Posted by dove on February 1, 2005, at 9:10:02
In reply to Extreme sensitivity to gum chewing, lip smacking.., posted by Kon on January 30, 2005, at 21:16:04
Thank you so much for the link! I have never seen, heard or read anything regarding this issue before.
My husband has this problem in an extreme way, and we have 5 kids who all like to chew their food and breathe on a regular basis! He does have physical damage to his ear, the result of many childhood ear infections.
I have modified our dining habits to ease the tension, losing the formalities (no one sits at the table except for breakfast although we all do eat meals together) and allowing the TV to be on. During the breakfast crunch-fest he takes his morning shower, and thusly, that problem momentarily solved.
He utilizes headphones and music at work and will just pop them on when someone is chomping away in his cubey(sp?)--cubicle. He also says it helps if he can crunch on chips or something internally noisy if people around him are eating loudly. The gum smacking still causes a fairly extreme reaction though, he considers being exposed to this noise most intolerable and unbearable.
For sleeping--as he has a tendency to wake us both up due to either of us breathing too loud--we have a big fan blowing on low. White noise helps him enormously in almost any situation, however, if he is trying to fall asleep and the sound is too loud it backfires.
Social drinking has also helped him at big family gatherings and other social-orientated events with lots of eating or lip smacking. Nevertheless, this is not a method of relief appropriate for his everyday living.
He has gotten a bit better over the past 15 years, partly due to repeated excessive exposure, and losing more of his hearing in his bad ear, not exactly great methods for decreasing sensitivity to say the least!
Thank you again for sharing!!! I am very interested in this disorder (or whatever people prefer to label it). And I empathize but cannot truly realize what it must be like to live with this sensitivity.
dove
poster:dove
thread:450362
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050128/msgs/450967.html