Re: Re: Gum cracking (again)

[Guest guest]

Pam,

Funny, I have been a court reporter for 25 years. Scoping would be a job similar to medical transcription. You would still listen to audio of people speaking and that might annoy you the same. Why don't you become a proofreader? There would be no audio, only reading and finding mistakes in transcripts. You wouldn't need much training to do that either, especially if you have strong spelling/punctuation skills already from medical transcription.

How ironic that I'm in a field where I listen to people speak all day, yet their habits really don't bother me. The only sounds that bother me come from the people I'm related to, my husband, kids, mom, etc. I think it might be because at work, I know my day will come to and end and I am able to go home and get away from the sounds, so they don't get to me. When my family is irritating me the most is when I feel trapped in a car or in the same room with them. The worst is when I've asked them to stop making whatever noise is bothering me, and they continue to do it. I feel disrespected and as if they are doing it on purpose to annoy me.

To: Soundsensitivity Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 1:00 AMSubject: Re: Re: Gum cracking (again)

Gegleicher, thanks for your comments. 4S has caused me a moderate amount of trouble. There are things I might have done but for this problem. I might consider going back to school, but perhaps taking online courses as much as possible. That'd at least get me away from the majority of gum chewers out there in classrooms.With medical transcription, yes, there are gum chewers, but usually it doesn't go on all night, as it could when I worked in other people's offices and the gum chewers chewed all during their shifts. In the past, I did quit at least one office job where I was surrounded by gum chewers and they were oblivious to me.I am considering eventually changing to an occupation where I could possibly be totally isolated from gum chewers and never have to deal with them again... it's called "scoping," and it means that I would take a court reporter's raw machine input and edit it. It would build on skills I already

have, and would require me to take a proprietary class to learn reading the machine language and use of the special software. It's got to go on the back burner for now, because we want to move out of California first.If my parents had not split up when I was about 14, I might have ended up acting out more. Once my parents stopped trying to get back together (such fun to transfer back and forth between schools every year--NOT), my life actually became more peaceful. My mom and I lived with an aunt and uncle, and I don't remember them being gum chewers, although they were kind of rude and crude in other ways. As it was, my mom eventually married again to a man I didn't care for, and I left home not many months after their wedding (I was 19).I completely identify with wanting to punch out gum chewers, especially the ones who get really gross about it. I'm not as sensitive about other sounds as you are. However, I

have had boyfriends who snored pretty loudly (I do too, apparently). I don't like lip-smacking or gum chewing on TV or in movies either.I try not to think of it as "ruining" my life, but there are definitely things I would have done (or done more of) but for 4S. I try to think of it as modifying my activities for my own comfort.I generally like music... well, MY kinds of music. There are forms of music which I cannot stand (rap, for one).I'm 57 now, going on 58, and I'm just to the point where I am very tired of and pissed about limiting myself because of other people's habits. I'm not good at confronting people, but I'm just tired of putting up with things too. Also, as I get older, I get less freaked out by what other people might think of me. I don't like public transportation of any kind. My last remaining paternal uncle wants me to visit before he passes on, and I am dreading flying back to the east coast

because of the gum chewers (and the TSA pat-downs and irradiation).Yes, it can be an eye-opener to realize there are other people who dislike the same things I do. I know that I do some things which irritate other people... I chew my fingernails and I sometimes crunch ice. But if someone asks me to quit, I will usually honor their request. Well, I wish you all the best. This is not an easy thing to deal with. Pam Maltzman>> Pam, I think I love you. I loved your post about the evil gum chewers in your life. I love your passion and I feel your pain. I have suffered with 4S since childhood but I just found out that I am not alone this past weekend. I joined this group 2 days ago and this

is my first comment on these boards.> > 4S has ruined my life but it is comforting to know that I am not alone. I too can't stand gum chewers. > > Until the other night, I never knew of another person who: > was terrified of eating with his family. > > had eaten his meals apart from his family since the age of 7 because the sight and/or sounds of his sibling chewing tormented him. > > became so enraged at the sight and sound of someone chewing gum that he felt like punching them out. > > could not stand the sight a person with his finger near his lip so much that he wouldn't consider going to college because of it. > > slept in a cold damp basement rather than suffer the torment of listening to his brother's barely audible breaths as he slept. > > drove a motorcycle from NY to CA during the dead of winter to get away from the sound of his father's

footsteps on the linoleum floor above his room. > > quit his job and lost his financial security because the torment of hearing music in the workshop was too much for him to bear. > traveled the USA for a year, alone, from motel to motel, in search of a place that he could stand. > > turned off the TV when a personality smacked his lips, chewed gum or spoke with a speech impediment. > > muted the TV when there was a rhythmic drumbeat in the background music of a TV show or commercial. > > waited for traffic lights 100 feet behind the intersection for fear that a loud car or motorcycle would pull up next to him. > > can't sleep in a nearly silent room unless he has earbuds in his ears to blast static-noises to drown out ambient sounds. > > ran a fan in his room year-round to help drown out soft sounds.> stayed in his room nearly all day and all night in

order to avoid offensive sights and sounds. > > I never knew of another person who did any of the above while keeping his rage and constant torment bottled up inside because he had no rational explanation for his hatred, rage and intolerance toward those who had innocently caused him to suffer by chewing gum, breathing heavy, smacking their lips, playing music, etc. That is, until the other night. >