I’ve mentioned before that noise is a problem for me. It seems there is more to just noise than I realized. I just started “trying” to listen to an audio book using my iPod earphones. I was on a plane where there were many others sounds and conversations. Even though the sound coming through the earphones was very loud, I had a very difficult time focusing on what was said. I had to close my eyes and really concentrate. After a few moments I experienced something unusual where I felt there was a back and forth sensation going on in my head. It’s the same kind of thing I feel when I try looking through binoculars. What is this? Have any of you noticed something like this? The experience created a lot of fatigue for me which often includes my eyes watering a lot as if I’m crying. It was not a great experience (but I’ll keep trying).
Hi Mina!
Noise is not a problem for me. I say this as because of how I had my TBI, I damaged nerves in my left ear that cannot be fixed. Being a technician in the music industry for almost 30 years, you can maybe see how noise is not a factor. Oh…before my TBI, many months on the road having to listen to very load music live, I would always enjoy the quiet days off. Now, to be able to hear properly again will never happen. A good part of my job was relying on my hearing. I can no longer do what I did. I know this doesn’t really help your situation. I thought I would give you, maybe, a different look on things. Love your website!!!
Thank you to the Brain Injury Association of America for providing me with the following response via Facebook: “If you have a hard time filtering out noises, etc, you can experience what you described. If your brain can’t seem to distinguish what sounds to pay attention to, it can feel like you are ping – ponging between the sounds. It can be very irritating and can create fatigue issues very quickly. Additionally, when you are listening to a book on audio, that’s not as “passive” a thing as listening to music. You have to pay attention to the words and process them. This too can be more cognitive work than just listening to music, and can create fatigue quicker than you might expect. I am assuming that if you try to listen to an audio book in a quieter space, it doesn’t create as much of an issue for you?”