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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Noise noise everywhere

60 replies

recklessruby · 21/08/2018 19:11

Aibu in thinking the world is just too loud lately?
Supermarkets with loud music and tannoy announcements every two minutes.
People shrieking and screaming on the street.
Mobile phone calls loudly on the train and extra loud adverts on tv.
I could not concentrate in town at all yesterday and had to go home due to shop music. Mind went blank.
I am really sensitive to noise and get anxiety due to it but everyone thinks I m over reacting.
So is the world getting louder and faster or am I aibu and getting old?

OP posts:
araiwa · 21/08/2018 19:15

You admit you have a sensitivity to noise so most people probably dont notice it nor care much

GerdaLovesLili · 21/08/2018 19:24

It's horrible. There's no respite from it or quiet places to go. Churches are locked, libraries are full of screeching teens. The teens need libraries obviously, but equally the odd oasis of calm would blissful.

I went home one day because I couldn't cope with dual onslaught of an amplified corner preacher and the kids' hip-hop dance competition.

It's getting worse too.

longwayoff · 21/08/2018 19:29

Not U at all. Life is too bloody noisy.

knittingdad · 21/08/2018 19:38

Art galleries are normally still quiet. The National Gallery in London not so much, but otherwise. Also, if you go somewhere like the coast when it is raining it will normally be deserted.

Those don't help with the shopping, but I saw that Morrisons are starting a quiet hour for shopping on Saturday mornings.

my.morrisons.com/blog/community/quieter-hour/

twistanddoubt · 21/08/2018 19:39

You're right, but its not going to stop is it?

I've taken to carrying earpods around with me everywhere - so in case I'm caught out on a train, bus, etc I can shut the shouting, screaming, music etc out!!!!

A few weeks ago I was in TK Maxx - playing the most dire music SO loud. I did mention it to the Manager. He said nothing. I was there another 10 minutes - he didn't turn it down. But it actually put me off my shopping.

Restaurants, bars, shops, everywhere, it is!

Even a quiet wait on a phone call can mean being bombarded with the company's adverts (my local mini cab firm). Help!

Original poster
recklessruby · 21/08/2018 19:42

I saw that too. The quiet hour. Definitely need to check that out.
Or win the lottery and go live in the highlands miles from anywhere 😊

OP posts:
ShirleyPhallus · 21/08/2018 19:44

I absolutely agree. I hate my office more and more - it’s so noisy, and not just chatter - people eating, slurping, coughing, banging etc.

I’d like to live on some remote island in Scotland I think

bookmum08 · 21/08/2018 20:01

Yes I agree. Everywhere is so fricking noisy. My daughter has (not yet actually diagnosed) sensory /noise issues and I actually do think it was triggered or made worse around the age of 4 due to unbelivebly loud noises that surrounded us on a daily basis. She is the type of child you would witness having a meltdown in the supermarket and think "what a terrible child, why can't that mother control her" but she can't help it. There is like 15 different noises coming from all directs and her brain simply can't cope. I really do think all this loud loud noise everywhere is why so many adults are angry and why so many children are being diagnosed with sensory issues.

Original poster
recklessruby · 21/08/2018 20:24

Noise does make me angry and irritated too so I m not surprised so many children are suffering these days.
I just feel like pounding music everywhere is so unnecessary

OP posts:
Illegally18 · 22/08/2018 11:17

Yes music everywhere you go. There exists a society called' PIPE DOWN' that combats this. Of course it's messing people's heads up, how could it not? Music is becoming no longer a choice, but an imposition. I am a dance teacher, I see the effect music has on people, on a physical, emotional level. To have it all the time in every shop every day is disturbing

ToadOfSadness · 22/08/2018 11:28

I have left Asda and B&Q without finishing my shopping because of the sheer volume of the music. It is impossible to to talk over it.

People bellowing in the gardens, can be heard at the other end of the road. Music blasting out of cars.

And the people that are too lazy to get out of their car and knock on a door, so they sit in the middle of the road and keep blasting the horn. Have just experienced this again, woman blocking the road, beeping away, no-one came out, she was there for 10 minutes, beeping, waiting, beeping. She could have got out and rung the bell, established that no-one was there or they didn't want to see her, and left. I was trying to sleep otherwise I would have gone and asked her what the problem was and did she need help to get out of the car.

Septima · 22/08/2018 11:48

I’m autistic and noise is a big problem for me, particularly enforced pop music. I’ve gone back to shopping online for food. I don’t go to other stores due to the noise. It used to be low and in the background, but now it’s so loud and dominates.

