Nervous irritation... Oh, I have known this disease for a long time. Have you seen people who are constantly wearing headphones, and music is blaring loudly from them? In transport, in a cafe, on a walk. Just recently I was exactly the same. Why did sounds irritate me? I didn't know then. But I couldn’t live without headphones - I needed them always and everywhere. To isolate yourself from everyone, to close yourself off. And if suddenly they were not found in my bag, I experienced real attacks of panic and nervous irritation at everyone around me and everything that was happening around me.
- What, you can’t carry a handkerchief with you?- I thought angrily if a person with a cold sat down next to me, sniffling every now and then.
- What, your mother didn’t teach you how to behave civilly?- I was furious when, in line at the clinic, I got stuck next to a man chomping gum for the entire corridor.
- Oh God, not this disgusting thing! - I screamed to myself when I saw a person approaching, crunching popcorn or spitting seeds - these people were my number one enemies.
And although hatred and nervous irritation bubbled up in my soul, I never said anything out loud. Why do sounds irritate me so much? This question always faded into the background - nervous irritation was at the center of everything!
A hundred thousand times I repeated curses to myself in the direction of that scoundrel who annoyed me, and this got to the point where my heart began to pound nervously and my hands to tremble, but I couldn’t say... I couldn’t say! After all, others are silent and patient (I thought so), which means I should do the same - behave nicely and intelligently and shove my nervous tension... deeper. And then, when the sound stimulus went away, she continued to rage for a long time and thought: “I should have told you how to behave!” These thoughts burned me completely, they tormented me - my nerves were shaken to the limit.
Why are sounds so annoying and how to deal with it?
And so, it was in such situations that loud music in headphones came to my aid. She gave relief to my ears, and I simply closed my eyes so as not to see this annoying, unpleasant world. And since every year there were more and more irritants, the headphones literally became like a glove in my body - I almost never parted with them. They were either in a bag, or on a shelf near the bed, or on the desktop. Always. With no exceptions. They were my cure for nervous irritation and hatred towards others, which was difficult for me to cope with.
I can't call myself a music fan. And when I was choosing what to put on the player for listening, I always had one priority - something louder. Of course, the reason for my “love” for music was that I wanted to drown out the world around me, which was terribly annoying and infuriating.
Can nervous irritation from sounds disappear on its own? Tested on my own skin - yes!
A year ago I completed the training “System-vector psychology” by Yuri Burlan. The lecturer mentioned many times that sound engineers should never use headphones to close themselves off from the outside world - this leads to a complete disconnection from the outside world. It becomes harder and harder for such a person to live every day, this leads to even greater illness and nervous irritation, and then to emotional exhaustion and depression.
When I heard this for the first time, I was horrified: how could I refuse the greatest, in my then understanding, invention of the world - small, tiny things in which music thunders and relieves nervous irritation? I was sure that it would never be the case that I could be in a public place without them. Yes, my hands started to shake if I couldn’t get them out of my bag and stick them in my ears quickly enough! And here they offer me to part with them forever? Yes, this cannot be! But with each new lecture, especially on the sound vector, already at the second level of training I caught myself thinking that I understand that this is true: headphones are main reason my growing nervous tension.
After Yuri Burlan’s training lectures, I discovered a completely different type of relationship - I began to understand people better. Time passed, I changed jobs. Life spun and ran. The sounds gradually began to irritate me less; I no longer experienced such nervous tension as before.
It so happened that I began to travel less on public transport. And somehow by chance I needed headphones less and less, the surrounding irritant simply disappeared. But I still took them with me just in case. It often happened that the irritant appeared nearby, but I restrained myself from putting on headphones. If the situation became unbearable (rarely, but it happened), I simply moved away from the irritant, for example, getting off at a bus stop, and quickly forgot about it. I managed this quite easily. Probably the reason was that I began to understand why the sounds irritated me. Irritability was associated with a stressful skin vector, the stress of which manifests itself precisely in suffocating nervous irritation. The problem is that with an unfilled sound vector, other vectors cannot be realized - and here is the result: a terrible tension that exhausts and kills the remains nerve cells, and the rest are tied into a shaking ball of hatred. Having filled the sound vector, I got the opportunity to understand and realize desires also in the skin vector and began to experience a feeling of happiness and satisfaction from life.
Why did sounds irritate me? The main thing is that today they are no longer annoying!
Surprisingly, today I don’t remember where my headphones are. I am exactly the person whose hands once shook: from nervous irritation I was torn to pieces when these same headphones, as luck would have it, got tangled, and next to me sat a man whose nose sounds made me furious - NOW I CAN LIVE WITHOUT HEADPHONES. And without nervous irritation.
And this life is wonderful!
If I succeeded, then you will be even more successful in getting rid of nervous irritation. And you will definitely be able to answer the question “Why do sounds irritate me?” or something else is annoying. It's simple. Sign up for free online training on " System-vector psychology"Yuri Burlan, and after the first two lessons a lot will become obvious to you.
You can read the results of those who have already completed the training at this link.
See how the lectures are going, can you do it right now?- follow this link and watch any video.
