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.

  • AVincentInSpace@pawb.socialEnglish
    1·
    8 hours ago

    Rubber scraping against itself is I think the absolute worst one.

    Over the years I’ve started to hate cheap phone chargers less.

  • BenLeMan@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 days ago

    Tiny pebble caught under the door being dragged over a stone floor. Like chalk on blackboard, just way worse.

    People chewing and swallowing.

  • Strider@lemmy.world
    5·
    2 days ago

    Loud, erratic noises. Sudden loud laughter. Building noise. (unnecessarily) loud car. People talking at different volumes.

    Everything destroys the flow in my head.

  • Lexam@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    8·
    3 days ago

    My own voice. But not in the I hate my voice type of way. Ever been on a phone call where you are being echoed? That disruption voice phenomenon. I hate that.

  • ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    8·
    3 days ago

    Any form of expanded polystyrene rubbing/scratching against something. It is physically painful for me to listen to.

    Touching EPS induces the same response in me.

    Any type of felt-tip marker on paper/cardboard is also extremely stressful and unpleasant for me.

  • Coelacanth@feddit.nuEnglish
    5·
    3 days ago
    1. Babies crying.
    2. Children shouting/chattering/being noisy
    3. Screeching of cutlery against a plate.
    4. Screeching of chalk against a blackboard.
    5. The dull throbbing sound of friction when something semi-moist rubs against glass, like when cleaning windows under certain conditions for example.
    6. Certain people’s chewing noises (it is very person-dependant, some I don’t even think about and some almost send me into meltdown).
    7. Most phone alerts.
    8. Irregular snoring.
    • ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      3·
      2 days ago

      Snoring of any kind makes me intensely furious. I want to smash their face repeatedly with a hammer while screaming at them to shut the fuck up. Same goes for loud chewing, doesn’t even have to be open-mouthed.

  • AceFuzzLord@lemmy.zip
    3·
    2 days ago

    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.

  • ZMonster@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 days ago

    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.

  • Yuki@kutsuya.dev
    4·
    3 days ago

    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…

  • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
    4·
    3 days ago

    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.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    3 days ago

    The best thing about misophonia and tinnitus is the most annoying sounds just stop registering…

    If just thinking of the sound is uncomfortable for you tho, that’s not misophonia.

    That’s an actual physical reaction to a sound, you can’t trigger by thinking of a sound or even making it yourself, just like you can’t tickle yourself.

    Since it’s not misophonia, you’re going to have to look into exposure therapy if/when you get tired of headphones/muffs. If you’re being vigilant about the sounds like you say, you’re only making it worse.

    But In my past experience with clients, everyone that tried to treat muffs as a permanent solution ended up using them more and more instead, to the point they just wore them all the time.

    Tolerating shit you don’t like is a skill, and if you don’t practice you get worse over time. Very easy to fall into a feedback loop where you avoid more and more.

    • Zarobi@aussie.zoneOPEnglish
      12·
      3 days ago

      Never heard of misophonia so I looked it up:

      Misophonia is an extreme emotional and physical response to seemingly innocuous, repetitive sounds like chewing, lip-smacking, and even breathing.

      It doesn’t sound quite right, since it’s more to do with the loudness of any sound, especially if it’s sudden, rather than specific sounds. I think just loud sounds are overwhelming for me, and it causes me distress. I attributed it to autism sensory issues. Even just being in a loud room is very uncomfortable, but somewhat tolerable.

      I don’t see a specific need to expose myself to torture to “toughen up”, so to speak. I wear earmuffs about 20% of the day, taking them off and putting them on as needed. If I experience too much loud sounds, I end up with extremely bad migraines and am unwell for days. Before I bought the earmuffs, this condition never improved, so I’m not sure exposure therapy would ever help in my instance.

      Thanks for the advice though, I’m sure it might help somebody out there.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        41·
        3 days ago

        I don’t see a specific need to expose myself to torture to “toughen up”, so to speak

        Cool, that’s not what exposure therapy is, and not what anyone suggested though…

        Can lead a horse to water…

        • Zarobi@aussie.zoneOPEnglish
          1·
          3 days ago

          Just to clarify any misunderstanding, I wasn’t saying exposure therapy as a treatment in general is “torture yourself until you get used to it”. I was (poorly, apparently) trying to say that I’m hesitant to deliberately increase exposure to sounds that cause me significant physical symptoms, especially since pushing through them can lead me with migraines for days.

          I understand exposure therapy is usually gradual and controlled, and I’m sure it helps many people. My concern is that this seems more like sensory overload from sudden loud sounds, rather than fear or anxiety around specific sounds.

          I genuinely appreciate the suggestion, I just don’t think it’s necessarily the right approach for my specific situation.