Is anyone else becoming less tolerant of noise as they get older?

[LessNoisePlease]

I've never been a fan of noise but now that I'm verging on middle age, I'm finding it increasingly insufferable. I'm diagnosed autistic which certainly doesn't help but it seems to be getting worse.

My street has always been on the quiet side but they've built some new homes in the next street and there's now lots of young kids there. Apparently none of them can play without shrieking and screaming as though they're being flayed alive. I expect normal kid noise, and there are others in the street, but for some reason practically all children now seem to feel the need to scream constantly.

A neighbour is using a pressure washer and that seems unbearable. I'm planning a move anyway but I think I may have to change what I was looking for and move to the middle of nowhere.(Slight exaggeration).

I hate noise I can't stand it don`t like loud music cars ribbing up motorbikes and SCREAMING KIDS are the worst .
I did once live near a very busy road done my head in and a neighbours that would have TVs so loud you could hear it outside as well as in my own home i moved thank god .

Omg yes!
From people breathing heavily to neighbours leaf blowing and birds at 5am. I hate it all!
I wish I could always keep my headphones on.

I’m 51 and I am getting so intolerant to noise, especially certain adverts on the TV currently - Lloyds bank with ‘This girl is on fire’. Also the Sainsburys one with ‘Hey big spender (saver)’. Just awful! I have to turn the tv over!

Definitely.
If I could destroy every car that these kids drive , back firing , popping and noise above a normal car I would .

It's just modern life.
Houses are built so small and close that you just have to deal with closer living if you don't have a more 'detached' property.
It's expensive to go out now so people socialise at home more.
Plus both adults work, mostly, so you need to be at home more to do all the jobs that might have otherwise got done by the homemaker in the week.
And kids have fewer places to go because everyone has at least one car, no space on the roads, all fields being built in with tiny houses.

So yes it's other people's noise.

It's just life
It isn't done to annoy you
And sone kid's screaming will be subconscious frustration that they, being small dependents can do absolutely nothing about.

It won't get better any time soon.

People are far too loud nowadays. I remember when people used to be much quieter.

My DH has a habit of saying "oh dear" really loudly about 50.000 times a day, I want to kill him. NDN have a grandchild that shouts the same sentence over and over whenever he's in the garden, he's pretty annoying too. Loud noise never used to bother me but I have no tolerance now I'm old.

Noise bothers me, but so do many other things. I think I'm increasingly intolerant of anything I don't like as I get older. I'm less likely to tolerate anything that annoys of disturbs me. I guess I am now officially a Grumpy Old Woman

And sone kid's screaming will be subconscious frustration that they, being small dependents can do absolutely nothing about.

I don't think they're frustrated. They're screaming/shrieking when playing or just when walking along the street or just breathing. Kids seem to shriek over everything now. I expect noise when playing of course, some shouting and general kid noises but most of them seem to scream routinely now. My Mother is lovely and very caring but I'd have been told to zip it unless I had good reason to literally be shrieking my head off.

Sympathies to everyone who also suffers with noise sensitivity. I do think it's a mixture of life being noisier now(I'm with everyone on those awful farty cars/motorbikes) and me becoming more sensitive and irritable in my old age.

I live near a nursery and have several primaries nearby so get loads of youngsters playing, laughing, running and scooting along and I enjoy hearing the happiness. Then you get a fucking screecher whose parent is about ten houses away who shouts back. Some days I dream of doing bad things...

Hate revving cars and bikes, struggle with chainsaws and shredders (but not strimmers or lawnmowers). Also hate anything that thumps regularly ie ball, stereo bass etc.

https://www.hear-it.org/younger-and-older-people-respond-differently-sound

This is one of the first links I found. It seems it's a thing. I'm not autistic but have found myself becoming more sensitive to certain frequencies as I've become middle-aged. Loud noises make me jump and certain noises such as cutlery/crockery scraping cause physical pain. Very strange!

I'm nearly 50 and losing my hearing in line with my age. I teach and have trouble hearing students responses but can hear every tap, tap, fidget, fidget, scrape, scrape, bang. It's hugely annoying. I also find the cinema unbearably loud so don't bother going anymore.

I'm 35 and I'm very noise sensitive. I'm pretty sure I have ADHD and I find it hard to focus when there's a lot of noise. One of my dcs has SEN and is very loud and it's so hard to deal with sometimes.

I work with children and sometimes the noise is overwhelming so I just take them outside.

Ive always been fairly noise sensitive but I think things are getting louder. I grew up surrounded by people often without their own yards and people were more considerate.

After my horrible experience with very loud neighbors I cannot stand loud music or voices. I've noticed how many people shout into speakerphones like a form of attention seeking behaviour.

@GinJeanie interesting link
However, as a person ages, researchers found that older listeners become over-sensitive to sounds, hearing both quiet and loud sounds without the ability to ignore or tune out irrelevant auditory information.

I wonder if this is because an older person has more responsibilities and needs to hear every single noise (baby or teenager sneaking out/in) unlike a teenager who doesn't. Also wonder if there are differences in older fe/males due to child rearing responsibilities in their lives.

I get much more noise sensitive when I’m tired. Could that be it? Cos being tired all the time in your 40s isn’t unusual..

YES! I’m 45 score very highly for ADHD and symptoms are worse with perimenopause. I can’t bear DH emptyin the dishwasher as the plates clink. I can’t bear rustling of crisp packets or paper or several conversations going on at once. It interferes with my workZ

I think you're right and people really are home a lot more and not just catching up on jobs at weekends or due to col rises. Far more people wfh now. Once windows or bifolds are open as it gets warmer - cue loud conference calls, speakerphone conversations in the gardens and generally far more at home, all day, all the time.

It really is a noisier, more jammed-together life

And it's only relatively recent that speakerphone or even normal phone conversations became so commonplace on public transport, shops, streets, everywhere

Yes, I'm 42 and cant bear children screeching when they are playing, same goes for dogs barking, doors slamming, TV too loud,next door neighbours basketball, power washers and people talking in general.

I would like everybody to be quiet thank you.

Absolutely.

Someone in my office has started playing music on a Bluetooth speaker. It actually gives me the rage.

And every single one of my bastard neighbours seems to have a barking dog.

I tried to do the hearing test in the link posted by @GinJeanie but I couldn't stand the noises and had to turn it off. Says it all really.

Yes.
People who do that stupid shriek at the end of a sneeze. In the past i'd just eyeroll - now i want to hit them.

Loud music in shops - i can't concentrate on what i'm in there for. Even as i'm moaning about it i'm thinking ''You old gimmer! You used to shop in Kensington market and Hyper Hyper with music so loud it shook your ribcage and loved it!'' 😂

Grrr. "Ursula M*rtin" please stop loudly making travel bookings hands free on your phone on the A bus. So entitled and inconsiderate.

I’ve found my tribe. I have neighbours whose children shriek until 10pm in the garden in the summer. Every bloody evening. I can never sit outside and enjoy my garden without noise cancelling headphones. Several neighbours play loud music outside. It’s so anti social. I love music, I love loud music but I don’t inflict it on my neighbours. The amount of people who put their phone on speaker when they are on public transport too, people bellowing in my ear because they can’t go anywhere without having a telephone conversation. I could go on and on.