Like most living creatures on Earth, feelings and sensations help a person navigate space. And, despite the fact that people officially have only five basic senses, there are actually more. However, the sense of sound is one of the most basic, it is what helps us capture vibrations (generating pressure waves) through an intermediary, usually air, which turns into something completely different - sound.
Thanks to this feeling, we can listen to music, communicate verbally, and hear an approaching threat. The path that these vibrations take before being formed into sound is truly amazing, and it determines whether it will be pleasant or annoying to the human ear.
Let's start our list with a truly terrifying and annoying sound - everyone remembers the scraping of nails school board. In the list of sounds that irritate people the most, this one occupies a leading position. But why exactly is it so disgusting to human hearing? The same question plagued some scientists, and they decided to conduct a study in 2011. This unpleasant sound is mid-frequency and is in the range from 2000 to 5000 Hz; the human ear, due to its shape, amplifies mid-frequency sounds. Perhaps it's a matter of evolution: the danger warning sounds that monkeys make are also around this frequency. This fact may well explain the reason that these particular sounds seem louder to a person than they really are. Many question this explanation.
However, the reason why it is so annoying to most people is still unclear. If the above study is to be believed, it all depends on the context. About two hundred people were involved in the experiment, during which they were connected to monitors that recorded changes in heart rate, electrical skin activity and the level of sweat produced under the influence of irritating sounds. After that, the subjects were asked to rate the level of unpleasantness of the sounds on a certain scale. Half of those participating in the trial were told their source, the other was presented with them as part of a piece of music. But, nevertheless, the body’s reaction remained unchanged: rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, etc. It should be noted that people who were told the source of the sounds rated them as more annoying than those who listened to them as part of a musical composition. Perhaps the sound in itself is not so unpleasant, the effect is enhanced by what we see. Other similar sounds, for example, from a working drill; from a knife that slides across a glass; a fork, which we run across a plate or teeth; sheets of foam that rub against each other all fall into this category.
Chomping
Have you ever had lunch in the company of those who chew or slurp loudly? If so, then you most likely wanted to slap them on the head too. But, if suddenly this did not happen to you, then you are lucky. What we will tell you here comes solely from personal experience. Most likely, you heard this too, but just didn’t pay attention. If this is the case, then you are doubly lucky, because misophonia (intolerance to certain sounds) is unusual for you. The term itself appeared in the early 2000s, when a group of scientists began to study tinnitus. But misophonia refers not only to this phenomenon, but to the unpleasant sensations that people experience when hearing certain sounds: slurping, heavy breathing, finger tapping, yawning, finger crunching, snoring and even whistling. As it turned out, the point here is that the sound is repeated with a certain periodicity. Surprisingly, misophonia is also associated with a dislike of fidgeting, although this process has nothing to do with auditory perception of reality.
Normal reactions of people with misophonia may include irritation, disgust, discomfort, even a desire to leave. But sometimes it happens that people react much more harshly, falling into panic, rage or experiencing intense hatred. Sometimes it even comes to the point of wanting to kill the person who makes the annoying sound, or suicidal thoughts arise. It is, of course, very difficult for such people to be in society; they try to avoid dangerous meetings with others and eat alone or completely isolate themselves from society. Misophonia has not yet been studied well enough, but there are really a lot of people suffering from it. Symptoms are usually associated with irritation, depression and even obsessive-compulsive behavior. What is the cause of such irritation is still unclear; doctors believe that both physical and psychological sides are involved. Misophonia begins to manifest itself in adolescence, most common in girls. But the question is whether this phenomenon can be recognized as a disease, or is it just obsessive-compulsive disorder, is still open.
Earworm (Haunting Ringtones)
Has it ever happened to you that the same song plays in your head, as if the record was stuck? Of course, this has happened to everyone. The worst part is that it's not even the whole song, but a small excerpt or chorus, right? This annoying nonsense is called an earworm, and it has been tormenting humanity for quite some time. There are always several reasons for this phenomenon, here are the main ones: stress, increased emotional sensitivity, having your head in the clouds, associative series. This is why you start singing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" when someone says the word "mama." In fact, 90% of people experience this condition at least once a week, while a quarter of us experience it several times a day. Most often, this state occurs when we do routine work on which we do not need to concentrate much.
By the way, we bet you’re humming “Bohemian Rhapsody” right now, right? Okay, let's move on...
Most often, the chorus gets stuck in our heads, because this is the part of the song that we remember most quickly. And since we don’t know the whole song, we repeat the chorus in our memory over and over again, trying to reach the end, which in fact does not exist. Earworms are also, to some extent, related to the auditory imagination. To date, scientists cannot say for sure whether intrusive melodies have any higher purpose, other than the opportunity to give the brain a little rest. As a result of research, it was also found that people who do verbal exercises, read anagrams or an exciting novel do not hear intrusive melodies in their heads. The idea is to keep your brain occupied with something not very difficult, then the earworms will never come to you.
