Reduce sensitivity to noise?

[FrostedShores]

For my entire life, I've been very sensitive to noise. Not just loud noise, but noise in general. I thrive in quiet environments, but in noisy environments I get anxious and, if the noise is bothersome enough, I can have panic attacks. Lately, I've noticed my hearing seems to be getting better... I'm not sure if this is because of an increased metabolism or what, but noises I didn't notice before are now bothering me. For example, I have a white-noise machine in my bedroom which used to block out all outside noise, but now I can hear outside noise even with the white-noise machine on.

So my question is: is there anything I can do or take to decrease my sensitivity to noise? I have autistic traits, but I've never been formally diagnosed.

Also, I've been supplementing BCAAs + phenylalanine to reduce serotonin, along with beta alanine. My mood has improved significantly since doing so, but I'm wondering if serotonin plays a role in hearing. Or maybe histamine does? My other senses seem unaffected.

 

[Andy316]

Resistant starch and heat increases my noise sensitivity, so managing those 2 triggers helps.

 

[FrostedShores]

Resistant starch and heat increases my noise sensitivity, so managing those 2 triggers helps.

Interesting. I'll try reducing starch in my diet and see how that impacts me. I've always been very sensitive to heat as well, but I never connected it with my noise sensitivity. I'm not sure how to address that. Do you just have the A/C cranked all the time?

 

[redsun]

For my entire life, I've been very sensitive to noise. Not just loud noise, but noise in general. I thrive in quiet environments, but in noisy environments I get anxious and, if the noise is bothersome enough, I can have panic attacks. Lately, I've noticed my hearing seems to be getting better... I'm not sure if this is because of an increased metabolism or what, but noises I didn't notice before are now bothering me. For example, I have a white-noise machine in my bedroom which used to block out all outside noise, but now I can hear outside noise even with the white-noise machine on.

So my question is: is there anything I can do or take to decrease my sensitivity to noise? I have autistic traits, but I've never been formally diagnosed.

Also, I've been supplementing BCAAs + phenylalanine to reduce serotonin, along with beta alanine. My mood has improved significantly since doing so, but I'm wondering if serotonin plays a role in hearing. Or maybe histamine does? My other senses seem unaffected.

You likely already have elevated norepinephrine activity. Taking phenylalanine will raise it even further. High NE makes you very jumpy and sensitive to sounds. It will literally make sounds louder than what they are. What do you typically eat?

 

[Sumbody]

For my entire life, I've been very sensitive to noise. Not just loud noise, but noise in general. I thrive in quiet environments, but in noisy environments I get anxious and, if the noise is bothersome enough, I can have panic attacks. Lately, I've noticed my hearing seems to be getting better... I'm not sure if this is because of an increased metabolism or what, but noises I didn't notice before are now bothering me. For example, I have a white-noise machine in my bedroom which used to block out all outside noise, but now I can hear outside noise even with the white-noise machine on.

So my question is: is there anything I can do or take to decrease my sensitivity to noise? I have autistic traits, but I've never been formally diagnosed.

Also, I've been supplementing BCAAs + phenylalanine to reduce serotonin, along with beta alanine. My mood has improved significantly since doing so, but I'm wondering if serotonin plays a role in hearing. Or maybe histamine does? My other senses seem unaffected.

Try using B vitamins and perhaps get more vitamin A or supplement. A lack of any one of these has been shown to increase noise sensitivity.

I think everyone has experienced some temporary form of this at one time or another after a night of drinking, which is known to deplete just about all of those nutrients.

 

[Peatness]

Have you tired magnesium?

Noise Sensitivity and Magnesium

Magnesium Deficiency Intensifies The Stress Reaction

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.1994.10718432 Some selected parts: "There is suggestive evidence that Mg deficiency contributes to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Pain of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), angina pectoris, cancer, or trauma is stressful. In AMI - especially...

raypeatforum.com

 

[FrostedShores]

You likely already have elevated norepinephrine activity. Taking phenylalanine will raise it even further. High NE makes you very jumpy and sensitive to sounds. It will literally make sounds louder than what they are. What do you typically eat?

Interesting. Dopamine converts to norepinephrine, correct? So is there a way to reduce norepinephrine, while also increasing dopamine? I've considered taking mucuna pruriens, but I've heard mixed things regarding them. I've been pleased with the reduction in anxiety and depression I've experienced while taking BCAAs + phenylalanine, but maybe I'm overdoing it.

My diet is pretty Peaty - lots of orange juice, milk, eggs, cheese, potatoes, gelatin.

