Julienne Essex
March, 6 2019 at 2:32 pm

I just discovered this thread and it is a god-send to learn that I am not the only one bothered by loud talking, a loud TV or stereo, yapping dogs, slamming doors, etc.
There have been times that I could just jump in front of the subway because it would mean that I would no longer feel jittery from loud music coming from a colleague's cubicle. I'm not normally anxious and am not at all depressed or suffering from PSTD or anything else like that, so thought I must just be crazy (not to mention annoying to any friends and family who I ask to turn down the noise or lower the volume on their talking.
I guess misery really does enjoy company, as the expression goes, as I feel better that I am not the only one with this problem (and that I don't have the worst case of it). My heart goes out to everyone who has posted here. I do hope that one day we can get the people who don't understand this terrible ailment to understand it.
BTW: in my case the combo of ear plugs and noise cancelling headphones don't help as they muffle everything except the higher pitched sounds, and those are what bother me the most.