Baby crying is one of the most annoying and unpleasant sounds
If every time you fly on a plane, it seems to you that a child is crying somewhere, we will tell you about the reasons for this phenomenon. The human brain is just programmed that way. It turns out that a child's cry always attracts our attention more than any other sound in the world. Oxford scientists conducted an experiment in which it turned out that when a person hears a child crying, several of his brain centers immediately react to this: emotional, speech, the “fight or flight” mechanism, pleasure centers for several senses at once. The brain's reaction to it is so lightning fast that, even having recognized it only partially, it is perceived as very important.
All volunteers who took part in the study were allowed to listen different sounds, including the crying of adults, the cries of animals in pain, none of the sounds caused such a violent reaction in the brain as the crying of a child. Moreover, none of the 28 volunteers had children, and none of them had ever been alone with babies. This means that every person instinctively reacts to the cry of a child, regardless of whether he has his own children or not. Interesting fact- immediately after a person hears a child’s cry, his body mobilizes, which contributes to a rapid transition to care mode. So, no matter whether you have children or not, you will still react to children's cries and there is nothing you can do about it.
Vuvuzelas
The history of the vuvuzela begins in 1910, with Isaiah Shembe, a self-proclaimed preacher and founder of the Nazareth Baptist Church in South Africa. Initially, this instrument was made of reed, then of metal; it was usually used in church services. And as the number of followers of this church increased, the more widespread the vuvuzela became; in the 80s of the 20th century, it began to appear at football stadiums in South Africa. In the 90s mass production With plastic vuvuzelas sweeping South Africa, the instrument has become an integral part of sporting events in the country. The vuvuzela became widespread in 2010 after the FIFA World Cup, which took place in South Africa.
Being something new and having a very loud sound, the vuvuzela gradually entered other sports. But her loud fame was short-lived: when several vuvuzelas sounded simultaneously, the sound was so loud that some fans lost their hearing for a while and got the impression that there was a crowd of evil dwarfs somewhere nearby. This sound irritates the ear even when a match is broadcast on TV, and what makes the situation worse is that a person cannot control its source. In general, the whole story with the vuvuzela quickly came to naught; at the next FIFA championship in Brazil, their use was banned.
Gagging
Do you feel nauseous when you hear someone vomiting or when someone just talks about it? If your answer is yes, then we have two news for you: good and bad. We suggest starting with the bad one - you can’t do anything about it, that’s how the human brain works. That's all. But there is good news: such a reflex indicates that you are an empath. Yes, you can truly feel what others feel and empathize with them. You are the one they call a good man or partner. So-called “mirror” neurons work well in your brain, which make you copy the behavior and feelings of others.
The presence of these same neurons indicates that you have reached the highest stage of evolution, conditionally, of course. Believe it or not, a reflex like this could one day save your life. Scientists believe that such behavior is characteristic only of humans, since he is a social being. Let's go back to prehistoric times, when people lived in very small communities: if one or more members of the community began to vomit, it could mean that the food was spoiled or poisonous, and only the gag reflex could save the rest from poisoning. That is, such behavior simply helped our ancestors survive.
Swearing at other people
With the appearance on television screens of various programs such as The Jerry Springer Show and, of course, the broadcast of the latest presidential elections in the USA, it begins to seem that people simply love to start fights and do not find them irritable at all. To some extent this is true, as long as you are on the other side of the screen and just looking at it all. If you're lying on the couch watching TV, it's certainly fun to watch others fight. You may even start to feel better. But, for example, if you are in the kitchen and your neighbors start arguing about who is washing the dishes today, or who left the toilet seat up, then you will definitely feel discomfort when you are next to them. And you don’t have to take part in the conflict, it’s enough that these people are at least a little indifferent to you. The subject of the dispute and your desire to take part in it also play a role.
Our attitude towards conflict situations depends on how our parents resolved them. Children at any age, whether they are one year old or fifteen years old, are very sensitive to parental quarrels. This concerns primarily not the subject of the dispute, but the final result. For many years, psychologists have studied the impact of parental conflicts on children, and although arguments are still inevitable, they can also benefit from them. It is important that children see that after conflict resolution parents become a little better, then they can understand the true meaning of compromise, acceptance of other people and resolution conflict situations. If this does not happen, then in adulthood such children will be afraid of conflict, everyone possible ways avoiding controversial situations.
Chatting on the phone
In 1880, Mark Twain wrote an essay entitled " Phone conversation" This happened just 4 years after Alexander Bell invented it. In this essay, Twain is ironic about how a telephone conversation is perceived by a third party who only hears half of the conversation. What led him to write this work is still the reason why we are annoyed by other people's telephone conversations. The fact is that the human brain tends to predict events. It doesn't matter whether we do it consciously or unconsciously, when we listen to someone else's telephone conversation, we have insufficient information and cannot predict what the speaker will say next. All people do this, and there is no way to influence it.
This phenomenon is directly related to the main idea of the “theory of consciousness”, which is that a person has access only to his own consciousness, and this can be obtained through introspection; we can try to understand others using the same analogy and through comparison. And people are quite capable of this. There have been cases when people repeated almost word for word what their interlocutor was going to say. But if part of the conversation is inaccessible, the brain cannot simulate a response, which drives it crazy. It is for this reason that other people's telephone conversations irritate us, because we cannot predict what the person will say in the next minute.
