Some Idiots' Annoying Whistling Sent Me Over the Edge Two Weeks Ago. What Do I Do?

[sol auerbach]

it was about 5-6 weeks after my midsummer bout with hyperacusis had cleared up.
i was doing just fine, then some idiot in a public restroom using the stall next to mine
started whistling really loud, slow, and soft (for some reason soft whistling sends me into a rage faster then sharp whistling) and my body just went into a rage like never before.
no, i didnt say or do anything ot the person, but the tension that put in my body felt like is being choked and stabbed in the chest simultaniously.
now, half of the regular life sounds i hear have a very similar sound to that annoying idiots whistling.
right now, the best ive been able to do is listen to music, but i cant do that all the time and even that only helps partially.
oh, and every time i hear someone whistle, i hear it at least twice as loud as i would in the passed and it sends my body into a state of hell.
i have no negative feelings towards people who whistle.
i just want my body to stop being so sensitive to it.
i never really had such a bad sensitivity to peoples whistling till the passed few months (im 31 now).
anyone can help me with this?

 

[sol auerbach]

anybody?

 

[lapidus]

I'm not sure if it's hyperacusis or misophonia you're describing. Are people whistling the only sound that bothers you? Do you get pain/discomfort from regular sounds?

 

[sol auerbach]

well, before i heard this jackass whisteling so loud and annoyingly 2 weeks, i wasnt annoyed by any noises.
every since my body had a really rageful reaction to this assholes whistling, many different regular life sounds now replicate that annoying jackasses whistling. this never happened before two weeks ago when i heard this jackass whistling in the most annoying way immaginable.

ive had smaller issues with whistling noises a few times in the passed, but not nearly as intense as this and not for nearly as long.

 

[DDD]

When you had Hyperacusis did it make your ears and head have this vibration feeling?? Like you can feel the external sound? I know this sounds Weird but this is what I'm experiencing...

if other sounds dont bother you than I dont think its Hyperacusis maybe you had a different reaction (more angier) to it this time and that's why it's longer and more intense? A Perception thing? Idk.. just a guess x

 

[HiThere]

I'm not sure if it's hyperacusis or misophonia you're describing. Are people whistling the only sound that bothers you? Do you get pain/discomfort from regular sounds?

This is the first I've ever heard of "misoponia". Very interesting. Perhaps rather than the double whammy I know I do have, I actually have a trifecta: tinnitus, hyperacusis and..........misophonia.

I have had T all of my life and I have H as well. In regard to my H, I describe sound as plugged in directly to my nervous system with no "filter". I most definitely "feel" sound. Many unpleasant sounds are unpleasant because they feel like shocks to my system.

This "misophonia" is interesting to me: there are certain sounds that really send me. Whistling will do it as well as a voice that one of my children will talk in from time to time, sort of a loud munchkin like voice that just instantly irritates me because I'd liken it to having bees buzzing in my head or something. Repetitive sounds can also really affect me (e.g. tapping, the same word or phrase repeated by someone, etc).

 

[lapidus]

well, before i heard this jackass whisteling so loud and annoyingly 2 weeks, i wasnt annoyed by any noises.
every since my body had a really rageful reaction to this assholes whistling, many different regular life sounds now replicate that annoying jackasses whistling. this never happened before two weeks ago when i heard this jackass whistling in the most annoying way immaginable.

ive had smaller issues with whistling noises a few times in the passed, but not nearly as intense as this and not for nearly as long.

You talk about sounds making you "angry" and and that your body has "rageful reactions" to sounds. To me this sounds like misophonia since you're describing more of a psychological response than a physical (discomfort/pain). Have you done an LDL test for hyperacusis? I mean, if you don't percieve sounds as too loud/painful/causing physical discomfort then I don't think it sounds like hyperacusis but misophonia. But you should be evaluated by an expert imo.

 

[lapidus]

This is the first I've ever heard of "misoponia". Very interesting. Perhaps rather than the double whammy I know I do have, I actually have a trifecta: tinnitus, hyperacusis and..........misophonia.

I have had T all of my life and I have H as well. In regard to my H, I describe sound as plugged in directly to my nervous system with no "filter". I most definitely "feel" sound. Many unpleasant sounds are unpleasant because they feel like shocks to my system.

This "misophonia" is interesting to me: there are certain sounds that really send me. Whistling will do it as well as a voice that one of my children will talk in from time to time, sort of a loud munchkin like voice that just instantly irritates me because I'd liken it to having bees buzzing in my head or something. Repetitive sounds can also really affect me (e.g. tapping, the same word or phrase repeated by someone, etc).

The thing is that misophonia, phonophobia and hyperacusis are all very different but often misunderstood and shoved together under "hyperacusis" as an umbrella term. However, even if most people with misophonia or phonophobia doesn't have hyperacusis, most people will hyperacusis develop misophonia and phonophobia because of their hyperacusis. So it's not surprising that you think you have misophonia too.

 

[sol auerbach]

You talk about sounds making you "angry" and and that your body has "rageful reactions" to sounds. To me this sounds like misophonia since you're describing more of a psychological response than a physical (discomfort/pain). Have you done an LDL test for hyperacusis? I mean, if you don't percieve sounds as too loud/painful/causing physical discomfort then I don't think it sounds like hyperacusis but misophonia. But you should be evaluated by an expert imo.

i do have pain and heavy sensitivity to overly loud noises, but that only comes when im at concers or parties with super loud music, whic hi solve it easily by wearing strong earplugs and noise filtering headphones (which is VERY different than noise cancelling headphones. much better for loud situations in my opinion).
its probobly because my angry reaction and the high level of stress of been under for a while that casued the reaction, so its still a tough call as to if its hyperacusis or mesophonia.

 

[sol auerbach]

You talk about sounds making you "angry" and and that your body has "rageful reactions" to sounds. To me this sounds like misophonia since you're describing more of a psychological response than a physical (discomfort/pain). Have you done an LDL test for hyperacusis? I mean, if you don't percieve sounds as too loud/painful/causing physical discomfort then I don't think it sounds like hyperacusis but misophonia. But you should be evaluated by an expert imo.

ive had the "everything sounds too loud" thing in the passed when i first came down with tinnitus 5 years ago, but thats long gone thank god.
whats the LDL test for hyperacusis?

 

[Alue]

Hah something similar happened to me yesterday at work. Someone was whistling loudly and another person jokingly said "stop that it makes my ears hurt, you can't be happy and whistling", then they went on talking about this dog whistle app and annoying people with it. I kept it in but it sent me into a rage. It's all fun and games to them but it's my reality every day for the rest of my life.

 

[lapidus]

ive had the "everything sounds too loud" thing in the passed when i first came down with tinnitus 5 years ago, but thats long gone thank god.
whats the LDL test for hyperacusis?

LDL stands for Loudness Discomfort Levels and is the test you take to evaluate if you have hyperacusis. You'll listen to sounds in different frequencies and different decibel levels and press a button when the sound becomes painful/annoying. It's not a very accurate test but it's the best there is at the moment. But from what you've said so far, I don't think you have hyperacusis. Maybe in a mild form since you say you're sensitive to overly liud noises, but I think everyone with tinnitus got a bit hyperacusis. Anyway, go see an audiologist for this.

 

[PaulBe]

tinnitus, hyperacusis and..........misophonia.

If you have the first two, then elements of the third will follow most times as surely as night follows day. I would call misophonia a behavioural protective maladaption to living with hyperacusis. This is the "over-reaction" that ENTs tell us to get over. Most of them don't get that misophonia is something that flows outward as a consequence of having hyperacusis. They think it IS the hyperacusis.