Extremely sensitive to certain noises! Help its driving me crazy!!

[MrsJaydaJae]

Hello everyone :) This may sound super weird , but I hate any noise that people make with their mouth. I mean its really weird. If someone is eating loudly , smacking ,slurping ,burping , hicups or anything else obnoxious while eating (or not)I get so frustrated. My heart starts beating fast and I just become very anxious and want to get up and leave the situation.  If I am unable to leave I actualy start to get angry and feel short of breath. I love my husband and parents dearly, but they have horrible manners at home. Its so hard for me to stay around to visit. My dad is constantly burping really loud and It seems my mom always has the most watery sounding hiccups I have ever heard. I try my best to not be rude, but I just cant stand it. My chest is seriously geting tight just thinking about it and typing this. Also my husband is always is eating really loudly. Its got so bad at times I have had to get up from the dinner table, put on my head phones and go for a walk. I also have a no eating in the car rule because I swear I can still hear the smacking and slurping even with the radio on super loud. I actualy hung up on my friend for burping while on the phone with me. I can't be around when my dog is drinking water or licking himself the sound makes me want to puke. Ok now with all this said I have a 6 month old who always makes mouth noises and it does not bother me one bit. How weird is that? Anyway I don't know whats wrong with me , but this weird pet peeve of mine is causing me trouble in my everyday life. I hate feeling this way and wish I could do something to just be normal. Im starting to think that I may have a mental illness. Any thoughts? Thanks for reading.

[LesInsectes]

I don't have an answer but I share the exact same feelings with you in everything you mentioned. Particularly the burps and mouth noises. I can't watch a movie that I know someone burps in, or if I hear someone burp it will literally replay in my head as I'm falling asleep and startle me awake and I won't be able to go back to sleep. If I'm even in the same room as someone chewing with their mouth open I storm out while giving them a dirty look. I haven't found any answers yet- just wanted you to know you're not alone :)

[Paxiled]

This post is several years old.  If you want to talk to people now, make a new post.

[remar]

I think counseling would sure be worth a try. It's something that truly bothers you. Many of us can not stand certain noises. If you have anxiety it can be even worse.

[innerchild09]

I can relate to some of this. Not so much the eating sounds and burps and all that but I do have a huge problem with loud noises, Like I cant stand the sound of pots and pans clanging together. Thats one example It hurts my ears. Sometimes it makes me jump or freak out as well. Just depends. it always does hurt my ears though. But sometimes I jump as well. Just that can be interfearing with my life.

But I think the sounds that bother you are even more harder avoid. Everyone around makes noises with the mouth. Sorry you deal with that.

I think the first step is to find a phyciatrist or a theropist and explain to them what is going on with you. Maybe they might have a clue. Theropy is helpful in learning to deal with the problems. A Phyc doctor might be able to make a diagnosis if there is something wrong and proscribe meds.

Hope that helps.

[MrsJaydaJae]

Thank you both fr your comments :)

TTinKKerBBell  what you have said makes sense, but how do you go about changing how you react to certain noises? I can barely even tolerate it enough to not scream! Also how to I go get help for something that I don't or noone else understands? I mentioned it to my doctor(regular MD) at a rountine check up once and he said everyone has things that get on their nerves, like it was not a big deal. I have never been diagnosed with any sort of mental illness, but I supose they can pop up at anytime. I have been this way for about 2 years now and Im very embarassed to be like this. Maybe I need some kind of anxiety medicine. I really want to be better with this. What's the first step? I feel totaly crazy when this happens and the rest of the time 100% ok. Thank you for taking the time to answer this and share your personal story with me.

[TTinKKerBBell]

I would certainly never presume to diagnose You, BUT, reading Your post does make me wonder if You have "something" going on.  Personally, I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and "triggers" for me are sudden loud noises - I SCREAM and I JUMP RIGHT OUT OF MY SKIN at sudden sound - a doorbell, a telephone, a car backfire, a siren - be it Police, Ambulance or Fire (doesn''t matter the cause) etc.  I must stress, not a simple LITTLE jump or a LITTLE yelp, but I scream so LOUDLY I scare everyone in the room - and not just a "LITTLE jump" but I'm looking to RUN!!, to ESCAPE!!.  Today I am on medication for this and my symptoms, while they REMAIN,  they are "SOMEWHAT" milder.  What alarms me about Your post are the words You use to describe Your reaction (s):
"HATE any noise"
"just can't STAND it"
"get SO frustrated"
"heart starts beating so FAST"
"want to LEAVE the situation"
"become VERY anxious"
"GET angry"
"feel SHORT of breath"
"My chest gets TIGHT"
"causes TROUBLE in Your EVERYDAY life"
"You HATE feeling this way"
etc., etc., etc.

SO,

my advice is to seek help for YourSelf.  You CANNOT keep others from "smacking, slurping, burping, hiccuping, licking, lapping, etc., etc., but You CAN do something to control Your reaction to these sounds.  It may not make sense to You, to me, to others - BUT - that doesn't even matter!!  The IMPORTANT  thing to realize is that You can find help to make these things more tolerable for YourSelf.  I say this in the same sense that I CANNOT keep telephones from ringing, I CANNOT stop doorbells or sirens or cars that backfire or whatever......but I CAN
somewhat control my reaction to these outside influences.  It required counseling AND medication but I'm cool with that in the sense that I can tolerate my world now on a MUCH more comfortable level.  
I'd like to hear from You again on how You have perceived what I have tried to share with You.
Regards,
Tink

[remar]

I'm not sure if you have anxiety or not. Many of us that do have it can not tolerate certain noises.