Noise anxiety

[PeggySue92]

Hi all, this is my first time posting and I suffer from noise anxiety.

My noise anxiety only exists in my own home, I work in a noisy office environment and this is not a trigger at all. In the past we have had noisy neighbours, air-con units, loud music etc all causing me to think about when the noise will happen again and this causes me to worry about constantly. Even to the point of missing out on enjoying things because I need to try and control situations.

At the moment we are in our own house and the neighbours have a dog that barks ALL THE TIME. It’s sensitive to everything and anything and is causing me anxiety because we cant go out to our backyard without being aggressively barked at. The issue has been brought up with the neighbours and they are aware that the barking is disturbing me and my family but not a lot has been done.

I'm tired of worrying and thinking the worst of what ‘might’ happen.

I'd like to hear from anyone that suffers the same type of anxiety and if they have tips on how to deal with it.

Thank you.

[Carport1]

Hi Guys , it gives me comfort knowing that i am not the only one with this being sensitive to sound or noises. We live on acerage and have been for 25 years , with not to many what i call problems , it use to be really quiet then a Highway was built behind me some 12 years ago which i have got use too! I have never had axiety till recently our neighbours sold and the new ones moved in and have two Staffy's , The dogs don't bark much , hardly at all but one day around 10 weeks ago at night they just started barking , didn't bother me at first and then i let it get to me , and since then it has manifested to a point around 6 weeks ago i was feeling sick in the stomach and my thoughts were and are what if this keeps going , and the strange thing is they are not barking much but when they do my mind goes into overdrive and i cant get it out of my head , I went and saw a Pshycologist and she said try to practice Mindfullness , It is a struggle , just wondering is anyone else have success with this or any other suggestions would help. I do think that reading and hearing other persons struggles does help because we all think that i am alone and know one underastands what i am going through, thanks everyone

Greg!

[Radiorat]

Thanks for the join. In checking the forums for a place to start after joining this group, saw this heading and thought of the three initials Insaw online when the pandemic started. CWC.

Control what you Can.

Cope with what you Can Not.

I copped a serious noise issue from a young guy next door who repairs V8 cars and over the years yes years, we have suffered this intrusion anytime between 900am and 1100 pm.

Various vehicles including a big Tonka Toy with a chev V8 and the latest a holden v8 that is so loud it rattles the windows when it starts.

We have complained to local police and local state member re the noise, nothing happened.

I am a radio guy and measured the sound once at a staggering level +130 dBA or in the start of hearing damage range.

To even tell this story annoys me and causes anxiety but I will throw it out there as my starting post because if you folks have the time to talk about noise maybe I can get some suggestions.

Did you discover that the EPA whilst fighting noise do little to control it?

Did you find local police and council dont seem to care?

How frustrated are you?

I cope by waiting for the noise drops as he drives away in this blatant illegal unroadworthy noise bucket and not one other person complains!

As they say it SUX!

[Sha51]

Hi, I know how you feel because I suffer from noise anxiety as well. I cannot relax in my own house because my neighbours are too noisy, playing loud music etc etc. we tried to close our windows/doors but we still could hear the music . when I go out and when it's time to go back home, I'm worried that the neighbours will start up again playing loud music etc etc
I did all I could reporting noise complaints to the police but my neighbours just don't care and also I wrote to the real estate about the neighbour and can't see any improvements. I'm constantly worried what will happen next and how can I live with all this noise. This is all making me depressed!

[RainbowBird]

I can also relate to this so much. I am incredibly intolerant of tv noise, deep bass, and muffled voices through walls. I wasn’t always like this - when I was a kid I remember tv noise was comforting, but somewhere in my teen years it became unbearable - the rage I would feel when my brother was allowed to make noise and listen to loud music and movies in our small house and my parents would never say anything, I remember to this day. I often think the root of my hate of it comes from this, but I have never been able to get over it. This has made apartment living so hard in Sydney. Almost every place I’ve lived in has had some level of horrid noise, and at 37, am so close to moving in to a new place again, but am terrified of the noise coming in through the floor above. I feel like I base my decisions on my anxiety and worry, which makes it so hard to work out how I really feel about things because my anxiety and worry made everything else. I rely too much on other people’s opinions, again because extreme anxiety clouds my own opinions. I get obsessive about listening for my neighbors noise, and because my hearing is so sensitive, I can detect frequencies such as those made by bass speakers even at super low volume. I hate being this way. I am always in fight or flight mode. I have noise canceling headphones and wear earplugs to bed ( I’m single but also can’t stand snoring- it’s almost painful). I am considering buying a second pair of Bose headphones and hooking up wireless headphones to my TV set when I move. This can’t be normal to be doing this. I hate having difficult conversations with my neighbours fo turn down their tv’s - I wish portable speakers were never allowed in rental apartments. I wish I could have therapy to help me overcome this, but part of me wanting to move is so I can save more money for my own home. I can’t afford therapy. I feel like such a loser too - many people my age are settled and buying a house and I am stuck here unable to decide to move or not because of my noise anxiety- single, still studying for a uni degree, stuck at a job that is killing my career with little support.

any advice I would appreciate.