 

[FrostedShores]

Try using B vitamins and perhaps get more vitamin A or supplement. A lack of any one of these has been shown to increase noise sensitivity.

I think everyone has experienced some temporary form of this at one time or another after a night of drinking, which is known to deplete just about all of those nutrients.

Thanks for the advice. I take a B complex supplement, but I did do a round of high-dose B3 not that long ago. Perhaps this threw my B's out of balance?

 

[FrostedShores]

Have you tired magnesium?

Noise Sensitivity and Magnesium

Magnesium Deficiency Intensifies The Stress Reaction

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.1994.10718432 Some selected parts: "There is suggestive evidence that Mg deficiency contributes to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Pain of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), angina pectoris, cancer, or trauma is stressful. In AMI - especially...

raypeatforum.com

I don't recall magnesium helping with my noise sensitivity, but it does help with my sleep and digestion. I use magnesium carbonate mixed in orange juice, but I do have to space it throughout the day, and I have a habit of forgetting to take it altogether. I'll try being more diligent about taking it and see if that helps. Thank you!

 

[redsun]

Interesting. Dopamine converts to norepinephrine, correct? So is there a way to reduce norepinephrine, while also increasing dopamine? I've considered taking mucuna pruriens, but I've heard mixed things regarding them. I've been pleased with the reduction in anxiety and depression I've experienced while taking BCAAs + phenylalanine, but maybe I'm overdoing it.

My diet is pretty Peaty - lots of orange juice, milk, eggs, cheese, potatoes, gelatin.

You can't feed the catecholamine pathway without also increasing norepinephrine. Its not about adding aminos or L-dopa into your system. Reducing nervous system reactivity is the key to reducing high norepinephrine while maintaining dopamine activity. A lot of orange juice is counterproductive and bad for someone with your types of issues. How many eggs do you eat a day? Someone with these kinds of problems needs calcium, magnesium, and zinc and choline. Looks like based on your diet calcium and magnesium is easily covered. Zinc however may not be because you don't eat red meat or dark chicken meat (also a good source of zinc). Eggs are the best source of choline and milk and potatoes have a little choline as well but depending on how many eggs you eat a day you still may not be getting enough choline. Acetylcholine is needed to filter out environmental stimuli so you do not get overwhelmed and overstimulated and helps reduce excessive NE activity.

 

[FrostedShores]

You can't not feed the catecholamine pathway without also increasing norepinephrine. Its not about adding aminos or L-dopa into your system. Reducing nervous system reactivity is the key to reducing high norepinephrine while maintaining dopamine activity. A lot of orange juice is counterproductive and bad for someone with your types of issues. How many eggs do you eat a day? Someone with these kinds of problems needs calcium, magnesium, and zinc and choline. Looks like based on your diet calcium and magnesium is easily covered. Zinc however may not be because you don't eat red meat or dark chicken meat (also a good source of zinc). Eggs are the best source of choline and milk and potatoes have a little choline as well but depending on how many eggs you eat a day you still may not be getting enough choline. Acetylcholine is needed to filter out environmental stimuli so you do not get overwhelmed and overstimulated and helps reduce excessive NE activity.

Can you clarify why orange juice would be counterproductive? Does it increase nervous system reactivity in some way? And what would you recommend replacing it with? I drink a lot, so removing it from my diet would create some gaps, I imagine.

I eat at least three eggs a day, sometimes as many as six. I also supplement TMG, which if I understand correctly helps with choline status. I've supplemented with Alpha GPC and phosphatidylcholine in the past, but I don't recall it having an impact on my noise sensitivity.

Zinc is something I supplement. I know it's better to get from food sources, but I can't stomach meat.

 

[redsun]

Can you clarify why orange juice would be counterproductive? Does it increase nervous system reactivity in some way? And what would you recommend replacing it with? I drink a lot, so removing it from my diet would create some gaps, I imagine.

I eat at least three eggs a day, sometimes as many as six. I also supplement TMG, which if I understand correctly helps with choline status. I've supplemented with Alpha GPC and phosphatidylcholine in the past, but I don't recall it having an impact on my noise sensitivity.

Zinc is something I supplement. I know it's better to get from food sources, but I can't stomach meat.

Very high liquid intake tends to disturb electrolyte balance and this commonly causes problems with the nervous system. No one should really drink the majority of their calories because of this. There also is quite a bit of copper in OJ if you drink a lot which will stimulate NE synthesis. This is even worse if its consumed cold. This applies to milk as well so this needs to be controlled and liquid foods should not be consumed so freely. Starches such as white rice, potatoes which are well salted are much better for fuel as well as eating fattier foods and a little added fats from butter for example to add calories if needed.

