PTSD causing music annoyance?
April 7, 2010 11:04 AM Subscribe
Could PTSD be causing my music annoyance?
I have a really low tolerance for music and repetitive noises--don't enjoy music, can't think coherently or get work done while there is music. I also have PTSD (under control, and I know YANAD), and I'm interested if there's a connection between music (talking about your normal non-startling music, any genre) and PTSD-related anxiety/stress.
I'm interested in
1. Your anecdotal evidence for/against
2. Any articles on the subject (Google skills failed. Searching PTSD and music yields too many music-relaxation-therapy sites).
3. Any tips for handling music during working situations (sometimes my co-workers listen to music. Other than earplugs or asking them to turn it off, what can I do?)
I have a really low tolerance for music and repetitive noises--don't enjoy music, can't think coherently or get work done while there is music. I also have PTSD (under control, and I know YANAD), and I'm interested if there's a connection between music (talking about your normal non-startling music, any genre) and PTSD-related anxiety/stress.
I'm interested in
1. Your anecdotal evidence for/against
2. Any articles on the subject (Google skills failed. Searching PTSD and music yields too many music-relaxation-therapy sites).
3. Any tips for handling music during working situations (sometimes my co-workers listen to music. Other than earplugs or asking them to turn it off, what can I do?)
Anxiety and panic attacks, often a major component of PTSD, are linked to sound sensitivity. The colloquial explanation is that panic and anxiety trigger your fight or flight response. Inherent is an increased sensitivity to, awareness of and perception of danger. Noise can be a signal of danger.
Try googling "noise sensitivity" or "reducing sound sensitivity". There are sites on hypnosis, desensitization, etc. I deal with this a bit, and find myself constantly turning down the volume on things even though I am hard of hearing, to the point where I can't hear dialog on the TV but the noise is still loud enough to really, really bother me.
posted by bunnycup at 11:16 AM on April 7, 2010
Try googling "noise sensitivity" or "reducing sound sensitivity". There are sites on hypnosis, desensitization, etc. I deal with this a bit, and find myself constantly turning down the volume on things even though I am hard of hearing, to the point where I can't hear dialog on the TV but the noise is still loud enough to really, really bother me.
posted by bunnycup at 11:16 AM on April 7, 2010
I can't speak for PTSD, but I've had acute anxiety disorder for the better part of ten years. While I love music - it's a way for me to shut out the 'white noise' - I can tell you that repetitive sounds, no matter how big or small, can be the bane of my existence. depending on my anxiety levels these sounds usually make me extremely irritable to the point that it can instantly put me in a bad mood if I don't do something about it. The same goes for any kind of repetitive movement that covers my peripheral vision.
Good luck finding some solutions.
posted by New England Cultist at 11:17 AM on April 7, 2010
Good luck finding some solutions.
posted by New England Cultist at 11:17 AM on April 7, 2010
I was going to ask "has this always been the situation, or has it changed since the PTSD?" but I see this is anonymous, so never mind.
One possibility that's not related to PTSD is that you're simply highly sensitive to stimulus. I can't read or write if music with vocals is playing, and even instrumental-only can be difficult. It feels as though my brain can't filter out or ignore the incoming sounds, and my attention keeps shifting to them instead of staying on what I'm trying to do.
The book The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron has been helpful for me and others who find ourselves overwhelmed or unable to concentrate due to stimulus overload. She has a website, too. (FWIW, it's not "highly sensitive" in the sense of "special snowflake", it's "highly sensitive" in the sense of "receptors overloaded, Captain, no more input possible — processing shutting down!".)
posted by Lexica at 11:22 AM on April 7, 2010
One possibility that's not related to PTSD is that you're simply highly sensitive to stimulus. I can't read or write if music with vocals is playing, and even instrumental-only can be difficult. It feels as though my brain can't filter out or ignore the incoming sounds, and my attention keeps shifting to them instead of staying on what I'm trying to do.
The book The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron has been helpful for me and others who find ourselves overwhelmed or unable to concentrate due to stimulus overload. She has a website, too. (FWIW, it's not "highly sensitive" in the sense of "special snowflake", it's "highly sensitive" in the sense of "receptors overloaded, Captain, no more input possible — processing shutting down!".)
posted by Lexica at 11:22 AM on April 7, 2010
Better things to google would be sensory defense, sensory integration, and auditory processing. I have weirdly low tolerances for certain sounds (and other sensory stimuli) too, and reading about that stuff was helpful at least insofar as making me feel less bizarro because it's a named thing, you know? A lot of the stuff on the Internet about sensory integration has to do with people on the autism spectrum, especially children, but other people get it too. Off the top of my head I know at least one person who has both PTSD and some sensitivities like yours.
posted by clavicle at 11:32 AM on April 7, 2010
posted by clavicle at 11:32 AM on April 7, 2010
I don't have PTSD, but other people's music in the workplace annoys the crap out of me. I know I"m not alone in that. It is a common complaint in music-allowing workplaces, and why most offices eventually go to a "no music unless you're using headphones" policy.
