✨Winter Ray✨

As someone with similar sensory-sensitivity issues for sound, "noise generation" and sound-dampening is your friend. I have an air purifier or fan going in my bedroom whenever I'm in it, to help dampen sounds from outside, and when I have to work places where other people are talking/listening to music/etc. I opt for headphones and brown noise (like white noise, but different tone) generators to block out the sound. (Used to use earplugs, started getting ear infections.) It won't cancel out everything unless you invest in the really expensive noise-cancelling headphones, but it definitely makes things more tolerable.

✨Winter Ray✨@wintersouls2/25/2024, 11:01 PM

oh yeah for sure!! i'm already doing these things, and thankfully they provide some relief

part of my complaint, though, is that i'm confined entirely to my room if i want to avoid the overstimulation from my family. i live in a very rural area with virtually no third spaces to speak of, and my house is so small that my room is the only space i have that isn't constantly being used by others

the worst part is that i eat, sleep, work, and play in my room. i practically live my entire life in a 8' by 9' cube right now. i'd really like to have other places to go where people aren't blasting TV/videos or yelling, but i just don't have any options where i live unfortunately

tl;dr: these tips help and i recommend them! i'd just also like to leave my room without getting punched in the face by all the noise

@onlyknownothing2/25/2024, 11:18 PM

Ooh, yeah. I get that. I have headphones in my office workspace too, but you can't exactly drag those everywhere. When I worked a job that involved lots of van-travel with other employees, I got a pair of "concert earplugs" to try and reduce the overall sound-flood around me during the back-and-forth trips. They do help, but you have to have ears able to tolerate being partly-blocked without getting irritated/infected (and, sadly, I do not).

Regardless, you do have my condolences. I know what it's like to feel oppressed by the ambient noise. If your weather/climate functions such that it's possible, have you considered sitting outside for a bit? I know it isn't much better on the social front, but simply being able to see sky can make things feel a little less confined. (I deal with the same thing regarding a lack of third spaces, and really it seems the United States as a whole is hurtling towards the annihilation of those non-commercial areas, but at least there's nature? If that's viable for you, anyways.)

✨Winter Ray✨@wintersouls2/25/2024, 11:24 PM

i used to use earplugs to sleep, but alas, i also have ears that get itchy and infected when i do it too often :'3

as for sitting outside, it's technically possible except that my only seat is the front door step, and bees LOVE visiting me. i'd love their visits too if i weren't deathly afraid of insects lol

i could go for a walk while the weather's nice, but that means putting in a lot more work than i have energy for today. i'll try to get out there while it's still cool out though

i live in a desert where the temperature averages 113F/45C in the summer, so sitting outside and going for walks won't be an option at that point

i have a plan for moving, but it'll be about another year and a half before i can enact it. until then, i'll just have to do what i can to get by

thanks for chatting with me about it though. it's nice to feel this level of care from folks sometimes

@onlyknownothing2/25/2024, 11:31 PM

Sometimes all you can do is vent, and sometimes venting is all you need to do for things to be a little more bearable. I tend to jump towards offering potential solutions just in case they're able to assist, but please know that you have my sympathies on the circumstances regardless.

(Just a side-thought - If you're in a desert environment and going outside means bees show up, you might want to bring a plate with you and put some water in it? Bees might be coming to you to see if they can find something they need from the new thing, and the most likely thing I can imagine they'd need is water if you're in a hot/arid climate. Set it away from you and they might go to that instead. Just a thought?)

Sorry, rambling. I do hope the move goes smoothly and resolves some of the issues!

@onlyknownothing2/25/2024, 11:35 PM

Did some searching, and found something to help you feel a little bit more "outside the box" as it were - ASMR hiking videos. I know it's not the same as actually getting out there, but it might help a little.

✨Winter Ray✨@wintersouls2/25/2024, 11:44 PM

i never considered that the bees might be needing something from me! i'll see if i can set a plate of water nearby the next time i try sitting outside (assuming my dog isn't around, that is)

thank you for your potential solutions and sympathies. you're right, sometimes all there is to do is vent, and sometimes venting is all that's needed

i honestly wasn't expecting anyone to respond to my vent post, and i'm pleasantly surprised that some people did! it's helped <3

@gmakes2/25/2024, 10:58 PM

Hang in there :< Hopefully you're able to find some earplugs or noise canceling headphones that help with the issue in the meantime

✨Winter Ray✨@wintersouls2/25/2024, 11:01 PM

thanks! i'm using my noise canceling headphones rn and they're a big help! this issue just confines me to my room and that's the part that sucks the most :<