So you may be more complicated than a typical person. You take zinc but how much every day? Zinc is beneficial but excess can actually lower acetylcholine synthesis and because it is a GABA antagonist, can increase NE as GABA antagonism disinhibits NE.

Another potential issue is if your diet is very high dairy you may have poor iron status which also has been shown to lead to elevated catecholamine and serotonin activity in the nervous system. Which is something that would be fixed only if iron levels are normalized.

You also lack a good vitamin E source in your diet. I know you are in the peat forum so nuts and seeds high in E doesnt even cross your mind to eat but the reality is this needs to be covered somehow. Lack of vitamin E will elevate oxidative stress and this can also contribute to your issues. Do you supplement vitamin E like from wheat germ oil? If not I would start.

 

[FrostedShores]

Very high liquid intake tends to disturb electrolyte balance and this commonly causes problems with the nervous system. No one should really drink the majority of their calories because of this. There also is quite a bit of copper in OJ if you drink a lot which will stimulate NE synthesis. This is even worse if its consumed cold. This applies to milk as well so this needs to be controlled and liquid foods should not be consumed so freely. Starches such as white rice, potatoes which are well salted are much better for fuel as well as eating fattier foods and a little added fats from butter for example to add calories if needed.

So you may be more complicated than a typical person. You take zinc but how much every day? Zinc is beneficial but excess can actually lower acetylcholine synthesis and because it is a GABA antagonist, can increase NE as GABA antagonism disinhibits NE.

Another potential issue is if your diet is very high dairy you may have poor iron status which also has been shown to lead to elevated catecholamine and serotonin activity in the nervous system. Which is something that would be fixed only if iron levels are normalized.

You also lack a good vitamin E source in your diet. I know you are in the peat forum so nuts and seeds high in E doesnt even cross your mind to eat but the reality is this needs to be covered somehow. Lack of vitamin E will elevate oxidative stress and this can also contribute to your issues. Do you supplement vitamin E like from wheat germ oil? If not I would start.

I do have a high liquid intake. Along with orange juice and milk, I also drink quite a bit of water each day, and occasionally tea. I find I'm thirsty most of the time, so I could see an electrolyte imbalance being an issue. I'll try cutting back on the liquids and see what effect that has.

I take a supplement called Only Trace Minerals by Life Extension which contains 20 mg zinc monomethionine. I actually thought I had a copper deficiency for a while, due to muscle weakness and problems with concentration, but according to cronometer I should be getting plenty of both copper and zinc. Maybe I'm getting too much of one or the other, or both?

Iron is something I've supplemented in the past, but I never noticed much from doing so. I'll look more into it.

I take a vitamin E supplement; 200 IU a day. I'll take an extra one if I have a high-ish PUFA meal.

 

[redsun]

I do have a high liquid intake. Along with orange juice and milk, I also drink quite a bit of water each day, and occasionally tea. I find I'm thirsty most of the time, so I could see an electrolyte imbalance being an issue. I'll try cutting back on the liquids and see what effect that has.

I take a supplement called Only Trace Minerals by Life Extension which contains 20 mg zinc monomethionine. I actually thought I had a copper deficiency for a while, due to muscle weakness and problems with concentration, but according to cronometer I should be getting plenty of both copper and zinc. Maybe I'm getting too much of one or the other, or both?

Iron is something I've supplemented in the past, but I never noticed much from doing so. I'll look more into it.

I take a vitamin E supplement; 200 IU a day. I'll take an extra one if I have a high-ish PUFA meal.

Yeh you could be excessively thirsty when you are used to drinking out of habit. Of course you should drink when you are thirsty but if you reduce you intake of liquid foods and get more calories from solid foods your liquid intake should still drop a lot. Meats, starches, eggs, cheese (instead of so much milk), etc...

You could be dealing with electrolyte issues because of high water intake which can contribute to muscle weakness.

Zinc can actually cause reduced acetylcholine levels despite normal choline intake as it can build up in cholinergic cells and reduce acetyl-CoA synthesis because it inhibits the E2 subunit in the PDH complex by displacing lipoic acid which makes acetyl-CoA. You can research this yourself if you want to but the point is this can cause an acetylcholine deficit which cause muscle weakness and concentration problems. Your muscles depend on acetylcholine to contract. B vitamins dont help because it doesnt fix what zinc does. Only controlling how much zinc you get will fix it. Zinc intake of less than 20-25mg (from both food and supplements) or so is the safest upper limit of intake to have long term. More than that it can be too much and cause issues as I already described.

