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Welcome to the Sensitivity to sound Forum

Does anyone else have a sensitivity to sound that your family doesn’t seem to understand no matter how much you tell them?

absolutely. my family is by far the loudest speaking/yelling family I know, all of my friends agree. It is unbearable, and they still are inconsiderate when I have one..which is daily, so I understand them not putting their lives on hold. But my siblings will scream and blast music, my dad will yell… it is unbearable most times.. I got a industrial strength fan… which is very strong, very loud.. so I have SOME white noise to block out the sound.. but it still isn’t enough. I feel your pain.

My husband has been in construction 30 years. He now owns his own construction company. Imagine how his ears/hearing have been damaged by all that noise. Well, when he gets home from work he is talking VERY LOUD! The transition from work-world to home-world he does not make well. I’m still trying after all these years to find a way to tell him to shhhh.

- lean away from him to suggest that he’s talking too loud (he hates this one)?
- take my hand and do the “lower” gesture?
- Slowly lower my eyelids & head in discomfort?
- talk a little quieter babe?

I haven’t actually tried this yet..
- inside voice hun?

He doesn’t realize how darn loud he’s talking. Even when i tell him, he says he doesn’t think he’s talking too loud. I can see us still bickering about this years from now like too old folks in our rockers/recliners for sure!

Does anyone know of any phone equipment that’s easier on the ears for migraine sufferers?

I have to spend a lot of time on the phone at work. The longer the conversation goes, the more I can feel the migraine building. Sometimes I can use closed-captioning for webinars, but I’d sure love to know if there were any headsets or other modulators that seemed to be more helpful for migraine sufferers the way incandescent or halogen lighting is better than fluorescents.

Melancut, I would love to know the answer to your question. My son uses GoogleTalk to help with phone messages as the speaking voice is then texted to him in writing. I’m not sure if that would help you specifically though, as it sounds like you are trying to have a conversation and having difficulties. For me, I have found that one ear will be much more sensitive than the other when I’m Migraining, so I use the other ear. Also, most people will mimic when they are on the phone. If I speak very softly, they too usually end up speaking that way as well. It’s not exactly high tech, but might be worth a try until we can find something else that might work. I hope you let us know if you run across anything!!!

My 6 year old son has just been diagnosed with migraines. He always complains about loud noise which everyone else seems to tolerate no problem. For example gym class, riding the bus, hockey arenas, etc. Do you find you are sensitive to sound only during a migraine attack or are you always sensitive to sound? He also seems to block out sounds. For instance, in a noisey classroom he will not acknowledge the teacher calling his name or giving instructions. However in some instances he tolerates loud noise well, espeicially if he’s the one making the noise. Any insight any one can give?

haylee204,
I have EXTREME sensitive to any sound during a migraine, but when I am not having an attack, I stay away from loud noise if at all possible to try to avoid triggering an attack. I’m not sure if this answers any questions in your search for help for your son, I wish I could be more help. I hope you find answers and he doesn’t suffer long. I’m 21 and my mom still does SO much in regards to helping me with my migraines, helping me cope, researching (she’s a part of this website), goes to every migraine doctor appt with me, EVERY hopsital admission (she won’t leave my side she sleeps there) and most ER visits… I know he is very young but having an involved mother has helped tremendously..

To many of you, I suggest headphones. Not earbuds. Good quality headphones with a noise cancelling feature. This will help a great deal. As to what is happening to your son, it sounds like he is learning to selective ‘tun out’ which is very brilliant of him but he will miss important things he needs. I also suggest headphones for him, but in addition to that, teach him meditation. Or send him to classes. It will go a long way in helping him how to be at peace in the midst of chaos.

Regarding then phone, there is a quick fix you do yourself. If you go do any store that buy’s those cheap headphones with the larger earpieces. The have sponge ‘socks’ that cover the actual speaker on the headphone. It is sually put in place with an elastic circle so that you can just take it of and place it on the headset of your phone. It may requrie some adjustment if your phone is not roundish. An alternative, although thinner and not as effective is pantyhose. Or perhaps thicker thights would do better. One of these methods will muffle the sound for you.

Good luck.

I have an extreme sensitivity to sounds during the phase prior to the headache stage, during the headache stage and afterward for a time. I have two very talkative girls who seem to want to ask me a thousand questions at the same time. My husband is very quiet and his voice is lower so it does not bother me. The parakeets the girls have can send me to my knees! I moved them to an separate floor and it did help a great deal. I have to wear industrial strength earplugs found in Home-Depot and Lowe’s type stores. I also wear prescription sunglasses before, during and after a migraine. I have almost passed out from pain when my daughter’s get hollering and bickering. I totally understand their wanting to just be kids, but the extreme sensitivity has really disrupted my life and sadly theirs! I wish research would figure out why we become so light, sound, smell sensitive. I get to almost vomiting from some smell my poor family insists is not there! Sounds are amplified what seems like 100 times louder than normal.

wanitapanza – the way I understand it, crosstalk between nerves is what causes the super sensitivity to light, sound etc. It’s not something we have any control over I’m afraid. As to smelling something that isn’t there, this is a fairly common symptom of Migraine aura. Sometimes people smell things like bacon, or dirt. Other people smell things entirely different. The smells can be overwhelming even though they don’t actually exist. It’s part of the neurological phenomenon of our Migraine attacks.

I got to the point where, when I was with my small kids at the time, I would refer to my heightened senses as my Superpowers. Here is a link to a tongue-in-cheek way of describing them to kids: http://bit.ly/e0PCXp

How old are your girls? Have you tried educating them about your Migraine attacks? Depending on their age, these links might be helpful for you to read:

How can I keep parenting during a Migraine? http://bit.ly/hbwiXZ

How can I talk to my kids about Migraine? http://bit.ly/w4KkPg

What should I put in my kids’ Migraine Survival Bag? http://bit.ly/n7nUIg

You mean when I am smelling things that I cannot find in my own house, or anywhere else, this is part of my migraine aura?

I have never know this. Well bust my buttons! I thought I had all my triggers and auras pretty well cornered, but this is a new one on me. This does not happen to me all the time, but it does happen. I will smell gas leaks and go crazy looking for them, smoke is another one, although I know I have a very sensitive smoke detector I just figure it is coming from outside. Also things like tar that one would use for a roof job. They make me nuts because they are not common smells and I can never find where they are coming from.

Thanks for the post on this. Just goes to show, every day you learn something new about migraine disease!

hangingbyathread – Of course you should always investigate an odd smell, especially something like smoke that could indicate a really serious problem. But, yes it is common for us to smell things that aren’t really there at all!

Thanks again Migraine Beasty