How To Cope with Sensitivity to Sound at Night

Published: Aug 20, 2021
Updated: Oct 15, 2024
How To Cope with Sensitivity to Sound at Night
In this article
    Reading time
    3 min

    Do you find it difficult to tolerate sounds before sleep? If you are suffering from high sensitivity to sound at night, which affects your sleep quality to a great extent, this article can help you to solve this problem.

    What Is Sound Sensitivity?

    what is sound sensitivity

    The medical term of the abnormal sensitivity to sound or noise is hyperacusis which refers to a hearing disorder. It may disrupt people’s daily life and dismantle their sleep cycle. Daily activities such as talking with friends, watching TV, or vacuuming your home tend to be unbearable. Some people are even too annoyed with such sensitivity to fall asleep at night.

    ShutEye@3x
    Discover the power of sleep with ShutEye!


    Download Now

    What Causes Your Sensitivity To Sound At Night?

    The causes of your sensitivity to noise are various. Here are some major ones.

    1. Exposure to loud noise for a long time.
    2. Damage to the ear or brain such as ear surgery.
    3. Side effects of medication. Certain medications can interrupt nerve signals or destroy cells in the ear, which can lead to an inability to control sound and result in hyperacusis.
    4. Diseases such as Lyme disease, migraines, or inflammation of the ear.
    what causes sound sensitivity at night

    How To Deal With Sensitivity To Sound At Night?

    Here are some helpful treatments for you to get rid of the high sensitivity to sound at night.

    1. Don’t overprotect yourself from the noisy situation

    It is not wise to avoid noisy situations, as this will make you even more sensitive to noise. The more you try to isolate all sounds, the more you might feel fear toward the subtle noise. This will increase your anxiety and stress, leading you to suffer from insomnia at night.

    2. Do not use earplugs or muffs unless you really need to

    This is not only not conducive to alleviating allergies but also makes the ears more painful.

    use earplugs if you really need to get rid of high sound sensitivity

    3. Minimize your stress

    Try some relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises to divert your attention.

    4. Try sound therapy

    You could try to expose yourself to the sounds you dislike gradually or listen to some relaxing music.

    ShutEye sensitivity to sound at night hyperacusis noise sensitivity Try sound therapy

    5. Consult the doctor if necessary

    If the symptom becomes severe, you need to ask for professional support.

    The hearing problem might become the cause of your sleep disorder. If you’re experiencing such sensitivity to sound at night, you could try the above ways to alleviate your symptoms.

    ShutEye® is a sleep app that provides various sleep sounds to help you fall asleep. So stop tossing and turning all night, and start falling asleep healthily and naturally.

    ShutEye@3x
    Discover the power of sleep with ShutEye!
    Download Now

    You may also like:

    Does ambient noise help sleep?

    Is It Too Quiet to Sleep? Sleeping with White Noise May Help

    8 Relaxing Sounds to Help You Sleep Better and Relieve Stress

    About authors
    Jessica Brown, a 29-year-old freelance copywriter passionate about human nature and deeply committed to promoting sleep and mental health awareness. Jessica holds a Master of Arts in Literary Studies from the National University of Singapore and a Bachelor's in Biology from the University of Cambridge.