Inspired by a recent thread. This question might be triggering, so be careful. For me, even imagining these sounds is mildly upsetting.
Basically, which noises immediately ruin your day? For me it’s mostly sudden loud sounds, in order of most awful descending:
Tap for sounds
- Unmuffled compression brakes (when trucks or buses stop and go BANG)
- Smoke detector / emergency alarms
- Emergency services sirens
- Balloons popping
- Car horns / honking
- Angle grinders
- People practically smashing plates while violently washing dishes
- Vacuum cleaners or other power tools
- Yelling / screaming
- Alarm clocks
Surprisingly I don’t seem to hate “commonly hated” sounds like: nails on chalkboard, tinnitus, knife on plate, styrofoam rubbing, microphone feedback, babies crying, chewing, snoring, flies, repetitive tapping, dog barking.
Once, I went to a birthday party where the parents let their kid jump on the balloons and pop them one by one on purpose. I had to leave immediately.
If I wear earmuffs, it basically solves the issue. So I’m careful and on the lookout for situations that could make these sounds. I cover my ears with my hands if I don’t have them on me.
People talking over each other. Crying babies. Barking Dogs.
High speed motors… the vacuum cleaner, server fans etc
Any sound can be, if it’s played through in-ear earphones. It can even be made worse when played through low quality/cheap/older generation ones. It’s like getting stabbed in the ear by a screwdriver. It will automatically trigger fight or flight effect and i need to get those out.
I also cannot use in-ear earphones, but because it feels really unnatural. I hate earbuds and earplugs too. Nothing goes in my ear holes 👂 ❌
Yeah, earpuds as well. Though not earplugs, so just playing sound in or too close to the ear canal rather than something in it. Earplugs are just uncomfortable, but I’m wearing those only after night shift so tired enough not to notice it.
Phones that keep ringing.
Stuff being dropped in a quiet room.
Loud vehicle exhausts (this has become more annoying as I’ve started driving an ev.)
Dogs that keep barking for hours.
Chalk on chalkboards and some pencils are horrible. Also high-pitched drills, like dentists’ drills. That one might be linked to trauma.
The sound of people eating or screaming kids. Also loud scooters. And don’t even get me started on people who call on speaker in public…
Loud, erratic noises. Sudden loud laughter. Building noise. (unnecessarily) loud car. People talking at different volumes.
Everything destroys the flow in my head.
Anything really high pitch and loud. Terrible combo for me. So suqeaky breaks are a no go. Also, whenever I get random ringing in my ears, it’s annoying as all bet. But it’s even worse the very rare time it goes on for extended periods of time.
Knocking on doors. Small children screaming. Default, uninterrupted, and lengthy ringtones on a boomers phone as they stare at the screen like a mole seeing the sun for the first time.
When 2 pieces of styrofoam rub on each other. Just imagining it makes me feel unpleasant.
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Tiny pebble caught under the door being dragged over a stone floor. Like chalk on blackboard, just way worse.
People chewing and swallowing.
Construction equipment (both personal and industrial) freaks me out so badly I become a blubbering mess.
Loud vibrations caused by large vehicles is another. The low rumbling of the vehicle, the low bumping bass from the loud music… or grating of metal scraping across cement… nightmare city.
And, when someone raises their voice. Whether out of personal frustration or otherwise. But I suppose anger venting either with or without moving things noisily as well.
Rubber scraping against itself is I think the absolute worst one.
Over the years I’ve started to hate cheap phone chargers less.
High-pitched whines.
Like coil whine on a GPU or sometimes flourecent lighting fixtures. The sound a muted TV makes, etc.