Copper intake technically can be involved in this muscle weakness but it is quite rare to be copper deficient and its not much of a major player. Your diet has plenty of copper and with that supplement you take you probably get too much now. I would not take that supplement at all imo. Probably contributing to your issues. Your copper intake is clearly more than adequate and your zinc intake may be slightly low without but this can be easily fixed with a serving of red meat.

The B complex vitamins can contribute to problems themselves due to a lot of complicated effects especially if they are high doses. What B-complex do you use? The way you eat, you really do not need B-complex at all. Maybe occasional use can be helpful sometimes but they can be quite counterproductive. But occasional low dose B-complexes are the only ones you should use if you ever use them. Even for me even one time use of the low dose B-complex I have can cause fatigue and weakness that I otherwise do not have which goes against what you would think would happen from Bs. B6 for example is a major issue as it can mess with glutamate gaba balance if you take too much but other Bs can also contribute to problems for other reasons.

So in short try to rebalance your diet so your liquid intake is not ridiculously high while also getting plenty of salt and avoid that mineral supplement and that B-complex supplement. But I am curious what the doses of your B-complex supplement is.

 

[YourUniverse]

Yeh you could be excessively thirsty when you are used to drinking out of habit. Of course you should drink when you are thirsty but if you reduce you intake of liquid foods and get more calories from solid foods your liquid intake should still drop a lot. Meats, starches, eggs, cheese (instead of so much milk), etc...

You could be dealing with electrolyte issues because of high water intake which can contribute to muscle weakness.

Zinc can actually cause reduced acetylcholine levels despite normal choline intake as it can build up in cholinergic cells and reduce acetyl-CoA synthesis because it inhibits the E2 subunit in the PDH complex by displacing lipoic acid which makes acetyl-CoA. You can research this yourself if you want to but the point is this can cause an acetylcholine deficit which cause muscle weakness and concentration problems. Your muscles depend on acetylcholine to contract. B vitamins dont help because it doesnt fix what zinc does. Only controlling how much zinc you get will fix it. Zinc intake of less than 20-25mg (from both food and supplements) or so is the safest upper limit of intake to have long term. More than that it can be too much and cause issues as I already described.

Copper intake technically can be involved in this muscle weakness but it is quite rare to be copper deficient and its not much of a major player. Your diet has plenty of copper and with that supplement you take you probably get too much now. I would not take that supplement at all imo. Probably contributing to your issues. Your copper intake is clearly more than adequate and your zinc intake may be slightly low without but this can be easily fixed with a serving of red meat.

The B complex vitamins can contribute to problems themselves due to a lot of complicated effects especially if they are high doses. What B-complex do you use? The way you eat, you really do not need B-complex at all. Maybe occasional use can be helpful sometimes but they can be quite counterproductive. But occasional low dose B-complexes are the only ones you should use if you ever use them. Even for me even one time use of the low dose B-complex I have can cause fatigue and weakness that I otherwise do not have which goes against what you would think would happen from Bs. B6 for example is a major issue as it can mess with glutamate gaba balance if you take too much but other Bs can also contribute to problems for other reasons.

So in short try to rebalance your diet so your liquid intake is not ridiculously high while also getting plenty of salt and avoid that mineral supplement and that B-complex supplement. But I am curious what the doses of your B-complex supplement is.

I feel better having switched from milk to cheese too

 

[FrostedShores]

Yeh you could be excessively thirsty when you are used to drinking out of habit. Of course you should drink when you are thirsty but if you reduce you intake of liquid foods and get more calories from solid foods your liquid intake should still drop a lot. Meats, starches, eggs, cheese (instead of so much milk), etc...

You could be dealing with electrolyte issues because of high water intake which can contribute to muscle weakness.

Zinc can actually cause reduced acetylcholine levels despite normal choline intake as it can build up in cholinergic cells and reduce acetyl-CoA synthesis because it inhibits the E2 subunit in the PDH complex by displacing lipoic acid which makes acetyl-CoA. You can research this yourself if you want to but the point is this can cause an acetylcholine deficit which cause muscle weakness and concentration problems. Your muscles depend on acetylcholine to contract. B vitamins dont help because it doesnt fix what zinc does. Only controlling how much zinc you get will fix it. Zinc intake of less than 20-25mg (from both food and supplements) or so is the safest upper limit of intake to have long term. More than that it can be too much and cause issues as I already described.

