When life overwhelms us

For some of us the simple sounds around us can start to get overwhelming and we need to figure out just how to manage everything. The sounds that I am talking about is traffic outside where to live to even the sounds that are within your home. I know that living in an apartment building it means that we deal with quite a few sounds that we don’t have any control over. For someone that have very sensitive hearing these sounds can seem to be extremely loud even when they aren’t even audible to others around us. 

I know that there are times when I am sitting here at my desk, and I can enjoy listening to the little bits of sounds around me and then there are times when things just seem to start to escalate and I am not certain how to manage them. Living in an apartment building I know that I am going to hear the sounds from the units around us which normally aren’t too bad but there are times when a unit is getting renovated that the sounds seem to be extremely loud. Other sounds that we hear quite frequently while living in an apartment during are:

• Doors slamming because people don’t think about how them dropping their door will affect others.
• Crossing guard whistle during the day so that children and adults can cross the street. It used to be that the crossing guard only blew their whistle for children but now it seems they do it for everyone.
• Emergency vehicles sirens seem to be quite frequent and that is probably due to living in a high destiny area.
• Van doors slamming – this is due to veggies vendors being able to a park in a regular street parking park and sell their veggies for days/weeks/months on end.
• Car’s backfiring – this is due to cars not being tuned correctly so everyone has to listen to cars backfiring and almost sounding like gun shots around us on a very regular basis.
• People – children/adults thinking that bouncing on the floor is fun because that makes them happy and it doesn’t matter what time of day or night it is.
• Music playing – people not understanding that the sound of their stereo especially the base sound is going to be heard through multiple floors because where they stereo or speakers are located. Speakers on the floor are going to transfer sounds through multiple floors even if you don’t think that they do.

I know for someone like me there are days when I think I can manage everything just fine and then all of a sudden, the sounds seem to escalate and what I thought I could manage isn’t manageable any longer. The sounds that each person hears is going to differ and you have to understand and respect that when you live in a high destiny area even what you think might not be a loud noise could possible bother someone else.

As I am writing this blog there is someone on one of the floors above me that things that bouncing on the floor is a lot of fun. This sound is travelling through at least a floor or two and they don’t understand how others hear the sound. The other thing is when someone decides to knock on their wall because it just seems fun. The unit beside you is going to hear is so be prepared to get someone knocking back to let you know that you are heard.

Of course, there are going to be sounds that overwhelm us sometimes and then other times those same sounds are something we can manage. We just need to know that being able to escape from the sounds is something that we need to do and we also need to know that we have the method available that allows us to escape them.

When is quiet, quiet?

For a lot of us we have had to say when is quiet, quiet?

For me it is when I can turn out the rest of the world and enjoy some time when I am not having to hear all the various sounds around me. Right now, I am sitting here trying to make sure that I can find some time to just hide from the world and not hear everything else that is around. When you live in a high destiny area you are going to constantly hear lots of sounds, and you need to figure out just how to escape some of them.

It would be nice to know that I have been able to get a bunch of things achieved, so we will see how things go. It would be nice to be able to continue to get more of the thoughts out of my head so we will see how things go but it depends on the noise that I am dealing with. It would be nice to have a bit of time to lose myself and have a bit of quiet time to just figure out what I would like to achieve.

Being able to spend some quiet time is very important because I know for someone like me just having those few minutes where I can sit and lose myself without hearing all the various sounds around me makes me feel so much better. Hearing sounds that are normal for a lot of people but a challenge for some people can really make a difference.

Sometimes the difference between noise cancelling and just quiet ear plugs can make such a difference. I had been wearing a quiet ear plug and one noise cancelling earphone and then I changed to both quiet ear plugs, and I found such a difference. What I have found putting the two ear plugs in is I have been able to block out a bunch of the sounds that I normally hear and that is great. I am not certain what noises I can still hear but at least having a bit of time where I can escape the sounds from outside makes me feel so much better. We have been dealing with several cars that have issues with back firing so have these ear plugs in have made a big difference.

When I can say that there are times when I just need quiet it means that I need to block out all the various arounds that are going on around me. Being able to focus on something and know that I have been able to take that time for myself and not hear all the surroundings sounds makes me feel great. Yes, having a chance to enjoy quiet is very important for a lot of us and for those that deal with extremely hearing, having a bit more quiet time is extremely important.

The Sounds Around Us

There are so many different sounds that we hear each day, and sometimes they are just in the background and other days they seem to be a lot louder and more present. In a lot of cases, the amount we hear of a sound can depend on how we are feeling and how many other sounds are also around us.

I live in a high-density neighbourhood, so there are always sounds that we can hear, and it doesn’t matter what time of the day or night it is, there are always different sounds around us. When you are in a different location, you will also hear other sounds that you don’t hear where you live or work. I will try and list some of the sounds that are normal for me, but if you don’t live in a high-density neighbourhood, you may not hear all these sounds.

