Dealing with noise sensitivity

[maryb]

Lucinda could you perhaps think about changing your bed for one of those day beds, at least you could sit comfortably upright during the day if you just wanted to be away from the rest of the family, perhaps have a little tv, I spent 18months in my bedroom mainly because of the noise sensitivity, people are right as you improve so does this symptom. Good luck in finding something.

 

[shannah]

I have a little speaker/amplifier thingy for my iPod and have downloaded various "sleep" sound and music programs to the iPod which I then set to loop endlessly before I go to bed. The one I like best is just ocean wave sounds.

We do the same at our home playing the ocean waves on endless loop on the CD players (2 of us here with CFS). It's the only way we can sleep - that and melatonin. We once had a CD of waves with a seagull that would emit it's sound every once in a while. Pretty sound but woke us up every time that seagull went off.

A neighbour walked past our backyard last week, stopped to say hi and started peering into the sky asking if there was a hot air balloon going by. I guess standing outside, the waves coming from the CD sound like the blasting of gas into a hot air balloon. Humourous.

We tried those special CD's that are supposed to induce the brain waves into deep sleep - forget the proper term now. Didn't work. Really took our brains to a wired, more spaced out place.

Oh the lengths we have to go to for just minimal relief eh.

 

[Martlet]

I was going to suggest "white noise" too, Lucinda. You can get a sense of it at this site: http://simplynoise.com/downloads.html You can download the noises on this site to your computer MP3 player or whatever for (I think) under a dollar a noise, but you get to try three of them for free to see if they might help you.

PS I see they have the thunderstorm as a free download.

 

[caledonia]

My suggestion would be to turn your bedroom into a "safe room" as much as possible. Use a sofa that converts into a bed, so you can have both. (Hopefully the sofa/bed is comfortable as a bed too.) Or maybe a futon. Or maybe keep the bed, but have some thick cushions you can put along the wall to convert it into a sofa for daytime use.

Check this out:http://ezinearticles.com/?Getting-Creative!-How-to-Make-Your-Own-Twin-Sofa-Bed&id=855137

Use sound insulating foam panels on the walls/windows etc. like a sound recording studio.

My favorite earplugs are E.A.R. the classic yellow foam kind. I get them from here: http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/
They have an assortment pack where you can try out all kinds of earplugs to find your favorite. They also have white noise machines, noise cancelling headphones etc. They have been a reliable retailer for me.

Ditto on trying calming supplements and meds too.

It will probably be a combination of things that will help.

 

[Sallysblooms]

The right supplements will help the neurotransmitters and make noise and other stressors much better.

 

[Carrigon]

I've suffered with severe sound sensitivity since I was about fifteen years old, more than half my life. I can't go to a concert or a movie theater because of it. The loud commercials on tv kill me, I have to immediately turn it down or mute it. A ringing phone kills me, and I can't do alot of phone calls because the noise of someone's voice at my ear is painful.

I use white noise alot to cover daily neighbor and neighborhood noise. It they really start to annoy me, on it goes. And it really does help. I have resorted to earplugs when I've needed to. But mostly, I rely on white noise. I use it to sleep, too. I also bought a noise canceling headphones, but haven't tried it yet because I'm afraid that the headphones of putting my computer's noise to my ears will bug me.

I'm really only okay when it's quiet, like in the middle of the night.

 

[Lucinda]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

There are some really good ideas here. I'm going to experiment with a few of the things mentioned and see how it goes.

 

[Lucinda]

The right supplements will help the neurotransmitters and make noise and other stressors much better.

Thanks Sallysblooms. What supplements would you recommend?

 

[Sallysblooms]

For me, 5HTP and Adrecor were great. You have to talk your your doctor and tell them how you are feeling so you can get the right dose of whatever supplement can help the transmitters. Serotonin affects sleep, temp. regulation, noise and light sensitivity, mood and many things. Being ill and stressed affects the neurotransmitters. I don't take any prescriptions, but 5HTP works for me in making Serotonin. Everyone is different so you have to talk to your doctor and see just how much supplement and the right brand to use.

 

[Lucinda]

To be honest my doctor only ever suggests prescription pills - never supplements. At the moment my doctor is suggesting I try Propanalol (which are beta blockers) to help slow my heart rate, or low dose Citalopram (which are antidepressants - SSRIs) to calm me down. I'm not convinced either will work though and would rather try supplements first.

I don't know if it is because I'm from the UK. I don't know of anyone who has ever gone to an NHS doctor and had them suggest a herb or supplement! I actually bought up supplements with my doctor last time and her attitude was very much 'this isn't my area, but experiment if you want to'.

I'm meant to see her soon though, so I will bring supplements up with her again. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Carrigon]

One thing I have noticed that makes my sound sensitivity alot worse is nitrates in my diet. If I have anything with nitrates, not only do I get a POTS attack, but it definitely makes the sound sensitivity alot worse.

 

[zoe.a.m.]

To be honest my doctor only ever suggests prescription pills - never supplements. At the moment my doctor is suggesting I try Propanalol (which are beta blockers) to help slow my heart rate, or low dose Citalopram (which are antidepressants - SSRIs) to calm me down. I'm not convinced either will work though and would rather try supplements first.

I second the recommendation for supplements before/over medications. I've used Propranolol before and can say (as a person who can tolerate very, very few meds) that this is not a 'scary' one. I think I took 10mg/2-3 times a day, but I can't be sure about numbers since it's been a couple of years--basically it was the lowest dose I think. It doesn't interact with all that much, but there are a few things. It brings the heart rate and blood pressure down and can help with the feeling of body-wide panic. It's sometimes used to treat PTSD immediately following a traumatic event (I think within 24-36 hrs). There has been controversy about it b/c of that, as though it was causing people to "forget" their traumas. I don't know how it acts at a high dose, but it doesn't affect remembering things at all imo, it simply instructs the body to take it down a few notches. Many people who've used it for post-trauma feel that it has helped them immensely, but I'm getting off-track here...