Spitting, coughing, sniffling, and, of course, farting
Every person would call all these unpleasant sounds disgusting or, at least, annoying. This is partly due to misophonia, which we discussed above, but there are other reasons as well. First of all, these are some social factors. For example, people in the UK find these sounds more annoying than people in South Africa, most likely due to cultural differences. Older people are more critical of them, perhaps because they have not heard them as often in public, or perhaps because their libido has waned - scientists have not yet come to a clear conclusion.
Another explanation is that these sounds are associated with human body secretions and excrement, which may be the result of pathology or disease, which is why people find it unpleasant to hear them. In addition, the study showed that women are more irritated by these sounds than men. Perhaps this happens because a woman is genetically programmed to take care not only of herself, but also of the child. Although, of course, no one can cancel the role of social factors.
Brownian noise
Let's take the last annoying sound hypothetically and listen to Brownian noise, which few people know about. We hope you are reading this article from your phone or while sitting on the toilet, just to be on the safe side.
This is a low sound, its frequency is 5–9 Hz, which is unattainable for perception by the human ear. But, if the sound is loud enough, our body can feel the vibration. You have to be careful, because they say he's the one who makes people shit their pants (literally). Not very nice, is it? The story of this noise began in 1955 and is connected with an airplane. It was an experimental aircraft with a turbine engine and a high-speed propeller whose rotation speed reached nine hundred revolutions per minute. Even on Idling on the ground, a working propeller caused nausea, headaches and uncontrollable bowel movements in people nearby. The project was canceled and some crew members were seriously injured by the shock wave. The plane was recognized as the loudest in history - the sound of the engines running could be heard 40 kilometers away.
Nevertheless, experiments were carried out for quite a long time, but it was not possible to obtain this Brownian noise. Even NASA became interested in this phenomenon, they were concerned that the astronauts might need to change their spacesuit after takeoff. But the myth of Brownian noise is still alive. In 2005, Mythbusters tried to recreate it, but nothing terrible happened. According to the subject, he simply had the feeling that he was being hit in the chest, as if it were a drum. It may be that people's reaction to the sound from an airplane was not created artificially, and Brownian noise really exists. Just imagine, if someone could recreate this sound and somehow make it publicly available, what kind of fun would any child have at Sunday church service?
Sounds are certainly an integral part of our lives. Even people who have lost their hearing are able to sense many of them. But they are not always pleasant to the human ear, and sometimes can even have a detrimental effect on health. Today we tried to explain to you the nature of perception of only some of them; in fact, there are many more.
Hearing hypersensitivity is a feeling of discomfort in the ears, which is provoked by loud and irritating sounds from the outside world. Many people experience negative emotions only with very loud sounds, but there are also those who try to avoid even less intense noises. Each person has a specific reason for increased sensitivity to sounds, the most serious risk factors are: autism, meningitis, migraines and neurological diseases.
Hyperacusis
The painful perception of sounds is called hyperacusis - a condition in which even weak sounds are perceived as excessively intense. In especially severe cases, hyperacusis is very painful for the sick person. Everything begins to irritate him, pronounced reactions of a neurotic nature appear, which prevent him from adequately perceiving the world and carry out your usual routine work.
With increased sensitivity to sounds, a person may be irritated by children's voices, a car horn, a running vacuum cleaner, the sound of a closing door, the clanking of dishes, and much more. These sounds, as a rule, not only cause discomfort in the ears, but also lead to painful sensations. Increased sound sensitivity is accompanied by severe sound intolerance, nervousness and sleep disturbances. It is very difficult to find such people mutual language with those around them, they are constantly driven to despair or frenzy by the slightest noise, even such as the buzzing of a fly. For a person suffering from hyperacusis, the uniform ticking of a clock turns into a real chime, and someone’s quiet night snoring or snoring can lead to a state of rage and anger.
The occurrence of increased hearing sensitivity
In human nervous system Quite strong compensatory mechanisms operate. Simply put, if damage occurs to the outer, middle or inner ear, auditory system attempts to normalize the reduced amount of information that enters the central areas through an amplification effect in the auditory pathway area. Sounds that should be normally tolerated become unbearable and often cause ear pain and discomfort.
With increased sensitivity to sounds, leading a normal life becomes almost impossible. As a result, many people are forced to give up the profession of a musician, educator or teacher, and also limit contacts with other people. Hearing sensitivity in itself is not a disease. This is a loss of balance between processes in the auditory pathways such as amplification and inhibition. This phenomenon causes a reconfiguration of auditory processes, resulting in a decrease in excitation thresholds.
You need to figure out how often increased hearing sensitivity manifests itself. According to research, it is known that in 40% of all cases, excessive hearing sensitivity occurs in parallel with tinnitus or hearing loss. However, in some cases, the pathology can manifest itself independently; currently, a similar syndrome is diagnosed in 15% of middle-aged people.