I have worked in several music-allowing offices. For those who want to opt out, the most common method is Bose noise-canceling headphones.
My bet is that if you could take an anonymous poll of your coworkers, a significant percentage of them would be grateful if the policy changed. I can pretty much guarantee you're not the only one being annoyed by the music.
posted by ErikaB at 11:47 AM on April 7, 2010
I have worked in several music-allowing offices. For those who want to opt out, the most common method is Bose noise-canceling headphones.
My bet is that if you could take an anonymous poll of your coworkers, a significant percentage of them would be grateful if the policy changed. I can pretty much guarantee you're not the only one being annoyed by the music.
posted by ErikaB at 11:47 AM on April 7, 2010
I have oodles of PTDS friends, and many of them have made disparaging remarks about their "bionic senses." They can't shut out noise or blinking lights, like the TV or car alarm headlights outside their apartment windows.
I know- the plural of anecdote is not data, but it's come up enough that I'd thought I'd mention it.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:52 AM on April 7, 2010
I know- the plural of anecdote is not data, but it's come up enough that I'd thought I'd mention it.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:52 AM on April 7, 2010
I have something similar, I can't get anything done if there is music on. I can either listen to music or get stuff done, but not both at the same time.
posted by mareli at 12:17 PM on April 7, 2010
posted by mareli at 12:17 PM on April 7, 2010
I don't know if this is in anyway relevant or non-bullshit, but after Josh gets shot on the West Wing, he gets extremely sensitive to music. This whitehouse band is playing some tubas and shit and Josh goes crazy and smashes his window and yells at everyone. Then Leo McGarrity ropes in Elliott Gould to be the tough psychiatrist who forces Josh to realize that his music sensitivity is from PTSD from getting shot.
posted by jeb at 12:30 PM on April 7, 2010
posted by jeb at 12:30 PM on April 7, 2010
Basically, PTSD is a neurological disorder, as are ADD, anxiety, depression, etc. I have ADD, while my mom & sister are more familiar with the anxiety & depression, and we all have major issues with repetitive sound and, to a lesser extent, music. We all love music - as long as all we are doing is listening to music. I can't focus at all if I can hear music or any kind of rapping, tapping, clicking, squeaking, whatever. My students think I'm a freak.
It seems like, for whatever reason, that sounds like these can completely derail the mental functions of those of us who have to work a little harder to keep it together :)
posted by SamanthaK at 1:53 PM on April 7, 2010
It seems like, for whatever reason, that sounds like these can completely derail the mental functions of those of us who have to work a little harder to keep it together :)
posted by SamanthaK at 1:53 PM on April 7, 2010
Golly, I thought it was just me. I too have come to strongly dislike most music in a PTSD sorta way (comes of getting my heart broken by a musician) and I cannot tune it out and cannot concentrate with it on. For a while I worked at a retail store that had pop music constantly and repetitively; the only way I could adapt was to make up obscene lyrics to the songs and mentally sing along. It kept me smiling, good in retail, instead of freaking out. Thank you for asking this, even anonymously; I am really glad to see I'm not alone...
posted by The otter lady at 1:57 PM on April 7, 2010
posted by The otter lady at 1:57 PM on April 7, 2010
Anecdote: I get horrible migraines that temporarily heighten my senses - light hurts my eyes, I feel like i need to wear tight clothes because my free-flowing veins throb....and music (but not white noise) really annoys me. I've always wondered about this because normally, in non-headache mode, I love music and it lifts my spirits 10x more than silence or white noise. Perhaps PTSD puts people in a simialr mindset where their senses are so sensitive that stimuli formally tolerated become unbearable.
posted by WeekendJen at 2:01 PM on April 7, 2010
posted by WeekendJen at 2:01 PM on April 7, 2010
I can't say anything about PTSD but I also find music can be terribly distracting. Although I love music and enjoy listening to it while doing certain things, if I have to do anything requiring typically left hemisphere functions, music throws a monkey wrench in the works. My personal (non-neuroscientist, totally amateur) theory is that trying to process music + words + numbers simply overloads my left hemisphere, and it's distracting and annoying (especially when it's somebody else's lousy taste in music).
