chances are pretty good that there's an emotional component to it. You may find that you feel resentment towards people who chew gum or unwrap candy or breathe loudly -- that you feel they *should* have the courtesy to stop when you ask them to, and if they don't, there's something wrong with them, or that you are having a bad time. In that case, the idea of disconnecting the symptoms may feel very alarming to you, and what I'm saying here about techniques that allow the symptom to disappear in an instant could even occur for you as insensitive or mean or threatening -- like there's something wrong with me or something bad happening here.

One of the main problems that can come with believing your thoughts about sounds is that you can actually generate powerfully exactly what you're most resisting: the lack of power or control. You try to impose control on your environment or the people around you, and the environment and people react in kind, right back to you, like the people who are irritated by your irritation, or, resisting your conscious or unconscious attempts to control them, they find it funny and aggressively do it TO you. Which has you thinking more bad-feeling, out of control thoughts, which has them reacting to your reaction, etc., in a downward spiral.

One that made me laugh is the woman who was ENRAGED by her husband's snoring, and when he suggested separate rooms so that they could both get undisturbed sleep, she was even more FURIOUS that he wouldn't just figure out a way to stop snoring!

The good news is that you have all the power in the world to interrupt and resolve the problem, and even in the case of an emotional root cause, you're not sentenced to years of therapy or a protracted period of dealing with it -- it's possible to release the underlying root cause and resolve the inner gunk that has you habitually thinking thoughts that feel just awful whenever you hear your trigger sound -- and has you thinking that that habit and those thoughts are who you are, like it's a medical condition or an unavoidable genetic component of your identity. When you're inside of that *reality,* it may seem hopeless -- I know, I've been there.

I think one very powerful way to begin making the shift is to let go of identifying with the problem -- thinking that it's who you are. Kind of like the support groups for people who are socially anxious () -- maybe start up a new group for people who used to practice thinking thoughts that had you feeling bad, but are now practicing deliberately thinking thoughts that feel good on purpose -- and supporting one another in releasing the bad-feeling thoughts, rather than supporting one another in believing them.

By the way, despite my post above, I totally agree with you. I think the overwhelming majority of people being bothered by annoying sounds is simply just a psychological thing and not a physiological thing. However, a small minority could possibly have some physiological roots.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by KyleSteward

By the way, despite my post above, I totally agree with you. I think the overwhelming majority of people being bothered by annoying sounds is simply just a psychological thing and not a physiological thing. However, a small minority could possibly have some physiological roots.

Yes -- and my guess is that that overwhelming majority (the people with an emotionally-based issue) will identify themselves as being part of that small minority -- and that self-identification will feel like a relief from the perceived threat of it not being *real* -- and thereby strengthen the programming.

[KyleSteward]

Originally Posted by Angela

Yes -- and my guess is that that overwhelming majority (the people with an emotionally-based issue) will identify themselves as being part of that small minority -- and that self-identification will feel like a relief from the perceived threat of it not being *real* -- and thereby strengthen the programming.

Right on, sister. You and I are in total lockstep on that one. The problem with that (and several other problems like depression) is that the diagnosis method is so shaky and subjective.

I was thinking: the point may even be moot. The treatment for adults (whose brains are a little more "settled") may just simply be teaching them strategies to cope with the sensitivities. In which case, it wouldn't matter whether it was psychological or physiological.

But to the OP, an occupational therapist would obviously be a greater source of knowledge than I would.

[ZephyrusX]

Originally Posted by Angela

If you find yourself very attached to the problem -- like believing that you ARE 4s or identifying with it in any other way -- chances are pretty good that there's an emotional component to it. You may find that you feel resentment towards people who chew gum or unwrap candy or breathe loudly -- that you feel they *should* have the courtesy to stop when you ask them to, and if they don't, there's something wrong with them, or that you are having a bad time. In that case, the idea of disconnecting the symptoms may feel very alarming to you, and what I'm saying here about techniques that allow the symptom to disappear in an instant could even occur for you as insensitive or mean or threatening -- like there's something wrong with me or something bad happening here.

Teeheee - so next time a class mate brings a bag of chips to class, I should tell my self ‘I love the sound of that crinkling bag! The nature of the bag is beautiful!’?

I guess there may be some merit to what you are saying. I react negatively to sounds, but I just passed it off as a ‘hypersensitivity’ to sound. As in I just hear too good. But then, it occurred to me that I don’t react negatively to all sounds. Some sounds are quite pleasant. So it couldn’t possibly just be the state of ‘hypersensitivity’ or ‘good hearing’ that causes the irritation.

But to be honest, some of what you are saying sounds silly to me. What in the world does the process of unwrapping bubble gum signify about a person? What does eating a bag of chips signify about a person? I don’t feel as if people are ‘obligated’ to stop whatever it is they are doing because their actions are ‘wrong’. I just find the noise irritating and either 1) attempt to refocus my thoughts and become oblivious to the noise or 2) leave the situation or 3) Introduce a new sound to drown out the other (e.g Ipod).