• School bells – this is a sound that we hear all the time and multiple times each weekday. These school bells are also heard during the summer because the school is used for summer school, so there is no break from this sound.
• Dumpster collection – this is a sound that we hear quite often as each of the apartment buildings have dumpsters that need to be emptied, and they are done at least once a week. Each building has a difference schedule, so you hear that most days.
• Emergency vehicles – here is a sound that we hear numerous times a day, and a lot of these will be medical emergencies, but sometimes there are elevator rescues or fires that need to be handled around us.
• Buses – when you live on a street that has buses on it 24 hours a day, you get to hear them all the time, and they start to become just a background sound that you hear.
• Construction – these are the sounds that can overwhelm you sometimes, and that is the construction due to parking lot renovations or road work. These sounds happen, and they can be extremely hard to block out.
• People yelling at each other – now here is a sound that can be very hard to block out, especially when it happens in the middle of the night. People don’t seem to realize how their voices carry when they are carrying on a loud conversation in the middle of the night. These sounds bounce off the buildings, so they can be heard even when you are up quite a few floors from the street.
• Car's backfiring – now this is a newer sound that we have been hearing lately and that is the sound of cars backfiring. There seems to be a few cars in our area that have mistuned engines and their cars backfire quite often.
•  Constant sound of vehicles on the major roads and a highway nearby, including those racing at the wee hours of the night.

So, yes, we all have sounds around us and I know that I have just listed some of the surrounding sounds, but these are the sounds that are ones that happen quite often around us and can be very different from what people hear in a residential area of a city.

When you stop and just listen to the various sounds around you when you are in different places, you will hear different things that aren’t things you may hear normally. For me, it is always such a difference when we go away from home because you do notice the lack of some of these sounds because these sounds have now become normal everyday sounds to me.

The sounds around us can change from time to time, even when you are within one area. When there are leaves on trees or snow on the ground, the sounds around us can sound different. So next time you have a few minutes, go outside, and listen to the sounds around you and see what sounds you have around you.

Sounds around you

Sit back and listen sometimes to the sounds around you. You may be surprised at what you really hear.

What you hear will really depend on where you are when you take the time to just listen to the sounds.

• If you are out in a mall or such a location you will probably hear a lot of conversations going on around you.
  • Most of what you hear will be a mixture of voices and music.
• Sitting by the water, you may not hear a lot other than the sounds of the water.
• In your own home you may hear a lot of different sounds
  • Depending on the time of day or season what you hear at home can vary. Around us we can normally hear cars and public transit vehicles. There are also times when we can hear children outside playing or emergency vehicles approaching the neighborhood.
• Sitting in a park. Depending on the location of the part the sounds can really vary.
  • You may hear children playing in a play area close by.
  • There are spots where you will just hear the sounds of nature if the park is away from traffic and such.
  • Other parks will still give you the sounds of the city going on around you.
• Out in the country. The sounds out in the country are so different than in the city. The animals are different and even the vehicles can be different.

Being able to spend some time to just listen to the sounds around you can be interesting. There are times that the quiet can be so soothing will other times you need to hear the multiple sounds.

There are times that I need the voices around me to help me focus on something that I need to do. Other times the quiet is what I need to accomplish the same type of thing. As someone that spends a lot of time writing I find that being able to vary what I hear around me really helps. When you always hear the same things it can get a little boring so changing up what you hear can be great.

Next time you have something that you need to accomplish and your normal surroundings aren't working change the location. Maybe, the change in the sounds will help you get that task accomplished quickly. Listen to the sounds around you and see what the difference is. You may be surprised at how the sounds around you can either help or hinder you in accomplishing what you need to do.

The Sounds Around You

Rooster in the city

Have you ever just sat and listened to all the various sounds that are around you at a given time?

It can be very interesting to just sit and listen for a while to see the different sounds that are always around us. I have had the opportunity to do that and it is amazing what you can hear when you actually focus on just listening. A lot of this happened over the last while for me as I had to deal with a sound that I shouldn't have had to deal with in a city. We actually had a rooster running around in the property beside us for around 6 or 7 weeks. At first it wasn't too bad because it didn't crow too often. By the end of the first month I know that I was getting very frustrated with the crowing because it went from once in a while to very frequently.

Now what I need to explain is we live in a high destiny area and it all apartment buildings. So the rooster was roaming around the apartment building property beside us. The rooster isn't allowed to be in our city as it is considering a farm animal and they are not allowed to be kept in the city. We did call into the city to report it and it was a challenge because they wanted an apartment unit number to associate the rooster with. The best part was after about 5 or 6 weeks my husband decided to go and see if he could figure out the unit where the rooster was being kept. This was when we found out that it was roaming freely on the property and the super would take it in at night. Finally after pictures and a unit number we were able to get the results we wanted and the rooster is no longer around us.

Of course we all deal with a large amount of sound around us all the time but it is the odd ones that stand out the most. I can sit and normally I hear children playing, vehicles passing the building and even sometimes doors being closed but the rooster was the sound that was very odd to hear in our neighbourhood.

One day when you have a little bit of time just sit and listen to your surroundings and you may be surprised at what you hear. I hope you don't hear a rooster unless you are at a fair or near a farm but see what you hear.