International Noise Awareness Day
One of the best links I have found on this topic, if from a few years ago:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1944202.stm
As I write this, I can hear the jackhammers tearing up the little lane outside for possibly the fourth time this year, the insistent beat of someone’s music through their open window (ah, summer is here…) and I just know that the exuberant but noisy exodus of children from the primary school just across the way is about to begin. Funny how even the anticipation of noise can get those little knots forming in your stomach, isn’t it?
Some people suffer the effects of noise much more than others, though. This increased sensitivity to noise is called ‘misophonia’ and it is a disorder that is slowly gaining in recognition across the world; one self-help group in the US, for example, lists 1200 members. Whether or not symptoms increase with stress is still not determined, but it is certain that people who suffer from misophonia experience increased anxiety, fear or irritation, and elevated stress levels as a result of particular trigger noises and, as the disorder progresses, merely upon seeing the thing associated with the sound.
http://www.helium.com/items/2010673-treatments-for-misophonia
Whether or not you have misophonia, there are certain things you can do to help alleviate suffering associated with excessive noise. Firstly, try to reduce your general stress levels by meditating regularly or training yourself in self-hypnosis. Some people find it helpful, whilst in hypnosis, to imagine a dial in their mind with the name of the noise they hate written on it and the numbers 1-9. They then practise, whilst in hypnosis, dialling down the noise level until it is comfortable for them. Try it, it works! Another technique commonly used – though it is best to visit a hypnotherapist for this – is to focus on breaking the association between the trigger and the irritating noise so that, for example, your neighbour’s wind chimes blowing in the breeze simply register briefly and no longer cause you to dig your nails into your palms and grind your teeth!
Of course, there are also some very pleasant sounds you can focus on instead, training your subconscious mind to increase your enjoyment of these as it learns to fade out the irritating noises. Besides the jackhammer and the loud music outside this room, I can also hear the birds singing and the man going round selling onions, which always reminds me, somehow, of the icecream van when I was a child, which has a whole host of very pleasant associations…
Till next time,
Fiona
Tags: hypnosis, noise, self-hypnosis, stress
2 Responses to “International Noise Awareness Day”
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I get upset when I hear noise that upsets me, but I was not aware that some people are more sensitive to noise than I am.
It must be awful for stress levels!!!!!
Thanks for leaving a comment, Arnold. Yes, it does contribute to stress levels and very often we don’t even realise it – until we get that beautiful sense of blissful calm when the builders pack their things away at the end of the day or the dog next door falls asleep and the barking stops, and then you realise how much it has been playing with your nerves! The trick is to train yourself to tune out the noise or focus on any pleasant associations so that sense of calm is more available to you.
Fiona