Reasons for increased sound sensitivity
Hyperacusis often occurs as a result of a malfunction of the auditory analyzer. Often this condition is observed at the acute stage of pathological processes such as meningitis, traumatic brain injury, encephalitis and cerebrovascular problems. If hyperacusis develops in childhood, this causes great suffering to the child. Such children sleep so lightly that they wake up even from a slight rustle. Over time, they begin to develop intolerance to certain sounds, which can cause headaches, dizziness or nausea.
Childhood hyperacusis can be partial or complete. In the first case, irritability appears at a certain interval, sound range or strong volume. With complete hyperacusis, the child cannot tolerate only too loud sounds. More often, this condition is temporary and manifests itself only as a result of the influence of sounds of a certain tonality. Hyperacusis can be caused by sounds of any tone, and painful perception can be either unilateral or bilateral.
The reason for increased sensitivity to sounds may also lie in a lesion facial nerve or inflammatory ear diseases. Often this condition provokes paralysis of the stapedius muscle, which develops as a result of damage to the facial nerve. There are cases where increased sound sensitivity is the culmination of an attack of Meniere's disease. There is a high probability of progression of hyperacusis with the development of pathological processes in the brain, mainly with tumor-like formations of the midbrain region and thalamus. In such cases, symptoms of hypersensitivity to sounds are accompanied by general hyperpathy and hyperesthesia on the side that is located opposite the pathological process.
Treatment of hyperacusis
In case of neurological diseases, the main cause of the disease is urgently eliminated with the help of sedatives and relaxation procedures. If the cause of sound intolerance lies in pathological processes that are rapidly developing in the body, it is advisable to carry out physiotherapeutic effects on the areas of the middle and outer ear.
For therapeutic purposes, the fluctuarization procedure is used, in which exposure to sinusoidal currents of low voltage and low strength occurs, which change randomly. Such manipulations have a resolving, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect, and symmetrically fluctuating currents reduce swelling.
Hearing allows us to listen to music, conversations, and even helps us sense a potential threat (like hearing a lion creeping up on us). It is amazing how vibrations in the atmosphere can turn into sounds in our heads and what is the reason that some sounds give us pleasure, while others wildly irritate us.
1. Scratching your nails on a board
Let's start this list with a particularly nasty sound: nails scraping on a chalkboard. Among the many sounds that people don't like, this is considered one of the most unpleasant. But why? Why do we find this particular sound so unbearable? Apparently, even some scientists were already interested in this question, so in 2011 they conducted research on this sound. First, it turned out that the sound produced by scraping your nails on a board is in the middle range of sound vibrations, somewhere in the range of 2000-5000 Hz. This frequency is actually amplified by the human ear due to its shape; some believe it was due to evolution. It is in this range that primates make alarm calls to each other, and this may be the reason why we hear these sounds better than others. However, this issue is still widely discussed.
However, this still doesn't explain why this sound is so annoying. In line with the previously mentioned research, it appears that context plays an important role here. Two dozen participants were hooked up to sensors that analyzed their heart rate, electrodermal activity and sweat rate, and then exposed to a series of irritating sounds. Participants were then asked to estimate the extent discomfort for each of them. Half the volunteers were told exactly the source of each sound, and the other half were told that unpleasant sounds were part of some musical work of art. And although their physical reactions were the same - increased heart rate, sweaty palms and the like - people in the first half were more likely to call these sounds annoying than those who considered them part of a modern piece of music. So, as it turns out, it's not necessarily the sound itself that we hate; it's the image that appears in our mind's eye: fingernails moving across a blackboard. The same applies to most other sounds, such as the noise of a working drill, a knife hitting glass, a fork scraping on a plate or teeth, or the creaking of polystyrene foam.
2. Loud chewing
Have you ever been surrounded by people who chew their food so loudly and sloppily that you want to punch them? If not, then you are very lucky. We're talking about our own here own experience. You probably heard this too, but didn’t pay attention. If so, then you are one of the lucky few who do not suffer from a mild form of “misophonia,” or “sound-hatred.” The term itself was coined back in the early 2000s, when a group of scientists studied tinnitus. But misophonia includes the discomfort not only from ringing in the ears, but also the discomfort that some feel from other human sounds, such as chewing, heavy breathing, snapping fingers, yawning, snoring or even whistling. As it turns out, the repetitive nature of these sounds is partly to blame. And, oddly enough, misophonia can also extend to things like fidgeting with your legs, which doesn't make any sound at all.
Mild reactions from people exposed to these sounds include irritation, disgust, discomfort, or a desire to leave. But reactions can also be more serious: some people experience anger, rage, feelings of deep hatred, panic, desire kill the culprit, and sometimes even thoughts of suicide appear. And, as you can imagine, it is extremely difficult for these people to fit into modern society. As a rule, they try to avoid these types of meetings as often as possible, eat alone, or even try to live in complete isolation. Although misophonia is not fully understood or even thoroughly analyzed, it is known that a mild form of it affects most of the world's population, and its symptoms are often associated with anxiety, depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder. However real reasons her appearances are still largely a mystery. Doctors believe that these reasons are partly physical and partly mental. Misophonia tends to worsen between the ages of 9 and 13 and is more common in girls. But is it a separate disorder or is it just by-effect anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder, no one knows for sure.
