As a Highly Sensitive Person any kind of stimulation can be overwhelming past a certain point. This has been a challenge to manage all of my life. What is easy and normal for others is not easy and normal for me.
So when I had to get a new apartment there wasn’t alot of great choices where I wanted to live. I wanted to save as much money on housing as I could. I guess that may make me sound cheap. I looked around and almost every cheap place was terrible. I found one place that was more than I wanted to pay by a few hundred dollars but when you considered all of the features it was a terrific deal.
I went and looked at it and was amazed at the features and the price. Even though it was next to an Interstate I didn’t think much of it because it was pretty quiet and I could deal with that noise. I signed up for a one year lease. Now one of the things that I didn’t know is that was a quiet part of the day/week and the sound from traffic was louder. Much louder.
The first few days in my new apartment I had a constant headache. I wore my earphones but they were insufficient to block the noise. They weren’t noise canceling headphones. I couldn’t wear ear plugs because they hurt my ears. Part of being an HSP is pressure sensitivity.
Why am I sharing this? You will see in a moment. As time went by I bought the Sonos Ace headphones which helped tremendously, and then the 3M Peltors which completely blocked the sound. They are amazing.
Now today even though there is moderate noise I noticed that I didn’t reach for either headphone. I have gotten used to louder background noises and it doesn’t feel uncomfortable anymore. Don’t misunderstand. Noise is still stressful for people and there are studies that it can harm learning and health. I will wear my headphones later today for sure. However the important thing here is that with time, you learn to adapt. By living next to an Interstate highway, my tolerance for noise has grown and that helps me every time I am in public.
Change is hard, but growing always makes your life easier.