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Overwhelmed in noisy situations

Posted , 3 users are following.

peejay1977
peejay1977

Hi all, I feel slightly ridiculous mentioning this but it's beginning to bother me. Just to set the scene, I am a 41yo man who is in reasonable health. I don't smoke and I only drink socially. I do stammer although I'm not sure that's relevant haha.

So, I wanted to see what people thought I'd able something that's always been the case but I seem to be more aware of it lately. From a hearing perspective I have no actual hearing issues, per se, although I've not had a hearing test in a while I have no issues with regards to being able to hear noises, I can hear a pin drop in fact so I have no reason to suspect my hearing is a problem as such.

What I am becoming increasingly frustrated with is my ability to focus on noises. For instance, I could be stood in Sainsburys with my wife, she could be stood 3 feet away from me and talking to me and I can barely make out whats she's saying. I can hear people's conversations who are 10 feet away and further, I can hear the tills beeping, things crashing around etc but yet I can't focus on what's shes saying.

Recently we went out for a meal with some friends and I could hear a couple arguing on a table several tables away and noone else picked up on it except me and they all joked I must have bionic hearing to have noticed. But in reality I was struggling to keep focused on the conversation at our table and instead could hear everything else.

We then went to a gin bar locally and it turned out they had a karaoke night on and I spent most of the 2 hours we were in there sitting there just staring around because I couldn't focus on the group conversation. It got to the point that the music and all the other noises going on made me want to put my hands over my ears and just walk out.

I've encountered this a few times when out shopping in a busy shop if it's loud I get all hot and sweaty and have the urge to leave really badly.

I've been called socially awkward all my life but these things have always been there, even when I was in my late teens going clubbing I would generally just sit there and zone out of what my friends were doing.

My GP is ridiculously difficult to get to see, like it can be 3 weeks before you can get an appointment so I thought I'd see what people think?

Thanks

Paul.

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • linda83225
    linda83225 peejay1977

    Posted

    First of all I would do a hearing test on line. ACTION FOR HEARING LOSS. It's better if you can use headphones but not essential. They provide NHS hearing aids on behalf of the NHS in my area but in any case they will tell you immediately if you would benefit from hearing aids and if you do you can print out the results to take to your GP who will refer you to an NHS audiologist who will then check your hearing again. Hearing aids are not foolproof but you may find they help. Apparently one's hearing starts to go at age 21 or so. A lot of people hate the idea of hearing aids but if they help why on earth not improve your quality of life. I hate noisy crowded situations so you are not alone. It may be you are an anxious person so it would be worth making that GP appointment, take your hearing test result if appropriate. Or try TIME TO TALK (look up online and fill in form - they will ring you) an NHS self referral service who might offer CBT or suggest strategies to help you feel more comfortable. I have done both of the above, I am older than you so perhaps not so self conscious about hearing aids which any case are very unobtrusive theses days, and I am awaiting strategies FROM TIME TO TALK.Good luck.

    • peejay1977
      peejay1977 linda83225

      Posted

      Thanks Linda,

      I've done all the hearing tests online and apparently I have "good hearing". I don't have a problem hearing things, in fact at times I wish I could hear less, I am a very light sleeper and I can hear noises my wife can't.

      For instance we were laid in bed a few years ago and I could hear a high pitched hissing noise. Neither her or her 19yo son could hear the noise and yet I was able to figure out that it was the alarm clock as we disconnected it and the electrical hiss went away.

      I hear those sorts of noises all the time and it's very frustrating when I'm trying to focus on something and all I'm able to "hear" is other noises in the background which to me seem louder.

       

  • Jubejube1
    Jubejube1 peejay1977

    Posted

    hi there peejay

    it doesnt sound ridiculous and i agree you should get a hearing test done i never had a hearing test done as a child and had similar things going on which caused me embarrassment as a young child and teenager into young adulthood in noisy situations i couldnt make out anything at all really and like you say it was almost deafening or unbearable . say in class i dreaded being asked a question as very often i couldnt make out exactly what was being said endless copying up of notes required as couldnt keep up with normal speech and suppose put it down to the fact i took longer to take it in and too slow writing i questioned it with my gp several times as id gone completely deaf with a bad bout of glandular fever and also had spells of unexplainable almost total deafness. this was as a young adult but my gp, after a brief inspection each time, said all looked healthy. ive also had what i now know as tinnitus all my life but as a child thought it normal as never questioned it about 8 years ago i went under duress for a hearing test as my partner had always had concerns as he said i often ignored him which wasnt the case. i was quite shocked to find id got moderately severe hearing loss and issued with 2 aids. i didnt think i needed but accepted i didnt use them and eventually lost them in a house move as i thought i could hear cos i thought some

    one who was deaf wouldnt be able to. anyway i realised maybe there could be an issue as i really struggled watching tv and often couldnt make a single word during a film at the cinema n also was becoming more aware and it sometimes prevented me from socialising. again under duress i went in may this year for a test with nhs which was free as my fella had seen tests being offered at my surgery and made the appointment the audiograph was no different to the first but lifelong mysteries were solved as the really good audiologist said my hearing was worse in mid frequencies and more than likely had been so since birth as didnt suggest noise induced hearing loss. plus the fact id had tinnitus from as far as remember ive got by all my life and realise now i can hear with the new free aids and that id kinda had my own language that had got me by. sorry long winded but i would have just carried on had it not been fir my partner and the benefits far outweigh the initial embaressment about aids and can now watch tv without getting a headache good luck and hope your problem gets sorted.

    kind regards

    julia

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