The Coffee House

sm4him · Feb 4, 2015

snowbear said:
sm4him said:

mmaria said:

pgriz said:

Earplugs CAN hurt if they apply pressure to your ear canal. However, you may want to check out the "wax" that some swimmers use to block the water out. They are made from a polymer material (probably silicone-based) and are soft, intended to be inserted into the ear canal and take its shape. However, these tend to be throw-away. Another method is to have a soft mold made at a hearing aid place, that fits your ear, and is "permanent" in that you can take it out and wash it as needed.

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trust me, I tried them all, but just can't stand anything in my ears anymore... The last time I used them was about 3 years ago I think.

I'll just mention here that the best earplugs were the ones I got from an USA soldier serving in Iraq. After them, nothing was helpful anymore... They were so good

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Marija, you really ARE my daughter!
I can't wear 'em either. Even the smallest little earbuds hurt my ears after just a short time. I've worn earplugs sometimes when really necessary, but I just can't do it for very long, certainly not overnight. I used to be on the swim team in high school and didn't even like that wax in my ears!

P.S. I am NOT nearly as messed up an individual as it is starting to sound like I am. Yes, I'm an introvert with ADHD, OCD, misophonia, hearing loss and very sensitive ears. Oh, and diverticulitis, might as well throw that one out there too. And bad knees. And horrible eyesight, and more "floaters" than my eye doctor has ever seen in one individual. And OCD, did I mention that?? Oh, and chronic depression, though that's been almost completely under control for several years now--except when it's winter, because then I have SAD on top of the depression (Seasonal Affective Disorder). And the occasional anxiety attack.
But other than that, I am a PERFECTLY normal individual.

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And there's that Volly football thing, too!

Haha, that's probably the worst of it right there!!

In fact, it's so bad, that even TODAY, I am wearing my UT orange. Why? Because it's National Signing Day! And YES, I am keeping track of when our commits actually sign, and how we're doing in the national rankings.

Even *I* realize how crazy THAT is. :lol:

And WHY isn't there a Big Orange emoticon?? There's a peach…and a lemon (okay, I thought there was a lemon, but can't find it now), but no orange??? That ain't right!

:orange:

:govols:
:vfl:

EDIT: Well, lookie there…there IS an orange!! Okay, now I'm happy. er.

bribrius · Feb 4, 2015

what would be the reason my brand new nikon battery only charges to 99%? i charge it, put it in camera, it says condition new (of course). But it doesnt charge past 99%

bribrius · Feb 4, 2015

i have only used it twice. First time it went to 99%, second 98% but the second i probably didnt leave it on long enough... First time it was plugged in all night.

snowbear · Feb 4, 2015

sm4him said:
Even *I* realize how crazy THAT is. And WHY isn't there a Big Orange emoticon?? There's a peach…and a lemon (okay, I thought there was a lemon, but can't find it now), but no orange??? That ain't right!

:govols:
:vfl:

EDIT: Well, lookie there…there IS an orange!! Okay, now I'm happy. er.

It's not orange, but I could probably fix that . . .

snerd · Feb 4, 2015

bribrius said:
what would be the reason my brand new nikon battery only charges to 99%?

Dude, do we really have to clue you in?! Being a Nikon and all?!

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snerd · Feb 4, 2015

Bahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

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limr · Feb 4, 2015

pgriz said:
But that presents a problem, because all those sounds anchor you in the here and now. Without them, it's a cocoon of silence, and often one discovers the noisiness of one own's mind. And that's assuming one doesn't have a case of tinnitus.

Oh, trust me, I know all about how noisy my brain is :biglaugh:

It never stops. Really. And it sounds counter-intuitive, but my head is noisIER when there's too much happening around me. It makes things a cluttered mess and I can't concentrate on anything, so I just spin from one thing to the next, and once the spinny starts, it goes to bad bad places. So shutting out the world? Yes, please. I LOVE that cocoon! It's when I can finally hear myself and talk reason to the spinny part. This is when I can think clearly and differentiate between the brain noise and the productive thoughts.

Being anchored in here and now is all well and good, and I do know how to do that when I'm not overwhelmed. I just get overwhelmed fairly easily.

If the ambient environment is too noisy for your comfort, consider the earplugs, or perhaps some ear buds on which you can play whatever masking sound which works for you (white noise, or gregorian chants, or birds chirping, or even Wagner, if that's what works for you). My wife often sleeps with the radio on - something that works for her, but would drive me nuts if I could hear it. On the other hand, having hearing loss is a little like walking around in the dark with a rather dim flashlight illuminating the area close to you - not recommended if there are things in the dark that you need to know about.

I do wear noise-cancelling ear buds and listen to music in situations that are particularly bad for me. Last week it was the Allman Brothers. At this very moment, it's the Foo Fighters that are saving me. And I need my white noise machine at night. I used to listen to music to fall asleep too, but I slowly weaned myself off of that because Buzz is fine with the white noise, but the music bothers him.

Basically, if I can avoid a situation that I know is going to be bad for me, I'll avoid it if I can, but sometimes it's just not possible. Traveling, for example, stresses me out - being stuck in a moving vehicle so close to so many people? It's a wonder I don't break out in hives. But I love to travel and I don't to stop doing it. Even going down into the city - I hate driving there so I take the train, but I need to have my earphones with me to deal with the noise and chatter on the train.

The real problem is that I can't always control this (just now, a woman was standing near my desk chewing gum loud enough to be heard in space. I wanted to scream, jump across the desk and throttle her), and sometimes, avoiding the situation means not spending time with people. A friend/co-worker sometimes asks me to have lunch with her in her office, but her chewing triggers me big time and her office has no ambient noise whatsoever to block it out. How do you tell a friend that you don't want to spend time with her because the noises her mouth makes when she chews makes me want to tear my hear out?

snerd · Feb 4, 2015

You know who really bugs me?! The coffee drinkers who take a nice sip and then let out the smacking lips sound then a drawn out Ahhhhhhhh whisper thing!!!!! Gnome sayin'?! Was an episode of Seinfeld where Elaine was making fun of them lol!!

limr · Feb 4, 2015

snerd said:
You know who really bugs me?! The coffee drinkers who take a nice sip and then let out the smacking lips sound then a drawn out Ahhhhhhhh whisper thing!!!!! Gnome sayin'?! Was an episode of Seinfeld where Elaine was making fun of them lol!!

That was the episode when she was dating Joel Rifkin and they were trying to think of a different name for him so he wouldn't be confused for the serial killer. She didn't like the name Alex because a guy in her college class kept doing that with his coffee.

Did I not tell you that my brain is noisy?

The only detail I had forgotten was the name "Alex" and had to look that part up.