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Feeling assaulted by sounds

100skerls

100skerls

Just another skerl
V.I.P Member
I hate lawn mowers so much and every time I hear them I am immediately angry and very frustrated and the feeling lingers about an hour after they stop and they are usually within earshot for 45 minutes to two hours. My feeling towards lawn mowers is that they won’t leave me alone because the sound is so awful and I feel almost attacked in my home by the terrible sound and the only option of escape is to leave my house and go outside where it is even louder awkwardly walk past the lawn guys and then drive somewhere else where I will be already upset upon arrival due to the mowers. This has been a problem for me ever since I can remember. Let me know if you have similar experiences or found a way to lessen the problem.
 
Earplugs are your friend. They won't completely stop the noise, of course, but even 10-20 db reduction can take the edge off a lot of loud and irritating things and make them more tolerable. I get cheap plugs at the drug store and carry a few in my pocket wherever I go.

The lingering anger and frustration is more psychological, and you'll have to learn how to de-escalate your response. When you hear the mowers, remember it's not personal and not meant as an attack (most people don't notice noise the way we do). This will prevent you from getting as upset. Train yourself to just put in earplugs, relocate, and then "stand down". Having strong reaction to painful and unpleasant stimuli is normal, but you can train yourself to react less and cope more effectively. Easier said than done, I know.
 
Hello Skerls,

I have a similar issue with certain sounds, for the sake of clarity I will use the one most similar to your issue.
I got a intense hatred of the sounds of leafblowers, seeing as we life close to a forest this gets very troublesome in the autumn.(even tough its my favourite season.) I have not found a way to stop my hatred for the sound of leaf blowers but I have been able to deal with it.
voluntary exposure helps me to a certain extent, avoiding the sound completely does not strike me as a good solution but in certain situations I use headphones.
Slowly I have been able to tolerate it for certain amount of time without feeling to bad, I might even try using it in the upcoming autumn.

Hope this helps!
 
Earplugs
Chewing ice
Self-hypnosis
Limited exposure
Stress management
Meditation videos on YouTube
Hope for the best, but expect the worst.
 
I have similar problems with noise, and my anger and feeling of attack is one of the hardest things to deal with. I know this isn't a quick fix 'solution' but an attitude of accepting that you feel bad, but that feeling WILL pass, has helped me a bit. I still hate it when noises I hate are happening, but I try to remember that they're going to pass and that I won't always feel this bad.

Earplugs and headphones are also good tools to have handy if it really gets too much. Also going to different areas of your house to find where the noise is less intense.
 
The only solution that works for me is drowning them out with some pleasant sounds on headphones. I've a huge library of ambient sounds that I can play. YouTube has thousands of ambient sound videos too. I find stormy weather, sea noises, woodland sounds and diesel engines both block out most frustrating noises and are very calming too.
Music does the same when I'm in the right mood or my activity allows it.
 
I can't stand the sound of someone pressing their finger vs. a balloon. That and a hammer. Other than that I don't mind sounds.
 
I don't mind lawnmowers because they are constant. Leaf blowers and blenders I really hate. Sounds that pulse, because just when I hear the sound dissipate and get my hopes up that it's gone, it's back for another attack, over and over again.
 
SolarPoweredNightOwl said:
Earplugs are your friend. They won't completely stop the noise, of course, but even 10-20 db reduction can take the edge off a lot of loud and irritating things and make them more tolerable. I get cheap plugs at the drug store and carry a few in my pocket wherever I go.

The lingering anger and frustration is more psychological, and you'll have to learn how to de-escalate your response. When you hear the mowers, remember it's not personal and not meant as an attack (most people don't notice noise the way we do). This will prevent you from getting as upset. Train yourself to just put in earplugs, relocate, and then "stand down". Having strong reaction to painful and unpleasant stimuli is normal, but you can train yourself to react less and cope more effectively. Easier said than done, I know.
Click to expand...


I know that it isn’t an attack but it feels as if it is one because I am so powerless over how the sound makes me feel! It’s something about the particular pitch of a lawn mower I can hear it through anything even miles away. Sometimes if it’s far enough away a feeling of agitation arises before I’m even aware of the sound.
 
Thanks autistamatic come to think of it maybe next time the noise I listen to sometimes to sleep would help.
 
For me it's not a lawnmower, but a neighbour's dog that constantly barks and drives me insane. I deal with it by using a room at the back of the house where it can't be heard so loudly, and then by playing music or if I want silence, earplugs. If something triggers or frustrates me, it's usually best to find a way to avoid the trigger, but this isn't always possible. At least with a lawnmower, you know that it's going to be over soon. It's probably not going to be longer than an hour or so, and you know it won't continue after dark. It's also more likely to happen at the weekend than during the week. So you might be able to predict it to some extent, and arrange to be out or some other distraction when it happens. The dog, on the other hand, is any time of day and night and completely random.
 
Oh yeah. That sounds infuriating progster I’m sorry.

Actually the problem I have in my area is that the lawn mowers seem to mow a ton of properties around me. It went on from 10:30 am to 4/5 pm yesterday. My mom says I should aim to be out of the house on Tuesdays so I think next Tuesday I will try to be out by 9:30. If I can leave before they arrive I can avoid the entire situation. I just have to plan my Tuesdays out so I’m not just searching for things to do.
 
100skerls said:
Oh yeah. That sounds infuriating progster I’m sorry.

Actually the problem I have in my area is that the lawn mowers seem to mow a ton of properties around me. It went on from 10:30 am to 4/5 pm yesterday. My mom says I should aim to be out of the house on Tuesdays so I think next Tuesday I will try to be out by 9:30. If I can leave before they arrive I can avoid the entire situation. I just have to plan my Tuesdays out so I’m not just searching for things to do.
Click to expand...
Why Tuesdays? Is it some sort of tradition where you live that people mow their lawns on Tuesday? Going out on Tuesday sounds like a good plan.
 
SolarPoweredNightOwl said:
The lingering anger and frustration is more psychological, and you'll have to learn how to de-escalate your response. When you hear the mowers, remember it's not personal and not meant as an attack (most people don't notice noise the way we do). This will prevent you from getting as upset.
Click to expand...

Doesn't work that way for me at all; The sound is loud and it hurts, and there is no logical thought process that is able to change that. My nervous system reacts to the pain regardless of what I think about it or any cognitive attempts to soothe myself.

I agree with you about the earplugs, though. They do help.
 
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