I bought some earplugs from boots, but they hurt the insides of my ears. I thought about ear defenders, but adult ds says I might look silly as only younger people wear headphones Sad

I don’t know why life is getting louder. I know it sounds awful, but a part of me wishes my hearing would go. I might get the ear defenders anyway, why should I care about what I look like? My biggest fear is being admitted into hospital and having a ward full of horrible loud people and noisy visitors to cope with.

SpoonBlender · 22/08/2018 11:49

I carry a pair of Alpine Partyplugs, they come with a handy keychain holder and are really good at winding down sound without making it hard to hear, so still safe for traffic etc. I also usually have a pair of normal earphones so I can at least have my own noise to block out theirs if need be. Ah, podcasts! My favourite commute activity.
amazon.co.uk/dp/B00REB9VXU]]

SpoonBlender · 22/08/2018 11:55

Whoops, that autolinkifier messed up badly. I'll try with preview this time...
Alpine Partyplugs at Amazon

DriftwoodFascinator · 22/08/2018 11:56

I have hyperacusis and often find this sort of needless noise absolutely unbearable. At work, I have to eat my lunch outside, as there are a number of people there who eat with their mouths open at sickening levels of volume Angry

Original poster
recklessruby · 22/08/2018 12:02

I knew it wasn't just me but I do get odd remarks from friends when I say I have to leave now.
Yes I forgot music mega loud from cars and people beeping rather than knocking.
And loud eating is my dd s absolute hate

OP posts:
eurochick · 22/08/2018 12:06

I'm the same. It makes my brain feel overloaded. A big bugbear is multiple overlapping announcements at train stations. On top of the train noise and thousands of people it's hellish!

Jenjenyeahyeah · 22/08/2018 12:14

Yes life is noisy, but it’s not a new thing. Maybe the source of the noise changes but there’s always been background noise - people used to have the sound of steam trains whooshing past close their homes, air raid sirens, town criers, early morning church bells etc etc etc. I sympathise with noise sensitivity as when I get a migraine sound really bothers me - would noise cancelling headphones help for when you go out?

Dolallytats · 22/08/2018 12:15

It really is so loud. We have an ice cream van that comes round nearly every day and he blasts out the music. It used to be so lovely and tinkly when I was young. Now he drowns out the sound of any programme I am watching or I have to stop conversations because I can't hear the other person.

I really crave peace.

BlankTimes · 22/08/2018 12:17

There are loads of different ear protectors available from the muffs to the tiny ones in a string you can conceal and use when you need to.
shop around to find something that's as visible as you want it to be, some are very discreet.

These have reviews improb.com/best-ear-protection-for-shooting/
These show different types.
www.protecdirect.co.uk/Personal-Protective-Equipment-PPE-/Hearing-Protection~c~AD

Nikephorus · 22/08/2018 12:18

Everything is too noisy. And many people can't seem to comprehend that some of us can't cope with noise.

Amanduh · 22/08/2018 12:19

I don’t mind/am not sensitive to every day noise, gardens, talking etc or even shop music but christ it has got ridiculous in some places! The music is far far too loud!

Womaningreen · 22/08/2018 12:21

yes I find it really hard to cope with

I'm afraid we're a minority though. Noise is popular. every summer the parks are filled with noisy events, I was asked to go glamping with a friend which sounded fun, but then she explained that these places are set up so you hear a lot of noise.

I've had a few people suggest I go on a silent retreat type thing but I imagine if I go on one of those then I would feel 100 times worse when I came back. I don't really go to shops, just shop online, but just navigating the world is hard now because people enjoy noise so much.

speaking of the National Gallery, it used to be such a great place, but now there's a sense of people just carrying on normal chatting there, plus also often a big noise coming from pavement performers etc outside.

I avoid central London as much as possible but the NG is one place I really miss. I used to work round the corner so could pop in at lunchtime.

now working near HS2 noise which is a mare of course.

Septima · 22/08/2018 12:21

pipedown.org.uk

Excessive and inescapable noise is linked to heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

Gromance02 · 22/08/2018 12:23

YANBU. There is generally no need for it. The only way I cope is by avoiding noisy places as much as possible. I live in a detached home, never go to hotels-just go to quiet villas. Never go to the cinema, always book the quiet coach on trains (although you still get some idiots that don't understand the concept!). Etc.