3. A haunting melody stuck in your head
Have you ever had the same tune playing in your head over and over again, like a broken record? Of course yes. This has happened to everyone. The worst part is that it's not even a whole song, it's just a small part of it that repeats itself endlessly, isn't it? These annoying little passages have been ruining the lives of humanity for a very long time. The reasons for their occurrence are quite complex, but they include a combination of things such as stress, altered emotional states, distracted consciousness and memory associations. That's why sometimes when you hear the word "mom," Bohemian Rhapsody starts playing in your head. What's interesting about these ringtones is that about 90% of people suffer from them at least once a week, while a quarter of the population suffers from them several times a day. This often occurs when we do monotonous, repetitive work that does not require much attention.
Most often, this annoying melody is the chorus - as a rule, this is all that we remember from the song. Because we don't remember the rest, we tend to repeat that refrain over and over and over, trying to find a possible ending that isn't actually stored in our memory. This can also be described to some extent as involuntary auditory imagination. But scientists still haven't figured out whether these melodies are simply a byproduct of our idle brain or whether they have more to do with it. important. However, researchers have found that if you engage in word-related tasks such as creating anagrams or reading a compelling novel, these intrusive melodies tend to go away. The key is to find a task that is attractive enough but not too difficult, because otherwise your mind will start to wander again.
4. Baby crying
A person hears a child crying even against the backdrop of a plane taking off, and there is an explanation for this. This happens because we are all predisposed to this, regardless of any circumstances. All of us. And as it turns out, the sound of a baby crying grabs our attention more than any other sound in the world. In a study conducted by scientists from Oxford, it was found that the sound of a crying baby immediately causes an intense reaction in our brain, especially in those areas that are responsible for emotions, speech, reactions to threats, as well as in the control centers of various senses. The response to that particular sound is so fast that the brain flags it as very important even before it can fully recognize it.
All volunteers who took part in this study were exposed to a series of sounds, including crying adults or various animals that were in pain or suffering. No sound caused such an intense and immediate reaction as the crying of a child. Moreover, none of the 28 volunteers were parents or had any experience caring for infants. This means that we respond to the sound of a crying baby, whether we are the parent or not. Even more interesting is the fact that immediately after people hear this cry, their overall physical performance increases and reflexes speed up, which can make necessary actions easier. So when you get on a plane with a crying child, your alarm goes off involuntarily. And since you are not a parent and cannot do anything about this crying, you end up feeling frustrated and irritated.
5. Vuvuzela
It appeared around 1910 and was created by Isaiah Shembe, a self-proclaimed prophet and founder of the Nazareth Baptist Church in South Africa. The instrument was originally made from reeds and wood, with later versions made from metal. The vuvuzela was used as a religious instrument, played alongside African drums during church ceremonies. But as the number of church followers grew, the vuvuzela became so widespread that in the 1980s it began to be used during football matches in South Africa. By 1990, the South African market was flooded with mass-produced plastic vuvuzelas. They soon became an integral part of the general atmosphere of sports in the country. Then, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the vuvuzela spread like wildfire across the globe.
A novelty among foreign fans and due to its loudness, the vuvuzela soon became popular in other sports competitions. But her quickly acquired popularity was short-lived. It's one thing when it is played by a professional trumpet player accompanied by drums or other instruments, but another thing when hundreds or even thousands of football fans use it in a stadium. In addition to the fact that some spectators suffered from temporary hearing loss due to the volume of the vuvuzela, the sounds produced by many instruments in different keys and at different frequencies resemble a huge swarm of angry wasps. This sound is so annoying that it can ruin even your TV viewing. Moreover, the fact that you cannot control the source of the noise makes the situation even worse. Therefore, FIFA banned the use of vuvuzelas during the next World Cup, held in Brazil.
6. Vomiting
Are you one of those people who start to feel sick when they see someone else who is sick? Or does it happen even when you just hear people talking about it? Well, if so, then we have news for you, both good and bad. Let's start with the bad news. There's nothing you can do about it. Dot. This is how your brain works, and there is nothing that can change this situation. But here's the good news: you're an empathic person. You are a person who has the ability to feel the same things as those around you, and you empathize with them. You are what some call good friend or partner. Your brain has certain “mirror neurons” that make you copy what others do or sense the feelings of others.
Because of these mirror neurons, you can also consider yourself an enhanced human being—literally. Believe it or not, the thing that annoys you when others feel sick may just save your life one day. Some scientists have concluded that this mirror image is an evolutionary trait of humans as communal beings. Even in prehistoric times, when people lived in small communities, if one or more of them vomited, it was probably the result of eating spoiled food or poisoning. So this mirroring was essentially a preemptive measure to get rid of any potential poison before it even began to take effect.
