Do you want to hide and run away when you hear water dripping? Perhaps the sound of someone chewing their meal makes you sensitive or irritated. Do you find it impossible to handle the loud noises of a crowded mall without feeling anxious? You might have misophonia, phonophobia, hyperacusis or other specific phobias if you said “yes” to any of these.
But don’t let fear prevent you from living fully. You should know that anxiety can be treated. With proper diagnostic criteria and time-tested coping methods such as online therapy. You also can start your research at www.midss.org/ca/health/best-online-therapy, which will help you get your anxiety under control.
Here are some quick solutions to help you deal with sound anxiety right away and some long-term strategies to stop a repeating problem.
How to Cope with Noise Anxiety with 5 Simple Tips
To find what works for you, try one of the following anxiety coping strategies at a time or all at once. For as many days as you require, practice your chosen skill once or twice daily to ingrain it into your body and mind and create a habit. While many of these treatments and methods can be used independently, some necessitate the guidance and direction of a trained therapist.
1. Deep Breathing
According to Laguna, M.G., MD, deep breathing is a deliberate, leisurely breathing technique that fills your lungs completely with oxygenated air, which lowers blood pressure and slows the heartbeat. This method often referred to as diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, or belly breathing, diverts your attention away from stressors and makes use of the entire diaphragm’s range of motion to help your body relax.
Once you master deep breathing, you might combine it with gradual muscle relaxation techniques and guided imagery. Start with a regular breath to warm up for deep breathing, then inhale gently through your nose. If you don’t expand your chest and stomach, your breath won’t be deep enough.
2. Practicing Positive Coping Strategies
It may be alluring to isolate oneself, stay away from social events, or confront those who make you feel anxious around noise. However, it would be more beneficial to swap these bad habits for the good coping mechanisms listed below:
- Concentrating on one’s own sounds
- Using noise canceling headphones or earplugs
- Distracting yourself
- Using headphones to listen to calm music
- Using positive dialogue
These may help you alter your focus to certain triggers that can induce fear, suffering, and discomfort from certain sounds.
3. Use Aromatherapy
Natural scents like lavender, chamomile, and sandalwood can be incredibly calming, whether they are in the form of an essential oil, incense, or a candle. Aromatherapy is believed to help stimulate specific brain receptors, potentially reducing anxiety. It can also provide physical relaxation, reduce stress, improve mood and mental clarity, enhance immunity, and even balance hormones.
4. Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive behavior therapy is used to manage anxiety disorders and is linked to an increase in a patient’s quality of life. CBT changes your thoughts, which affects your emotions and behaviors. It emphasizes confronting unhelpful attitudes, feelings, and behaviors.
Exposure therapy and cognition therapy are the two most popular forms of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety. In treating anxiety, current research suggests that exposure therapy may be more helpful than cognition therapy. However, this may be due to study bias rather than a true representation of treatment efficacy.
5. Medication
It’s possible that you have panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or generalized anxiety disorder in addition to noise anxiety. Your doctor could advise using medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which may help with your symptoms of noise anxiety. But at the moment, this is only a theory, and we need further research to prove it.
Why Did You Become Hypersensitive to Noise?
Hypersensitivity, often known as “oversensitivity,” is a heightened sensitivity to a particular experience, such as sound. Auditory hypersensitivity, often known as hypersensitivity to sound, can be triggered by specific sounds or by loud noises in general. Hearing the triggering sounds causes distress in those with noise sensitivity. This kind of sensitivity may be felt by some anxious people.
As sensitivity can result in a variety of responses, the term “hypersensitivity to loud sounds” can be used somewhat broadly. The triggering noise may induce only moderate annoyance or something a lot more debilitating, depending on how one experiences anxiety.
Conclusion
Everyone is eventually impacted by stress and worry. There are strategies to manage noise sensitivity or anxiety, even if it seems out of control. They might present themselves differently in a different person, and their levels of anxiety can vary. Of course, if anxiety is interfering with your daily life and activities and preventing you from being productive for an extended period, please get help from your family member or professional to manage noise anxiety easily.