[Sophie_M]

Dear RainbowBird,

We’re so grateful to have you reach out to our community this morning and are so sorry to hear everything you have going on at the moment. Times like this can definitely get overwhelming . We hope that you find our forums to be a safe and supportive space to talk through your thoughts and feelings. Our community is here for you. 

We hope you know that there is always help available to you, whether it's from our professional mental health counsellors Beyond Blue (available 24/7/365 on 1300 22 4636) or Mensline Australia (available 24/7/365 on 1300 78 99 78). Keep checking back in with us whenever you feel up to it. 
 

[RainbowBird]

Thanks Sophie, this is helpful. I know I should reach out - I’ve had two anxiety attacks thinking about moving since yesterday- I’m getting almost obsessive about this one aspect and it’s clouding all the other good things about making a move. I’m also anxious about leaving a place I love, I’m attached to where I am. It’s really stressful.

[BeADodo]

I've had some weird noise anxiety lately too. It started with my partners mild snoring over winter, but lately has turned into any noise. I feel like I can't go on a holiday with him ever again because I won't be able to sleep. It started when I didn't get to sleep til 5am one night when we were on holiday because of his snoring, which he won't do anything about.

I can't sleep with the window open either because of crickets, trains, cars, get frustrated when I hear bass'y music playing, or people walking in the unit above.

I can't even sleep with his normal breathing noise now, it makes my body break out in a cold sweat and then heat up. We've been sleeping apart for a while and its been great for me, but not for him. I feel this is because he's always on top of me whenever we're out in the living area, always getting in my personal space, always making lots of random noises... so my body tries to get some of its own space in bed and it can't. I can hear his breathing through whitenoise/earplugs/noise cancelling headphones... my ears just tune in to it.

For the last 10 years I've been falling asleep to the noise of my favorite TV show every night due to several months of insomnia I had 10 years ago. I think this has also caused issues, as my ears are trained now to 'listen' for noises in the dark. I really need to stop, but find it hard to stop my mind racing to fall asleep otherwise. I tried using smiling mind app for a few weeks and it worked amazingly, fell asleep within a few minutes, but then I felt like I was missing something... not seeing my favorite show. I actually think the smiling mind app has helped make the things not elicit a rage emotion to the noises, which is a good step.

I do feel like I am bound to fall asleep listening to something forever now though.

[cake my day]

Hi sha,

Im glad i'm not the only one that thinks like this. I always wanted to enjoy my day and the house but it isnt always easy with people like this living next door. I get those sickening stomach pains from anxiety and horrible quick breathing from the thought of going home. Which is sad cause we can't enjoy the home and do things we like in peace but instead in fear and anxiety 😞 In terms of coping i don't think i even have any. Maybe for me i do things i enjoy like reading books and manga, watching movie and listening to music in my room.

People are just inconsiderate. the things that upset me the most is that i there is no control of the situation and we are forced to accept it while the perps live free

[Designguy]

Hi PeggySue92, I am sorry to hear about your noise anxiety, it sounds really horrible!

Until I saw this post (and the 28 or so replies) I had no idea that Noise Anxiety was a thing, and now I've read through them all I've realised that I must suffer from it too. I'm glad to have found it and discovered that I'm not the only one.

Dogs barking to a certain extent I can handle - unless it goes on all night of course! - The most triggering noises for me are those really annoying bassy stereos that inconsiderate neighbours and car drivers sometimes play, and basketballs being bounced on concrete, it drives me crazy, I'm a 43-year-old bloke, but on hearing these bass noises my heart starts beating fast, and if it's a nice day I feel I have to get out of the house and do a walk to get away from the noise and take my mind off it.

I've found that on days when the weather is not good or if I'm working from home, I'll put on noise-cancelling headphones, they are an absolute godsend, but there are only so many hours that I can do that for, thankfully my partner is partly deaf from working in the aviation industry, so in the evening we will have the TV up loud (but not so loud that you can hear it outside of course) to block out the neighbours boomy bass stereos or loud car engines. Strangely I'm not affected by these sorts of noises in the CBD where I work, it's only at home where I get this type of anxiety.

I grew up in New Zealand and guess what sort of noise you hear before a big earthquake? you guessed it, BASS sound, in thinking about it this is probably the root cause of my Noise Anxiety. I like the suggestions some of the posters have put here, such as desensitization therapy, I think I am going to give that a go.

I built my house about 3 years ago, and originally I had the only house in the street, as more neighbours have moved in and started playing bassy stereos I've gone around and had a friendly conversation with them to please keep the music on but just turn the bass down or off - one particular house was a whole street away and I could hear the bass in my living room! When I knocked on their door and told them their bass was so loud I could hear it a street away, they had no idea and were really embarrassed about it, being friendly helps sometimes.

One neighbour had a barking dog, my partner and I got so fed up with it that we filled in a noise diary provided by council. Eventually, it stopped the noise thankfully.

I wish you all the best.

[JacintaMarie]

Hi

II have the same but with me, it's the sound of the mouse clicking at work, of all the sounds to get irritated at, why this! There is nothing I can about it, the office is quiet, which makes it worse, I'm trying not to let it get to me & try to listen more to it, so that I get used to it & force myself to like it