7. Other people's arguments
Judging by television shows, people seem to enjoy other people's arguments rather than annoy them. But there is a difference here, and it depends on where the dispute takes place. If you watch TV while sitting on your couch at home, it can be quite interesting to see people who are ready to argue about any issue; it may even boost your personal self-esteem. But if you're in the kitchen and your roommates start arguing about whose turn it is to do the dishes or who lifted the toilet seat, it can be quite awkward to be in the same room as them. Moreover, you can also get involved in the argument, declaring your opinion, or even - God forbid - take someone's side, but the fact is that these people are not indifferent to you in any case... at least to some extent degrees. The subject of the dispute also plays an important role, whether it affects your interests, and, first of all, whether you yourself want to take part in it.
But the main reason why we find these intimate arguments so annoying and unnecessary has its roots in our childhood, in our parents' domestic disputes. Children of all ages, from toddlers to teenagers, are very susceptible to their parents' fighting. And what is important here is not the fact of the dispute itself, but rather its result. For years, physiologists have analyzed the impact of family feuds on children and found that even if an argument is inevitable, it can be productive. Children should see that their parents ended the argument more peacefully than they started it. In this way, they learn the ability to resolve conflicts and accept compromises. If this does not happen, then they grow up with a fear of potential conflicts and will always try to avoid them, even if it is wrong.
8. Chatting on the phone
Back in 1880, Mark Twain wrote an essay called “Telephone Conversation.” This was just four years after Alexander Graham Bell introduced his invention to the world. In this essay, Twain satirizes what such a conversation sounds like to an outside listener who can only hear half the conversation. But what made him write this essay is one of the most annoying reasons even today. As it turns out, our brains have a habit of anticipating what will happen. Thus, whether we like it or not, when we listen to someone talk, we are actually not just taking in information, but at the same time preparing our response and trying to figure out what that person wants to say next. This happens involuntarily, and we all do it.
The Theory of Mind says that we only have direct access to our own consciousness; We perceive the thoughts of other people only through analogy and comparison. And we cope with this successfully; at various shows there are people who repeat what is said in front of them as quickly as they express their own thoughts. But if speech becomes unpredictable, with random words, then our brain is in trouble. And this is what drives us crazy. This is the reason why we are so irritated by telephone conversations when we can only hear one interlocutor. We cannot predict what a person is going to say next.
9. Spitting, coughing, sniffling and, of course, farting
Almost everyone classifies these sounds as disgusting or at least annoying. In addition to the fact that all these actions can be annoying due to the sounds themselves, they can cause inconvenience for other reasons. First, there may be some social factors at play. For example, people from the UK find them more annoying and disgusting than people from the UK South America- probably due to cultural differences. In addition, older people are also more likely to find them unpleasant, suggesting that they are not used to hearing these sounds in in public places. This may also be due to decreased sexual desire. Scientists are still discussing this issue.
Another reason could be that these sounds are associated with secretions and excrement. These things are often associated with pathogens and diseases, which explains why people tend to feel disgusted or even try to distract themselves when they hear them. A study carried out at the University of Salford found that women of all ages found these sounds more disgusting than their male counterparts. This may be due to the fact that traditionally women play a dual role as protectors - they protect both themselves and children. But again, this may also be due to social factors.
10. The Infamous “Brown Note”
Finally, let’s look at the hypothetically existing “brown note”. This is sound at an ultra-low frequency somewhere between 5 and 9 Hz, which is below the threshold of perception of the human ear. But if the sound is loud enough, it can be felt in the body as a vibration. And as its name suggests, this particular frequency is rumored to cause involuntary fecal ejection that stains pants Brown color. This can be very unpleasant, can't it?
This whole “brown note” thing started with the Republic XF-84H “Thunderscreech” in 1955. It was experimental aircraft With gas turbine engine and a supersonic propeller. Even when idling on the ground, the propeller reportedly made about 900 sonic booms every minute, causing nausea, severe headaches, and sometimes involuntary bowel movements in those around him. The project was abandoned because some crew members were seriously injured by sonic booms. It is quite possible that Thunderscreach was louder than any aircraft ever built, people could hear it 40 kilometers away.
In any case, after rumors appeared about possible unpleasant consequences Countless experiments have been carried out on the effects of ultra-low frequencies over the years, but without any “brown” results. Even NASA was involved in this, which feared that astronauts might need to change their spacesuits after launch into space. This is how the myth of the “brown note” appeared (it was even used in an episode of the film “ South Park"). In 2005, the program MythBusters conducted an experiment with the participation of Adam Savage, but all he felt was as if someone was drumming on his chest, nothing else happened. Of course, it is possible that the conditions that accompanied the testing of a supersonic aircraft were not simulated with sufficient accuracy, and the “brown frequency” does exist, but the chances of this are slim. But what if it actually exists, and someone decides to find a commercial use for it - can you imagine what a child could do with such an invention on Sunday at church? (
Hello. Since childhood, sounds such as snoring, cracking seeds, slurping, and the stomping of neighbors have irritated me. They made some noise and forgot.
Today it’s more difficult, I’m 32 years old, married, with a 2-year-old daughter. Nowadays, it’s mostly sounds from neighbors that irritate us, even if the TV is on quietly, the stomping of feet, loud and not very loud conversations and laughter, car horns, music (mostly knock-knock-knock, if something classical, then it’s more or less acceptable ).
