Babies crying=sensory overload and headphones

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I have always noticed an inability to cope with the sound of a young baby/child whining, screaming, fretting or crying-especially if the child is screaming for the sake of making a noise, not because it's unhappy.

I have tried wearing headphones to drown it out but i find the pitch and volume are still audible even when I have the personal CD volume turned up to max. i don't want to risk ruining my ears but most in-ear headphones hurt my ears.

I have seen some earphones that have squashy rubber ends so they can go in the ear but mould themselves to your ear's shape and think I might be able to cope with those, sas hopefully it should also seal OUT the children's noise.

Does anyone know where i can acquire a pair of these within the UK? Otherwise I'm going to go mad-or end up screaming "SHUT THAT BLOODY CHILD UP!"-with predictable consequences. (I came very close to it today.)

Thanks!

JulieArticuno

I have kids and yes it is very hard to hear babies crying/ screaming. Remember though that this is an evolutionary design to ensure their survival; if babies were quiet a lot of them would probably be malnourished or would suffer accidents (imagine if babies had just been left lying around throughout history, we would have all been eaten by lions).

They have done studies that show a baby's cry has all kinds of measurable chemical effects on an adult so what you are experiencing is normal though more extreme because of sensory issues.

Do you live or work in a situation where you must be around babies/ young children?

Unfortunately. that does not make it anymore bearable. I know why they cry. i know that wothout that reflex humanity probably wouldn't have survived but it doesn't make it any more bearable, although it's nice to know it's not just me.

No, I don't have to live or work with children but if I go into a cafe or the shopping centre (as I have nowhere else I can go and it beats sitting at home twiddling my thumbs). i know that I cannot stop them doing it, but it is the volume and pitch of a child cryiong i find uinbearable, which is why I am trying to find something that will block it out. what really anbnoys me is the parents whose kids cry because they are hungry or frustrated and the parents just IGNORE them. I'm not talking about those parents who have tried to calm the child and ignoring them because nothing works,m or the ones who lignore the child having a screaming tantrum because they can't get their oewn way, i;'m talking about the ones who can't be bothered or are too budy gassing to their frienbd.neighbour.mobile phone to bother finding out why their child is crying in the first place.

Ok...sorry...end of rant.the bottom line is that nost times my usual over-the-ear phones work but about 30% the volume/pitch, or both is audible even with the volume up to maximum, so I was wondering if someone can suggest something other then deafening myself with a pair of really powerful ones, or yelling at the child in frustration.

I wonder if thos DJ-style earphones that enclose the ear would work? It might look ridiculous, but if it works, it wouldn't be a huge concern. Or maybe wax ear plugs?

JulieArticuno

Try this website-
http://www.headphoneworld.co.uk/product ... XgoddRmbRw

I know what you mean. Sometimes the noise is so unbearable that you get so irritated and feel like your going to be the one screaming and not the baby.
Hope you get something sorted. Search under musician headphones in Google, good for noise cancellation.

An American website http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/erme.aspx has the musician headphones. I was thinking of getting a pair for myself but thought it might be hard to find a specialist, who would deal with getting me a pair.

I usually don't hang out with young children but I don't see very many of them crying or making those high pitch sounds. It has happened rarely like the time I was on the train with my family riding to Wisconsin and there was this two year old who was standing up in her seat peeking over at the two boys who were sitting behind her and she was making these high squeal sounds. I remember getting really upset because it kept startling me and hurting my ears. Another time I was about 18 or 19 and I was at work working and there was this customer with a toddler and she kept quealign too and it kep startling me. I was so anxious for them to leave. I even felt like having a breakdown because I couldn't handle to overload anymore but I hung in there. Of course the grandmother kept trying to shut her grandchild up. She mustn't liked the squeling either. I do see babies cry but their crying isn't very loud thank god.

Since the human baby cry is designed to be attention grabbing I think it will be very difficult to block it out. You could try the headphones that people who work outside airports wear... I don't know if the average DJ type headphones would even work, a baby's cry is so intense and shrill!