 

[Lucinda]

Hmmm, so you think Propranolol could be helpful? I don't suffer PTSD or anything similar, but as I say, I do seem to be very 'wired' and could do with as much help as possible to calm this down. I've never heard of anyone with CFS taking propranolol before though so I didn't know what to think. You think it could help calm down my 'wired' and hypersensitive state then?

 

[*GG*]

Would Klonopin be good?

 

[leela]

I will say that in my experience, having avoided pharmaceuticals vehemently most of my life,
Klonopin is one of the true heroes of my current protocol. It definitely reduces many of
my sensitivities, though I usually only take it at night to help me sleep more continuously. If I do take it during the day I take
a quarter of a .5 mg pill, which is practically homeopathic at that point...but it takes the edge off
even my skin sensitivity, and doesn't make me feel druggy at that dose. Even though Cheney has stated generic
is not as good, it works great for me, and the price is right.
If you're interested in checking it out, google Cheney and klonopin...he makes a good case for how if your brain actually needs it
you do not become dependent, and it's actually neuroprotective--it keeps the brain from killing off in self-defense the neurons that are
constantly over-firing and causing all the wired hypersensitivity. He calls our situation "excitatory neurotoxicity" and I can say from this last month or so of
treatment, Klonopin is a real relief from that. Okay, so it's not a cure--but beyond symptom relief (for which there is a lot to be said in the end) it
is, according to Cheney, actually protecting your brain. I will also add, though it's off-topic for this thread, that there is a whole layer of brain fog that is
gone now that I am sleeping more deeply with the Klonopin.
Like I said, I'm not a big fan of pharmaceuticals, but this has been something of a minor miracle for me.

 

[Sallysblooms]

I don't take it, I just take supplements my body needs, but I wanted to say just watch for side effects as with other prescripts.

 

[SickOfSickness]

Sort of related... they have educational materials geared toward middle school age kids, posters and free pencils and bookmarks... it's not related to "extra sensitive" people like us but in case anyone is interested... https://www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov/noisyplanet/templates/orderitems.aspx

Also this company gives away 5000 pairs of earplugs a day, in case that helps anyone. I know earplugs aren't an answer to most of the issues but I use them regularly. 1 per address. I would try the Xtreme version but they are probably not too much better than the normal. http://www.hearos.com/index/trial Some other companies give them away sometimes.

 

[jenbooks]

In NYC I had to use three white noise machines. Two were near my bed and one across the room. The two near my bed were a Marsona one that just has two sounds I can blend. One is a deep white noise and the other more of a whistling type. I can make any pitch I want. Now that's the only one I use. At times I've used it to drown out morning birds. I prefer the deep whoosh but need the higher pitch added in to drown out birdsong.

Another incredible CD is "Sleeping Through the Rain" from Hemisync. I used to put that on CD and it would drown out noise and help me relax because of the binaural beats that put you in alpha and theta. I'd put it on a return loop.

 

[Dainty]

Just a quick note....regular devices like an air purifier, fan, or space heater (with a fan) can also be used for white noise. In situations where I need a louder white noise and I need it NOW (like neighbor's dog barking) my solution is to hop in the shower. The shower noise cancels out the other noise and the hot water relaxes me.

Unfortunately, sometimes the noise of the shower is too much in and of itself, and then I have a problem...

 

[bthompsonjr1993]

Hi

I suffer a great deal with the 'wired but tired' state. It's like I can't calm down and am on edge and restless all of the time. I know that it is very important to get out of this state so I can truly rest and give my body the break it needs, and am currently trying different things to achieve this.

However, one thing I'm stuck on is my noise sensitivity. Noise - esp talking, the tv, radio, music, anything loud - makes me so much worse. I don't think I'm ever going to calm down unless I am in a very quiet environment, because the slightest noise puts my body in a panic state (unless I am the one in control of it - for example if I am in a silent house but feel well enough to have some relaxing TV show on low, or some classical music - I can cope).

But, the thing is I live at home with my parents and brother who are noisy, and I do not have the money to move out and get my own place. My parents are at home all day as they are retired, and spend all day talking loudly in the living room, watching tv, listening to the radio, etc. I simply cannot escape the noise - it is constant. Even when I am in a different room I can usually still hear the noise, or am on edge because I know that they will be noisy soon.

I have tried ear plugs and ear muffs, but found that they did not cut out enough noise. Plus I found listening to my heartbeat also made me feel bad, probably because I have a fast heart rate and suffer palpitations.

I'm wondering - what can I do? Is anyone else in a similar situation of being sensitive to noise, and yet unable to escape it? I've talked to my family about this a number of times but they don't really understand, and I guess it's unrealistic to expect them to become really quiet.

I'm kind of desperate here as I'm just not sure I'm ever going to get much better unless I can somehow reduce the noise I am exposed to, so any advice would be welcome, no matter how small.

Thanks, Lucinda x

TINNITUS RETRAINING THERAPY. DO IT.
All of my symptoms went downhill FAST recently, and I started experiencing noise sensitivity, it got so bad that birds chirping outside while I was inside with all the doors and windows shut was causing me immense agony. So bad that I wanted to end my life. But then I found Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, and it WORKED. All of my other CFS symptoms remain unchanged, but PLEASE give Tinnitus Retraining Therapy a chance, it saved me, and it has an extremely high success rate for people with sound sensitivity, regardless of the cause of the sound sensitivity.