Can you train yourself to ignore noise?

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
I think as I have got older I have become far too sensitive to noise. As a child I lived in a noisy household and don't remember being at all bothered or unable to sleep.
Lately I have been worrying about how I could endure it if we ever get noisy neighbours next door. Yet lots of people do and they cope.

We cannot stop people living their lives as they wish. So, I would like to know if it is possible to train your mind to ignore all external noise and to read, sleep and live happily no matter what noise is around. Can this be done? If so it would be so empowering.
 

I used to sleep through thunderstorms but the middle of the night harassment I was getting for a while made me super sensitive to "things that go bump in the night". I got a white noise machine to sleep by and have trained my mind to accept that there is not a darn thing I can do about it in the middle of the night.
So, yes, I think it is possible to train your mind to ignore noises.
 

helenbacque said:
I once lived in the flight pattern for Oceana Air Base in VA. Jets took off so low you could see the color of the pilots eyes šŸ˜’. You eventually didnā€™t hear them.
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Reminds me of when I lived in El Segundo, just one street South of Los Angeles International Airport. If you were talking or watching TV you had to put your mind into Neutral, for a few seconds if a plane was taking off or landing.
 
This is what happens to the people who live in Hounslow London near Heathrow airport

This is not photo-shopped, it's real, and the planes fly over every 45 seconds....
Harri-Patel-975808.jpg


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watch the video...
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1c094dj
 
When I worked 12 hour shifts for Toronto Ambulance I wore industrial foam ear plugs and a black sleep mask when I had to sleep during the day time at home, with black out curtains on the bedroom windows. On the night shift at our Ambulance station, I could some times snatch a nap between calls, but it was not a restful sleep. JIMB.
 
For many years I lived in a house that had a deep noisy stream in the back yard next to where the bedrooms were. I don't know how long it took to not hear it but that's what happened too me. Visitors who slept back there sometimes asked how did we sleep with the noise from that stream. I guess it's just getting used to it.
 
I was born and raised into a large noisy family... I never had trouble sleeping.

When I moved into my own home I couldn't sleep, because I wasn't used to silence.. I had to keep the tv on all night so there was background noise. if the tv went off for any reason, I would wake up...

Eventually I overcame that to such an extent that for the last probably 30 years I've had to wear earplugs, because I need total silence.

I don't live on a busy city road, but even the traffic on my road first thing in the morning as people go to work would wake me.. as does the bird song... so I always wear Earplugs

I once slept right through a car explosion which happened right outside my house in Spain....I never heard a thing... and the fire brigade were there, the neighbours and the owners of the car was there all in the middle of the night, just yards from my bedroom window.. I never heard a thing
 
Olivia said:
For many years I lived in a house that had a deep noisy stream in the back yard next to where the bedrooms were. I don't know how long it took to not hear it but that's what happened too me. Visitors who slept back there sometimes asked how did we sleep with the noise from that stream. I guess it's just getting used to it.
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I would find that therapeutic. Love the sound of running water or crashing rain on a roof.
 
I'm a light sleeper that is a valuable trait for this person that backpacks in wilderness areas where bears be. Also valuable for our ancestors when enemies approached. My brain won't wake me up for some sounds like stream water, wind in trees, distant traffic sounds. Even at home, regularly insert foam earplugs though that is not effective for lower frequency sounds that go right through one's skull.

What really keeps me awake is SNORING. Cannot stand trying to sleep near anyone that does. Note, I have never snored and I know that to be true because others would have nailed me. Also don't move during sleep. Would be safe sleeping on the edge of a cliff. Next worst is people talking or TV. Why I often avoid public campgrounds. So gals, if you snore, cross me off your list. ;)
 

Can you train yourself to ignore noise?​


Evidently

I no longer hear the ocean in my right (tinnitus) ear
.......unless I think about it......like right now

It's funny how folks do get used to noise

Lotsa townie visitors up at the cabin would say 'it's too quiet'
 
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I no longer hear my tinnitus unless someone mentions it. Thanks Gary O' :LOL:.

I can sleep through storms unless the weather radio warning goes off in the middle of the night which I wake up for immediately.

When I dispatched, I taught myself to tune out background conversations or noises so I could concentrate on the radio. I can still tune out things easily when I have or want to.
 
Jules said:
I would find that therapeutic. Love the sound of running water or crashing rain on a roof.
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I don't mind the sound of rain on the roof. Many years ago we were staying on the 10th floor of an apartment building on the Gold Coast at Surfers Paradise. Do you think I could go to sleep listening to the crashing of the surf., not on your sweet Nelly. I looked out of the window and
it was pitch black. What a shocking 2 days that was I Had to put ear plugs in. I think this was before they sound-proofed windows.
 
I used to live near a train crossing. The train would make a huge noise when it got to the crossing. After a while, I didn't even notice it.

My neighbors are a different story. First because it's illegally loud, then because it's random and also because it's malicious. Their noise is impossible to ignore, even with noise cancelling devices and white noise. Listening to music, tv shows or audiobooks is not possible with the level of noise.
 
Getting used to regular, repetitive sounds is just a natural adaptation of the subconscious. It learns to adapt to expected incoming signals, both visual and auditory. It just shuttles those things that are expected onto the back burner, if you will. That's why we can drive down the freeway at 65 MPH and our mind is totally somewhere else. Our subconscious then will alert our conscious mind if something unexpected changes.

Oddly enough, when regular ignored sounds suddenly stop, our conscious mind is even alerted because it is interpreted as abnormal, and could even signal danger.
 
I live near a major hospital and a fire station. Sirens constantly. I can ignore them when I sleep, but during the day when awake it drives me crazy.

I lived oceanfront for years. The Roar of the Ocean is the greatest, best, most beautiful sound I know. I loved that noise, and being oceanFRONT, right on it! was total bliss, even if it woke me. Like country sounds too.
 
You can desensitize yourself to environmental noises. There was a scene in the first Blues Brothers movie where Elwood took his brother Jake into his tiny wretched apartment, outside of which trains regularly ran. Elwood told Jake, ā€œAfter a while, you wonā€™t even know it!ā€

My parents lived near a major airport, and you could hear jets coming and going. To me, it was my normal. Now I live in the Styx, no jet sounds, but I have rednecks racing up and down my street in badly muffled vehicles. They like them to be loud, it makes them feel powerful. A chiming grandfather clock acquired by the SO bothered me until I acclimated to the sounds. Itā€™s all in what you grow used to, and many people donā€™t care about inflicting noise pollution, because they have their free-dumbs, donā€™t ā€™ya know?

 
Badly muffled vehicles used to be against the law in NYC. I don't know if it still is as there are a plethora of them. I hate this noise more than the sirens. If I'm outside, I have screamed "Asshole" at the drivers. Heck, I've yelled it out my window. Hate those jerks.
 
helenbacque said:
I once lived in the flight pattern for Oceana Air Base in VA. Jets took off so low you could see the color of the pilots eyes.
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We stayed twice at an RV park near the end of the runway at Oceana. Yes, I agree it feels like they're 10 feet above you.

I'm not sure I'd ever "get used" to it, but for a week I "tolerated it"......actually loved it. The sound of freedom.
 
The hearing protection we had in the early 70's still let in a Lot of noise.
You had to ignore it or you couldn't do your job properly.

For me, the worst was living in a tent city near the flightline during Desert Storm.
Seems like something was taking off and landing every 10 minutes.
I'd just roll over and after a while, sleep would come.

Now I can sleep through anything, but never do well when it's too quiet.
Probably why I've had hearing aids since I retired in 1994!
 

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