Certain sounds bother my ears (and there is a name for this condition)





Many sounds bother  (and even hurt) my ears. 

 That being the case I never watch T.V.  for fear of the shrieking and shouting in the commercials;  I rarely listen to classical music in my home or on the car radio ***; and when I listen to public radio in my car I am for ever turning the noise off  -  it bothers my ears.

 I am more than bothered by the noise of lawn mowers, grass trimmers and edgers, and especially leaf blowers.

 My local friends know that I cringe at the sounds of noisy restaurants; loud conversations;  souped up cars and  motor bikes;  and modified Dodge Ram, Ford F series, and G.M. super trucks.

 More than my discomfort at loud public sounds, I am deeply bothered and made very uncomfortable by high musical notes and sounds.  I'd made a guess that any notes higher than the E above top C were bothersome.   I tested this with any on line key board and my guess was more or less accurate.

 So Baroque era  music  *** is problematic with its soaring and high trumpet, violin and flute sounds.

 Cellos, Bassoons and French Horns work well for me!

 In the days when I attended Church regularly I would often sit with my dear (and now departed) Anno and Adrian Swain.  They sat very near the choir gallery in our almost "in the round" building.

 Once a month the Church  hand bell choir would play.  When I saw that the hand bell  choir was "on", I'd have to forsake Adrian and Anno and sit as far away from the bells as was possible. 

 I knew that the sound of hand bells bothered my ears greatly, but I did not know why.

 Now I know that this aversions to certain sounds, and a somewhat painful reaction  is not a foible of my mind, it is a genuine physical condition called Hyperacusis.  See this:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperacusis

 There was  story in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune  (26th July 2019) about hyperacusis.  The story helped my to understand that hyperacusis is real  - though thankfully in my case it is nowhere near as acute as that of the woman in the story.

 Here is a link to the article:

 https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20190726/sarasota-doctor-develops-treatment-for-hyperacusis










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