Also my mother tells me that I have been this way since I was a very young child. It may be possible that I associated bad thoughts with certain noises at a very young age, but that sounds questionable to me.

Oh well. I’ll keep a mental note to take track of the types of thoughts that run through my head. Thanks for posting the information and links Mabel. Regardless of whatever the cause of this irritation to sound is, I don’t think the person in question lacks control. I’ve been able to successfully ‘manipulate’ my environment and my perceptions of that environment for the most part despite my relationship to sound.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

Teeheee - so next time a class mate brings a bag of chips to class, I should tell my self ‘I love the sound of that crinkling bag! The nature of the bag is beautiful!’?

You could do that, of course; I don't think you *should* -- or even that it would be very effective. Telling yourself you love something when you don't love it tends to just bounce right out, so that's not a tool I'd use.

But to be honest, some of what you are saying sounds silly to me. What in the world does the process of unwrapping bubble gum signify about a person? What does eating a bag of chips signify about a person? I don’t feel as if people are ‘obligated’ to stop whatever it is they are doing because their actions are ‘wrong’. I just find the noise irritating and either 1) attempt to refocus my thoughts and become oblivious to the noise or 2) leave the situation or 3) Introduce a new sound to drown out the other (e.g Ipod).

You sound like you have got habitual irritation, rather than emotionally-based negative reactions. You are present to choice when you're irritated by a sound; you don't make the sound or your reaction to the sound mean something about yourself or about the person, the meaning of which reduces choice for you. Your irritation to sounds could disappear in a flash with a quick technique or two.

But some people do make lots of bad-feeling meanings about the person who is making the sound, or about themselves, meanings that trigger downward spirals. It can sound quite silly, as you've noticed, to make those kinds of meanings, because it's so self-induced. But the person who is inducing it doesn't feel present to choice when they're doing it. They feel doomed and sentenced and trapped. What a horrible feeling, huh?

Thoughts like, I AM tortured by the sound of xyz, or people who make xyz sound after I've asked them not to are inconsiderate/assh*les/mean -- xyz being an everyday occurrence -- result in the awful feeling of being trapped in a world where inconsiderate mean assh*les are torturing you every day. Is it true? Well, it certainly can feel true and real to the person experiencing it, even as others look on, baffled, not seeing truth in it in their own reality. And some of those "skeptical" people feel the impact of being judged as inconsiderate mean assh*les, making it mean something about themselves or about the suffering person, and they in turn make judgements or take on attitudes that reactivate the suffering person, and so on.

It does sound silly, doesn't it? And it generates real discomfort or suffering, as things that appear silly often do.

And again, the good news is that one has the power to interrupt and even transform the pattern, if one chooses to, and uses a perspective of being at cause in the matter.

[reiki717]

Originally Posted by Angela

There are several tools, and if one doesn't work, another will.

One you might want to try is spinning, described here. Allow the sound to enter one ear, spin the sound inside you as described, and then invite the sound out the other ear (or wherever it wants to exit so that you can release it easily and effortlessly).

This one works really well for me.

Thank you very much Angela! I'm going to try it as soon as this comes up for me again. Likely on Monday @ the office!

[ZephyrusX]

Originally Posted by Angela

But some people do make lots of bad-feeling meanings about the person who is making the sound, or about themselves, meanings that trigger downward spirals. It can sound quite silly, as you've noticed, to make those kinds of meanings, because it's so self-induced. But the person who is inducing it doesn't feel present to choice when they're doing it. They feel doomed and sentenced and trapped. What a horrible feeling, huh?

I can think of a couple of examples now. You are talking about people who say stuff like 'There is no way my neighbour will consider turning his music/bass down because all people are generally inconsiderate. So I am doomed to listen to this until I leave this apartment!"? Yah, that is a limiting perspecitive espeically since most people will turn the music down if you knock on their door.

You sound like you have got habitual irritation, rather than emotionally-based negative reactions. You are present to choice when you're irritated by a sound; you don't make the sound or your reaction to the sound mean something about yourself or about the person, the meaning of which reduces choice for you. Your irritation to sounds could disappear in a flash with a quick technique or two.

What sort of techniques? Could you provide some links or references that I can check out later on my own time?

[Angela]

Originally Posted by reiki717

Thank you very much Angela! I'm going to try it as soon as this comes up for me again. Likely on Monday @ the office!

Please let me know how it goes!

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

What sort of techniques? Could you provide some links or references that I can check out later on my own time?

Spinning, as I linked to above, is a great one. You can also use NLP modalities and mapping across, and there are some more advanced techniques as well that you can learn in person with a practitioner.

[ZephyrusX]

Originally Posted by Angela

Spinning, as I linked to above, is a great one. You can also use NLP modalities and mapping across, and there are some more advanced techniques as well that you can learn in person with a practitioner.

Thank you