Copper intake technically can be involved in this muscle weakness but it is quite rare to be copper deficient and its not much of a major player. Your diet has plenty of copper and with that supplement you take you probably get too much now. I would not take that supplement at all imo. Probably contributing to your issues. Your copper intake is clearly more than adequate and your zinc intake may be slightly low without but this can be easily fixed with a serving of red meat.

The B complex vitamins can contribute to problems themselves due to a lot of complicated effects especially if they are high doses. What B-complex do you use? The way you eat, you really do not need B-complex at all. Maybe occasional use can be helpful sometimes but they can be quite counterproductive. But occasional low dose B-complexes are the only ones you should use if you ever use them. Even for me even one time use of the low dose B-complex I have can cause fatigue and weakness that I otherwise do not have which goes against what you would think would happen from Bs. B6 for example is a major issue as it can mess with glutamate gaba balance if you take too much but other Bs can also contribute to problems for other reasons.

So in short try to rebalance your diet so your liquid intake is not ridiculously high while also getting plenty of salt and avoid that mineral supplement and that B-complex supplement. But I am curious what the doses of your B-complex supplement is.

Thanks for your response. I wasn't aware zinc could affect acetylcholine levels. That might explain why I feel fine some days (no muscle weakness, easy to concentrate), whereas other days I struggle, since my choline intake varies from day to day. I'm going to stop taking that supplement and focus on eating eggs consistently. I'll also switch out liquids for solids. Like I mentioned before, I can't stomach meat very well, but I do like seafood, so I'll try to incorporate more shellfish in my diet.

The B-complex I take is also from Life Extension. It's pretty high dose, so that could be an issue. I'll stop taking it as well and see how that goes.

Since I'll be reducing my orange juice intake, would you recommend supplementing vitamin C? Or do you think potatoes have enough?

 

[FrostedShores]

I feel better having switched from milk to cheese too

Did it improve your digestion? I've struggled with digestive issues for a while now, and part of me wonders if it's due to having too many liquids.

 

[redsun]

Thanks for your response. I wasn't aware zinc could affect acetylcholine levels. That might explain why I feel fine some days (no muscle weakness, easy to concentrate), whereas other days I struggle, since my choline intake varies from day to day. I'm going to stop taking that supplement and focus on eating eggs consistently. I'll also switch out liquids for solids. Like I mentioned before, I can't stomach meat very well, but I do like seafood, so I'll try to incorporate more shellfish in my diet.

The B-complex I take is also from Life Extension. It's pretty high dose, so that could be an issue. I'll stop taking it as well and see how that goes.

Since I'll be reducing my orange juice intake, would you recommend supplementing vitamin C? Or do you think potatoes have enough?

Yeh you may not stomach meat well because of the high liquid intake. Digestion is heavily dependent on electrolytes especially sodium and the most common issue with excessive liquid consumption is hyponatremia. With time you may be able to digest meat better once you sort that out.

I would agree. That B complex is very high dose and is likely causing issues.

You don't need that much vitamin C. Should be enough just from potatoes but even a single cup of orange juice gives you more than enough. We recycle vitamin C using glutathione so we don't need much.

 

[YourUniverse]

Did it improve your digestion? I've struggled with digestive issues for a while now, and part of me wonders if it's due to having too many liquids.

When I tried drinking lots of milk my stomach would hurt for a little while and my mood would worsen

 

[FrostedShores]

Yeh you may not stomach meat well because of the high liquid intake. Digestion is heavily dependent on electrolytes especially sodium and the most common issue with excessive liquid consumption is hyponatremia. With time you may be able to digest meat better once you sort that out.

I would agree. That B complex is very high dose and is likely causing issues.

You don't need that much vitamin C. Should be enough just from potatoes but even a single cup of orange juice gives you more than enough. We recycle vitamin C using glutathione so we don't need much.

I wanted to provide a quick update. I was incorporating your recommendations (removing unnecessary supplements, reducing liquids, focusing on eggs/choline, etc.), and I was feeling okay. Then, about two weeks ago, I re-read your messages, and your comments about sodium and hyponatremia stood out. I thought I was getting plenty of sodium, but when I looked into it, I wasn't getting nearly as much as I had assumed. I've also read from various sources that our sodium intake should actually be higher than what's recommended.

Anyways, long story short, along with your other recommendations, I've upped my sodium intake and I have noticed a significant improvement in my mood and mental clarity. I haven't been exposed to any unexpected noises recently, so I'm unsure if it's helped with noise sensitivity, but I do feel calmer. I've had less brain fog and my focus seems to have improved.

I've also increased my collagen/gelatin intake, which I believe is helping, as well.