Past trauma related to sound sensitivity?????

[Guest guest]

First let me say that I am so glad I found this group. When I first

read a lot of the posts, I sat at my desk sobbing. I was so relieved

to know that I'm not a freak of nature, I'm not mentally ill, and

that there are others who have the EXACT same problems as me. I am

the same as many of you in that " mouth sounds " destroy me. They

either send me into a panic, a rage, or running from the room after

having insulted someone who doesn't even know what they are doing is

hurting me. I am particularly effected by popping, clicking sounds;

gum chewing-popping-cracking-smacking, nail clipping, nail flicking,

nail biting, etc. Also, improper whistling sends me through the roof.

I can't eat in most asian restaurants because, culturally, it's

normal to eat, slurp, and smack your food with your face 2 inches

from the plate. I can't go to movies because of the gum popping and

the popcorn crunching. I carry ear plugs with me every where I go and

just hope that I can hear through them when I am in church or

somewhere else like that. I often give people dirty looks without

realizing it when they are doing it, which has on at least 3

occassions promted someone to tell me that they were going to kick my

ass. I find that when I am already stressed, I much more easily snap

into rage when I hear these sounds and I might even curse someone out

or tell a complete stranger that they are vulgar and disgusting right

to their face. This is of course the height of rage for me, and

doesn't happen that often. In my bible study there is a woman who

cracks her gum, LOUD, continuously about 10 seconds apart for an hour

and 15 mintues. Every time I walk in the room, the first thing I

think is please God don't let her have gum today. I'd say 4 out of 10

times she doesn't, but the rest of the time I am imagining ways that

I can hurt her, and I'm a christian!!!!! Anyway, you get the idea. I

live in a prison. My husband is at his wits end. I live in misery and

this disorder is ruining my life.

My question to the group is this... how many of you believe that this

syndrome is somehow related to a traumatic even in your life?

I remember these sounds effecting me this way since I was in the 3rd

grade, about 8 or 9 years old. I was also molested by my grandfather

as a very young girl, maybe 3-5 years old, it's not clear to me. He

was a disgusting man who ate like a pig and cleaned his dentures at

the table by licking them, which would make any normal person vomit.

I can ONLY imagine that there has to be some tie to this trauma to

the " mouth sounds " irritation.

All I know is that thank the good Lord for Mack's silicone earplugs

or I probably would be in a mental institution by now.

Thanks for being such a special group, I'm glad I found you.

Hugs,

Yvie