Babies freak me out in a few ways... their screams, and how they have no problem staring at you. It's like I can feel lasers coming out of their eyes...

I don't know about the UK, but in the US there are alot of "family" resturants. They have no problem with allowing parents, to bring in their screaming children. I'm mentioning this, because it seems no matter where you go these days if you ask a parent to calm their child down, they'll act as if you're some sort of monster for suggesting that they do their job as a parent, and take their child somewhere else to cry, instead of expecting the world to be their daycare. It's especially difficult if you have aural sensitivity issues, because you usually have to end up explaining this to the parent for them to even listen to you. Of course, that's if they don't look at you, or your parent if you're with them like they're bad parents for not teaching the "ret*d" how to behave.

It really shouldn't even be any of their buisness. Why does everyone need to know you have Asperger's Syndrome, to be able to go to a resturant and not sit by screaming children? My mom would try to explain to the staff about my aural sensitivity issues. Now, granted I can't get mad at my mom because, she at times is painfully naieve. However, I told her that the staff doesn't need to know about that so they can act as if they're now being burdened with dealing with some "ret*d". What is wrong with our society where someone who's neurodiverse, is considered to be less behaved than a baby? I feel that if the parents really care about their children, they'll understand that unless they want their child to be around someone who may be highly irritated by their noise, and end up acting out towards their children, it's better to move to another seat.

By acting out, I mean like staring the children down until they become quiet. Or if they're moving around in their seat, shoving the back of the seat in their direction. I don't like doing this, and I don't like that it means people will assume Aspies are child-haters and want to hurt children perspectively. However, this all would be resolved if you could simply talk to the parents without them throwing a fit like one of their own children. The other day my mom asked a mother to move with her kids somewhere else, and she did without trouble. I was shocked! If only all parents could be so civil, rather than assuming that if they have children, they have a right to behave as if they're same age as their child.

In restaurants here, parents are supposed to take their screamign kids to the front, not leave them at the table. That's why I always see the mother getting up bring her baby with her when it starts crying. Because people are there to enjoy their meals, not be disturbed by screaming kids. When they don't do it, the waiters and staff get complaints so they tell the parents to bring their child to the seating area.

I usually cover my ears until they stop.. sure I look weird but sometimes the parent will notice or the staff will get concerned because Im obviously in pain and do something about it.

As for headphones theyre hard to find but those DJ-style ones you were talking about work well just be sure to get the kind with gel pads rather than foam they block out external sounds much better.

Dealing with my 3 and 4 year old nephews I hear them crying many times a day. It
hard to deal with but I get much more upset from crying/barking dogs.

Yeah! Don't you just hate those dogs that constantly keep barking!

An example from the other day:
I was in my bed, just about to go asleep and the neighbour lets their dog out. Their dog started to barking continuously. I opened the window and said 'Shut the f**k up' then the neighbour comes rushing out and calls the dog in.
Ahhh.... Peace at last

My shouting was not towards the dog as such, but more towards its owner.

In my case its my dogs They usually want to be walked 5 miles.

I know it sounds kind of sad, but I don't think I'll EVER want to be a mother and this is one of the main reasons... Babies crying make me feel really, really panicky... So high-pitched and urgent, like an alarm... I can feel my heart rate going up just thinking about it...

And the LAST thing that makes me want to do is go anywhere NEAR them. Huh. Great maternal instinct I have.

I know there are a lot of parents out there, but I don't think I'll ever be one. And I'm ok with that. My music, my art, and my writings are my children.

I bought a set of these a few weeks ago, I find them excellent for blocking out external noise while I enjoy my Radiohead It may be worth giving them a go!

Try finding some DJ-style headphones with a noise canceling function. The system essentially emits a white noise (which can irritate me at times...sounds like the buzz of fluorescent lights) but does a wonderful job of canceling out other sounds. If you can deal with fluorescent lights, it could be a good solution.