It's calmer in summer. In the summer I open the window and the street noise drowns out. Monotonous sounds are not annoying. I also turn it on specially in the evening washing machine, I cook with the hood and “forget to turn it off”, cartoons for the child or just the radio. Just so as not to drown out “other people”. I can spend hours thinking through scenes and dialogues in which I influenced the situation in one way or another. I'm stressing myself out, exhausting myself. Problems with sleep, constant lack of sleep, because I go to bed only when I am sure that the neighbors have fallen asleep or when I no longer have the strength. And in the morning again - the neighbors are watching the news. And on weekends there is music. I hate weekends because of this. That's why Friday is terrible.
I tried to meditate, relax, drink sedatives, don’t think, just accept it, don’t pay attention, because everything ordinary people and “just watching the news in the evening” is normal. And yes, poor sound insulation, what to do. But no, if it’s quiet, I’m waiting for a catch, I listen and find sounds so quiet that they may not even exist, but I get angry and nervous. It manifests itself as a sharp pain in the chest, and then spreads throughout the body. Even my hand sometimes starts to go away.
What makes it even worse is that I’m always at home. This is the third year already. On maternity leave.
While digging, I realized that it is people’s actions that irritate me - don’t they understand that they are interfering? Isn’t it really possible to lay down a carpet and not knock your heels? After 23 you need to make it quieter. I try not to make noise. I try to make sure everything is done in good faith and correctly. here - incorrectly parked cars, rudeness, ignorance, rudeness, cigarette butts on the street, etc., etc. are annoying.
What to do about it?
Answers from psychologists
Catherine
What to do about it?
Work with your anxious state, find the reason, when, why the fixation on sounds occurred, why, in your understanding, “living correctly” is equal to “living unnoticed, inaudibly.”
Fill life with meaning so that there is no time
Catherine
I'm waiting for a trick, I'm listening
Nagornova Natalya Anatolyevna, psychologist Samara
Good answer 1 Bad answer 1Catherine
I try not to make noise. I try to make sure everything is done in good faith and correctly. here - incorrectly parked cars, rudeness, ignorance, rudeness, cigarette butts on the street, etc., etc. are annoying. What to do about it?
Perhaps now, when you read this, you will not accept or understand this.
You have a global rejection of yourself. You don’t allow yourself to live, you invent some kind of “quiet” life, so that you won’t be heard, and even when you’re on maternity leave you won’t be seen.
Either you will wake up now and listen to the real you - the one who still has the opportunity to give a chance to live! Or...
Matveev Valery Anatolyevich Hypnosis Self-hypnosis Psychologist Tolyatti
Good answer 3 Bad answer 0Catherine. There is life. And it sounds. And, yes, not always classical music.
It sounds in everything and in many ways. And in the seemingly meaningless “tut-tut-tut”, in loud and not very loud conversations, in the stomping of bare heels on the floor, and in the sweet snoring of someone tired during the day. Good sound insulation only in one place. But there’s just no life there.
Let's be honest. Judging by your letter, it’s not the sounds themselves that irritate you.
Catherine
In the summer I open the window and the street noise drowns out. Monotonous sounds are not annoying.
You are irritated by the sounds of other people's lives.
Catherine
Just so as not to drown out “other people”.
But here you are deceiving yourself. You are trying with all your might and in every possible way to “drown out others.”
Catherine
I also specially turn on the washing machine in the evening, cook with the hood and “forget to turn it off”, cartoons for the child or just the radio.
Catherine
While digging, I realized that it is people’s actions that irritate me - don’t they understand that they are interfering? Isn’t it really possible to lay down a carpet and not knock your heels? After 23 you need to make it quieter. I try not to make noise. I try to make sure everything is done in good faith and correctly.
Indeed, why did they consult with you to lay a carpet for them, or love to run pink heels on the freshly washed floor in their own home(Oh, let me tell you, this is a special pleasure). Should they laugh or cry today? What music to listen to, classical or rap? Which channel should I watch? How could they? Live your own little private life, guided by your own desires?
And, Ekaterina, you also sound. Just not outside. Inside yourself: with voices in your head, sorting out relations with careless neighbors. You resonate with irritation: “they do everything wrong, and they are happy.”
And even if everything is quiet and frozen...
Catherine
But no, if it’s quiet, I’m waiting for a catch, I listen and find sounds so quiet that they may not even exist, but I get angry and nervous. It manifests itself as a sharp pain in the chest, and then spreads throughout the body.
I'm afraid I won't hear this life. Then how and with whom can I be angry?
Catherine
Even my hand sometimes starts to go away.
Would you like to knock on the wall and hear the answer? Yes, you can't.
Catherine
What makes it even worse is that I’m always at home. This is the third year already. On maternity leave.
Ekaterina, I’ll tell you something that you definitely won’t like. You also want...: to make noise, not to think about what is right, to get out of the routine. Maybe we should try to afford it? For starters, at least 15 minutes a day? But it’s so simple, just 15 minutes - do what you want? Dancing with your child to loud music, jumping on the bed with him, singing? Just 15 minutes a day of wrongness? 15 minutes to feel life? And be alive? For yourself and for your daughter?