There's also some evidence that certain aspects of music and language are processed in the same region of the brain, so again there's competition for CPU cycles, so to speak.
tl;dr - music can be distracting even without PTSD.
posted by Quietgal at 2:24 PM on April 7, 2010
There's also some evidence that certain aspects of music and language are processed in the same region of the brain, so again there's competition for CPU cycles, so to speak.
tl;dr - music can be distracting even without PTSD.
posted by Quietgal at 2:24 PM on April 7, 2010
Nothing but anecdotes here, with no science at all to back me up, but you said that was okay so here I go. I had postpartum depression years ago, and there are similarities between PPD and PTSD (I have heard). I had a terrible problem with a song that was stuck in my head during that time. Not in a "oh, there's that song again" way, but in a "if I see Paul Simon on the street I will kill him and no jury will convict me" way. For me, it was the biggest indication that I was a little nutso and needed professional help. Getting my PPD treated got rid of the song.
So I'm going to say yes, there might be a connection between the listening-to-music part of the brain and the anxious-and-upset part of the brain, and not always in a good way.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:14 PM on April 7, 2010
So I'm going to say yes, there might be a connection between the listening-to-music part of the brain and the anxious-and-upset part of the brain, and not always in a good way.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:14 PM on April 7, 2010
Dunno but I can tell you I hated music when I was a child. I felt like it was trying to control me or impose in my head. But I have never had any PTSD.
posted by chairface at 4:19 PM on April 7, 2010
posted by chairface at 4:19 PM on April 7, 2010
PTSD aside, there is nothing worse than having music you don't enjoy imposed upon you at work. My question (which is probably difficult for you to answer, annon) is: did you have such problems before onset of PTSD?
I ask because I have PTSD (supposedly: my typical symptoms are near nil six years later), but I never encountered music specific problem, per se.
At the same time, I've always listened to music while working, concentrating, studying, doing tasks, etc.
At work people should be listening to their ipods, anyway (way less distracting - at the same time I realize how horrendous it sounds to suggest that we all simply retreat to our own individual shells = it's the norm everywhere I've worked for the last five years).
The thing that stands out for me from your question is that music is almost always repetitive in some way or another.
I say ask people to adjust their music. It's the workplace so this is not at all "asking too much". Just say that it's interfering with your concentration or something as reasonable as that.
Good luck!
posted by marimeko at 6:18 PM on April 7, 2010
I ask because I have PTSD (supposedly: my typical symptoms are near nil six years later), but I never encountered music specific problem, per se.
At the same time, I've always listened to music while working, concentrating, studying, doing tasks, etc.
At work people should be listening to their ipods, anyway (way less distracting - at the same time I realize how horrendous it sounds to suggest that we all simply retreat to our own individual shells = it's the norm everywhere I've worked for the last five years).
The thing that stands out for me from your question is that music is almost always repetitive in some way or another.
I say ask people to adjust their music. It's the workplace so this is not at all "asking too much". Just say that it's interfering with your concentration or something as reasonable as that.
Good luck!
posted by marimeko at 6:18 PM on April 7, 2010
Anecdotally: My grandfather was a bomber pilot in WWII. He was known for his dislike of all music. I always thought that was odd, but maybe it's not so much. TV noise didn't seem to bother him -- he watched TV and listened to it at typical old-man/wake-the-neighbors volume.
I don't know if he had PTSD. He was of That Generation, and such things were not discussed. He was an (unrecovered) alcoholic from the time he returned from the war, though. He drank beer starting at noon and ending when he went to bed, so he was usually somewhat buzzed. Maybe that made things better for him.
So my point is, "Take up drinking!" Wait, no, don't do that.
posted by Jane Austen at 5:53 PM on April 12, 2010
I don't know if he had PTSD. He was of That Generation, and such things were not discussed. He was an (unrecovered) alcoholic from the time he returned from the war, though. He drank beer starting at noon and ending when he went to bed, so he was usually somewhat buzzed. Maybe that made things better for him.
So my point is, "Take up drinking!" Wait, no, don't do that.
posted by Jane Austen at 5:53 PM on April 12, 2010
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White noise is an excellent way of at least partially covering up background sounds - you can get a noise generator or just use a fan or air purifier. You can even get an mp3 of white noise and play it looped on a cheap mp3 player with headphones (if you have any trouble finding an mp3 of white noise I can make one and upload it somewhere, it is pretty simple).
posted by idiopath at 11:16 AM on April 7, 2010