Does anyone know the medical reason why noise bothers some of us so much

[MaryB]

Hi All,

Hope everyone is having some sunshine.

My question is "Does anyone know the medical reason why noise bothers some of us so much?" I am so cringing with it again and I was wondering if it is that the lack of attention span it startles up and distracts us ( and I am very highly distracted) that it bothers us or is it more? I have been doing more home chores but Geeezzz the sound of dishes and pots and pans drives me insane. I cringe just as much as when my husband is putting dishes away. Or barking, and sounds in general have been really bothersome since SAH but do not medically why?

I should say with the trigeminal neuralgia on both sides my ears often feel like I have ear aches which is the new normal but no one is bothered by the noise like from SAH that many of us suffer. What is that from....some wise one answer that for me. Good question for neurologist or neuropsychologist but do not have appointments coming up.

Thanks, maryb

Edited February 2, 2014 by Tina

[DawnS]

Hi Mary,

I don't know the medical reason for this...but when I was at the docs last week about my headaches he was testing my reflexes. He seemed satisfied to see that they were normal and explained that after sah, the body is in a state of high alert and reflexes are way out of kilter. I wonder if this could be applied to the senses too? A few of us experienced taste distorsions and changes in eye sight. Perhaps ultra-sonic hearing is part of it?

While my hearing is usually much less sensitive than it used to be, if I'm fatigued it will be like it was the early days. When I'm tired, I can't stand the heater on in the car even on the lowest setting as the fan is so loud and don't use my indicators until the last minute as I can't stand the ticking.

It would be good to know the real reason!

[MaryB]

Same here Dawn. Now with the Trigeminal Neuralgia I seem to have this awful ear ache deep in my ears and noise has hit an all time annoying level. Noise sensitivity is not part of TN but maybe because I am having a episode it makes noise worse. I am back to the early stages with noise almost. Or maybe it makes them even more sensitive. Hum??

Thanks Dawn.

Maryb

[Winb143]

Mary,

I tried to look it up on internet but then I lost track.

I find the noise is worse when I am bored and stuck indoors.

Hope you get or find help xxxx

Love

Win xxxx

[Louise]

I cant shed any light on it either, few years ago I went to a 30th birthday party NIGHTMARE, months later I went to a 50th birthday party NIGHTMARE, so an invite to a 21st party filled me with dread had to go too, but to my delight although loud it wasn't overly I managed to stay for the whole evening it really just depends I think....

Sorry not much help but thought I'd just say & for me earplugs are a no-no so no help there.

[Karen]

I've personally improved with noise over a large time period post SAH. I can only presume from a personal viewpoint that loud noise and other stimulus on the brain is just too much when the brain is still trying to recover and repair. I also think that I would throw in a disruption of concentration with it....as in; I find that I'm easily disrupted and can't deal with the noise at the same time and it all can become a bit much, so I need to manage it.

I also had an exaggerated startle reflex post SAH, so anything loud or visual in some cases would start off the adrenaline and I would experience a flight or fight response and felt the need to flee from it. xx

[Super Mario]

10 years today down the line and I still can't stand much noise. I do admit that over the years tolerance has improved a little. I can't stand a radio playing, noise of being in a crowded room and I can't watch TV and cope with the volume. It all just confuses me.

I think that some senses have a heightened sense of awareness, if that makes sense.

[Alison Q]

So glad that I've read this thread and everyone is suffering like this too! I think Penny and Karen practically described everything for me already

One of the worst things for me in my family is when more than one person is talking to me. My brain cannot deal with more than one thing so means I cannot answer any of you. Same for when several friends and family arrive and all talking at the same time - I don't hear and understand any of it!

As for the TV, if that is on at any time when someone speaks I can't deal with it, the TV can only be on quietly and when I focus on watching it alone. I feel really angry with the TV intruding into my head! The hall clock is irritating too!

Definitely this heightened sense of awareness is true and causes me confusion. Would love to know if there is a medical reason.

[Daffodil]

I think it's down to a reduced ability to process the noise in the same way, we don't have the same efficiency we did. It's just a theory, I have nothing to back it up.

The neurophyschologists I saw in the summer talked about how the processing speed of brains, our cognitive and executive processing may be slowed by a bleed so I figure the ability to filter out noise whilst concentrating or doing something else is probably reduced in similar way. If you think about it filtering background noise is a multi task we used to just do unconsciously but I don't know about you but I no longer multi task as find that it is the quickest way to drain my battery life, maybe our brains can only filter so much.

Like Karen I definitely have a startle reaction to sudden noise , even if I get woken up by a dog barking then my adrenalin response kicks in, I'm learning to cope with that and settle myself a little more. I also have been gradually bringing noise back in, listening to the radio and of course having young kids has helped desensitise some of my initial noise aversion:lol: