Guest guest Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Some of us here having found that use of earplugs, can in some ways make our sound sensitivity worse. I do own earplugs but I try to use them only for emergency situations, (I don't have quite the stockpile that you have accumulated. Are you expecting bombs to start falling from the sky, Sky? ;-) Below is something that I copied from some doctor's website about decreased tolerance to sound and using earplugs that may or may not be helpful to you. I'm not giving you a link, because this website still uses frames so it's difficult to to link to exactly the page I want. (they really need to upgrade their interface there)"Many people seek silence as a way to escape from the pressures of everyday life. However complete silence is not found in nature, and should be considered 'unnatural'. Consider living in a nest or animal burrow! In the relative silence of houses with doubled-glazed windows, often hermetically sealed from the outside world, the absence of sound stimulation leads to an increase in auditory gain (amplification) in the subconscious auditory pathways. The brain is always looking the best way it can for auditory signals. This process is enhanced by silence which is considered to be one of the signs of possible predator activity . The auditory filters 'open' in an attempt to monitor the external sound environment. External sounds may then increase dramatically in their perceived intensity and intrusiveness. Some people take to wearing ear plugs, to avoid sounds becoming intrusive, and this simply worsens the sensitivity. When sound sensitivity develops there is a great temptation to plug the ear to exclude unwelcome sounds. This is actually making things worse, as it encourages further increase in the amplification of sounds on their way to the auditory (hearing) cortex. When these sounds are heard in the absence of plugs, their perceived loudness is greatly increased."This is why Darlene often speaks of filling her house with background noise (sound enrichment) and I like to keep a tabletop sound machine or fan going inside instead of constantly wearing earplugs. Just something to consider.Let me just add that I personally do not consider that using my ipod for sound enrichment the same as using earplugs, because most of the time I am not using sound isolating earplugs, therefore can still hear my external environment quite well. There are those who have a differing view on how to treat this yet to be officially defined condition, everyone is of course entitled to their own opinion in this country, (I hope anyway).To: Soundsensitivity Sent: Thu, January 20, 2011 10:16:03 PMSubject: Ear Plugs Has anyone found better earplugs on the planet than the ones I've been using from Germany (called "Ohropax"?? If so, I would LOVE to hear about them~~I buy them by the case and have them in every room and wherever I go. I highly recommend using earplugs to control what comes into that important space between our ears. I buy them by the case. If you know of a better earplug, let me know! I've been using this brand at least 30 years~~Perhaps someone invented better ones since? (I've also tried that french brand in the white box with the Egyptian motif~~did NOT like those.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thanks for posting that tidbit from a doctor... he/she explains it really well. Silence does feel unnatural to me. I encounter it often out here in the country. Its eerie to me to be outside and hear absolutely nothing. No cars, trains, neighbors, airplanes,etc.. I can handle being without those sounds but whats weird to me is not hearing anything else in nature. No birds, wind, cows (I live on a farm), etc... Deathly silent. It often happens when severe weather (tornadoes) are on the horizon. That's when I literally can feel my brain 'searching' for sound. I don't like it. That is why I have all that stuff in my house generating sound, especially at night. Believe it or not, its too quiet for me to sleep! LOL. I too keep a pair of earplugs for emergency reasons only. Plus I used them when I was first working on going to the movie theater again to help block out crunching. I could take them out periodically through the movie and give exposing myself to the sounds a try, yet be able to put them back if I needed to. But I never use them now at the movies, and rarely at home. I don't think iPods are the same as earplugs either (for me anyway). I keep mine low in volume enough to still hear external sounds. Otherwise, I'm defeating the purpose of CBT. > > Some of us here having found that use of earplugs, can in some ways make our > sound sensitivity worse. I do own earplugs but I try to use them only for > emergency situations, (I don't have quite the stockpile that you have > accumulated. Are you expecting bombs to start falling from the sky, Sky? ;-) > > > Below is something that I copied from some doctor's website about decreased > tolerance to sound and using earplugs that may or may not be helpful to you. I'm > not giving you a link, because this website still uses frames so it's difficult > to to link to exactly the page I want. (they really need to upgrade their > interface there) > > > " Many people seek silence as a way to escape from the pressures of everyday > life. However complete silence is not found in nature, and should be considered > 'unnatural'. Consider living in a nest or animal burrow! In the relative silence > of houses with doubled-glazed windows, often hermetically sealed from the > outside world, the absence of sound stimulation leads to an increase in auditory > gain (amplification) in the subconscious auditory pathways. The brain is always > looking the best way it can for auditory signals. This process is enhanced by > silence which is considered to be one of the signs of possible predator activity > . The auditory filters 'open' in an attempt to monitor the external sound > environment. External sounds may then increase dramatically in their perceived > intensity and intrusiveness. > > > Some people take to wearing ear plugs, to avoid sounds becoming intrusive, and > this simply worsens the sensitivity. When sound sensitivity develops there is a > great temptation to plug the ear to exclude unwelcome sounds. This is actually > making things worse, as it encourages further increase in the amplification of > sounds on their way to the auditory (hearing) cortex. When these sounds are > heard in the absence of plugs, their perceived loudness is greatly increased. " > > This is why Darlene often speaks of filling her house with background noise > (sound enrichment) and I like to keep a tabletop sound machine or fan going > inside instead of constantly wearing earplugs. > > > Just something to consider. > > Let me just add that I personally do not consider that using my ipod for sound > enrichment the same as using earplugs, because most of the time I am not using > sound isolating earplugs, therefore can still hear my external environment quite > well. There are those who have a differing view on how to treat this yet to be > officially defined condition, everyone is of course entitled to their own > opinion in this country, (I hope anyway). > > > > ________________________________ > > To: Soundsensitivity > Sent: Thu, January 20, 2011 10:16:03 PM > Subject: Ear Plugs > > > Has anyone found better earplugs on the planet than the ones I've been using > from Germany (called " Ohropax " ?? If so, I would LOVE to hear about them~~I buy > them by the case and have them in every room and wherever I go. I highly > recommend using earplugs to control what comes into that important space between > our ears. I buy them by the case. If you know of a better earplug, let me > know! I've been using this brand at least 30 years~~Perhaps someone invented > better ones since? (I've also tried that french brand in the white box with the > Egyptian motif~~did NOT like those.) > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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