Too loud or/and too noisy.

I noticed that I am becoming more and more sensitive to sounds lately. I did not used to be like that (it used to be already sensitive, now even more so). It is either my hearing has gotten significantly better or I am, subconsciously, paying a lot more attention to sounds around me.

This is a very serious problem, and some examples should explain this problem.

A simple example first.

I can hear people downstairs watching TV. I tell my parents and sister about it. They all say they cannot hear a single thing (or are not paying enough attention to separate the TV noise from the rest of the background noise).

Not enough to illustrate my frustration? Another one.

When I am trying to sleep, the slightest sound will wake me up. That includes walking past me. This has actually been a problem for me since young. That is why I detest going for camps.

Pi Pi knows this very well. In fact, she has had a first hand experience of this. It was during Media Camp. She merely walked past me and I woke up immediately. I cannot actually remember what I did, but according to her my eyelids flung open and I stared straight at her. After seeing that it was only someone walking past me, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

Due to my sensitivity to sounds (which becomes worse when I am trying to sleep/asleep), I can only fall asleep in a very quiet environment. People walking near me when I am trying to sleep can disrupt me. Also, there are some days when my sensitivity is on the maximum and even clocks with loud ticking can prevent me from sleeping.

Loud music gives me headaches and makes me angry. Crowded places with many people talking at once also irritates me. The noise seriously gets to me. That is also the reason why I always avoid large gatherings (namely class gatherings) and noisy places.

I also cannot tolerate sudden loud sounds. For example, low IQ pranks such as bursting a balloon beside me automatically warrants an eruption from me.

And this is also the reason why I sometimes catch things that most people cannot catch (not because their hearing is bad, but because they are not paying attention). For example, conversations between other people or a snide remark from a nearby classmate (which he or she thought no one could/would catch).

I know I am weird. And I am not exaggerating. Ask any of my family members or Pi Pi and they will tell you that I am that sensitive to sounds.

I do not think that my hearing is better than other people. It is just that I am paying too much attention to sounds.

Either I need to start paying less attention to sounds (which requires massive willpower to suppress this subconsciousness), or I need to get earplugs.

That aside, I have to say that I detest people with the lack of consideration for people who are sleeping. If it is already late at night, then bloody close your room doors softly and talk softer. And the TV volume ought to be toned down, obviously.

If next time I am ever convicted for murder, it was probably because the person did not turn the door knob of his or her room door softly enough.

Yes, I am that peculiar.

And oh, may everyone have a pleasant year ahead. Happy 2009, folks.