February 04th, 2020

We live in a very noisy world, my friends.  And I think, for the most part, the majority of us have adapted well.  Gradually, over time, we have learned how to ignore............most of it.

But we all have those sounds that permeate our consciousness and set our teeth on edge making us cranky and irritable and seriously seriously so annoyed that we are tempted to bite the heads off of things. Or any people foolish enough to be around us at that moment.  It's probably different for everyone although I suspect that this is one of the most universally disliked sounds ever:

Yes! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner!  Fingernails on a blackboard is one of the most annoying sounds ever!  I've read that it's because the sound has the same frequency as a human scream.  (shudder)  Yupyup that is a bad one.

But there are other sounds that most people will agree is not on the favourite sounds hit parade.  Sounds like, crying babies on a plane.  That one always gets me because while I feel badly for the baby who is clearly unhappy and the parents(s) who are limited in what they can do to make the baby happier and therefore less screamish, the sound, especially in a confined space, is like an ice pick driven through my temple. I have the same reaction to screaming children in a restaurant. 

​And please remember here that I am pro-child.  I adore children, I love babies, I understand that they are not always going to be happy campers. But that scream!  Particularly in a space with sound bounce  - that is, not enough fabric to softened the sound and way too much hard surface that the sound ricochets off of only to continue on and on and on..... sigh.  I'm sympathetic to the situation but so freakin' annoyed by the sound. It's a conundrum.

 When my youngest child was a toddler, for no reason that anyone understands, would occasionally walk into a room, make eye contact, open his mouth and let out a shriek that would peel paint.  My hands would fly to my poor assaulted ears while my mouth was asking him "Why why why why??"  Whereupon he would smile and leave the room.  Thankfully it was a brief phase.  (or he might not have lived to tell the tale.)

Some people are bothered by the sound of filing nails or chewing or typing.  It's true.  Those sounds don't bother me at all.  In fact, I cannot hear nail filing at all and only barely hear most chewing sounds if I'm nearby.  Typing I can hear but it's such a nice soft sound to me that it's easily ignored.​

The sound of children laughing and talking and playing is music to my ears. I love that. But not everyone does.  For some folks, it sets their teeth on edge.  Maybe it's the high pitched sounds of children's voices.  I'm really not certain.  Other people cringe at certain types of music like say, opera.    Perhaps it's the sound of dogs barking that makes you crazy.  It bothers a lot of people. 

None of those things bothers me at all.  Well I suppose if the opera or the dog were in my house maybe it would get to me after awhile, but in general and out in the world, not a problem.

But I do have a sounds that makes me crazy.  It just crawls up my spine in into the base of my skull and I just absolutely hate it with a seething passion.  And it's such an ordinary regular run of the mill thing too. It's bizarre how much the sound bugs me.  It's this:

That's right.  A vacuum cleaner.  Weird eh?  I'm not sure what it is about that sound that gets to me so much but oh my gawd it drives me crazy.  So much so in fact, that I avoid vacuuming as much as possible.  I'll sweep endlessly to avoid it.  Sometimes I will vacuum one room, just one, and then have to put it away for awhile or ..well I don't know what will happen.  The top of my head will explode maybe?

In fact, this topic came up recently at my annual audiology appointment.  It's called Misophonia that is, being bothered by or  hypersensitive to certain sounds. My doctor jokingly said that she would write me a "prescription" stating that my husband had to do the vacuuming for me. teehee.  But honestly that wouldn't help even if I was willing to ask him (which I'm not)  because, unless I left the house, I would still be able to hear it!  It's the sound that is the issue, not the actual chore.

The chore itself is no more or less annoying than any other household chore that we all do on an endless loop.  And I really do love having a clean and tidy home.  So, it was time for creative problem solving.

Noise Cancelling Headphones!  Woohoo!

It doesn't completely eliminate the sound but it does knock it down to tolerable levels. So woohoo to me!  I figured this one out.

I look a little like a pilot don't I?  Grab my vacuum and prepare for take - off?    teehee.

Tim actually got them headphones for me for when we travel by plane.  He loads movies onto his laptop and then we both wear our headphones and quietly (to the folks around us) watch whatever movies we please.  Nice!   Bonus, I cannot hear any of the engine noises or most of the screaming babies/toddlers/adult tantrums on the plane while wearing them either.  Which is what made me think of it.  Problem Solved!

Looks silly maybe, but it works.  

As to the rest of the annoying sounds in the world, I guess we have to just grin and bear  those.  But when there is something that can be done about it, well all I can say is that sometimes, silence is not just golden, it's bliss.