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Mental Health > Mental Conditions Forum > Extreme sensitivity to spoken consonants
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Q: Extreme sensitivity to spoken consonants
asked by: JennaMac on October 7th, 2008
New User
Hello I'm new here. I have been suffering greatly for many years with a severe sensitivity to the sound of the consonant P. At first I thought I was going crazy or something, and I still think that sometimes. I cannot stand it when someone else (or even myself) says words that start with (or contain) an audible P. For example: Pie, Pine, Pioneer, Alpine, Pile, Champagne, Pay, Pain, Paint, Party, Parlor, Park, Pal, Pan, Pale, Pair, Pond, Pen, Apartment, Pole, Popular, Pose, Pool, and many others. It started bothering me when I was only 9 years old. My teacher would start lecturing us and it drove me nuts if she said a "P Word" (that's what I call them). It started then and it hasn't stopped. It has only worsened with the years. It's so bad that I can't work. I can barely go outside because I'm afraid that someone might try and talk to me. Just the thought of going outside is terrifying to me. At first I was told that it could be Hyperacusis or Misophonia. However after speaking for a long time on a H forum with many people, I'm beginning to think it could be neurological. But I don't know for sure. Maybe my auditory nerves are messed up in the way they send sound signals to my brain? Maybe something in my brain is screwy? Can it be a form of OCD? I've been exploring that possibility too. I'm trying to figure out what it can be, so I can get it treated and start enjoying life. This has consumed my life for many years. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety and anger as a result of this. I take antidepressants, but they don't help much. I always wished that I were deaf, and frankly I still wish it most of the time.
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rooted
replied on October 8th, 2008
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IT does sound as if you're describing obsessive compulsive disorder. You might want to read up on the symptoms and then contact the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation
(http://www.ocfoundation.org) in order to seek more information about diagnostic procedures.

Are you currently seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist?
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danielv
replied on October 8th, 2008
Advanced Support Team
Wow - I know what you mean! I personally get twitches down my spine when i hear people that over-annunciate words. I was tormented by teachers (and probably my parents) with annunciation when I was younger. Particularly the R. I also grew up in a different culture (russia) where annunciation was one of the measurements for "intelligence" and even "social status". It has left a pretty deep resentment for me, which sometimes make me want to mumble just to lower my artificially measurable quotient of intelligence.

It also makes me want to punch people.

So, even though rooted is right about the obsessive nature of this, to me it doesn't really sound like a disorder, but more like a resentment. I doubt that anything is wrong with you physically or mentally. We all store resentments which torment us until we can become aware of them and move past them.

Do you resent your teacher. What else do you remember about him/her?

Is there anyone else that rubbed you the wrong way over the years and also happened to use those nasty P words? Smile

Cheers Wink
-Daniel
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JennaMac
replied on October 11th, 2008
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Two other people have told me that I may have OCD. Although I never remember obsessing over the letter P, I just don't like the sound of it when I hear it. I have never liked the sound of it since I was in the 3rd grade. That's when it started. My teacher would say words that started with the letter P, and it bugged me when she did. I liked her a lot, she was a very nice teacher. But that was when I first noticed it, when she spoke. Then it went on from there. I remember being around the same age and being in my friend's mother's car. She was driving and she said to us, "We'll go to the ice cream parlor." Well it bothered me very badly when she said "Parlor." I wasn't expecting her to say it, but she did.
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JennaMac
replied on October 16th, 2008
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It's so frustrating not to be able to find (or get) a definite diagnosis. The people at one OCD forum that I'm on are not sure if it could be OCD. I think I may have multiple things wrong with me: Misophonia, maybe OCD and whatever else. I've been trying for years to figure it out, but I have a 9 month old son, and so I don't have much time to figure it out anymore. But I'm suffering so much, that I'm getting very desperate. I hate to say it but I have been suicidal in the past because of this. It's torture. I am sad all the time and I cry constantly. I'm crying right now as I type this.
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Particles
replied on February 23rd, 2009
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Extreme sensitivity to sounds
I have extreme sensitivity to sounds too. I can't stand dogs barking, Birds chirping, people jingling keys in their pockets, pen clicking, teeth cleaning and many other mouth sounds, coughing, breathing, snoring, sniffling, drips, TV and movie sound effects, people taking on buses, chewing gum sounds, several children sounds, stereo base, ticking, tapping, beeps, knees clicking and other sounds as well. It's mental torture when I hear these sounds. It sends me to a rage at times. but I'm irritable and stressed most of the times. Sometimes I would bang my head hard over and over again to help me forget about the sounds. I wear ear plugs ALOT and I use an ipod to drown the sounds. I have OCD and a mood disorder (the doctors are not sure whether it is bipolar or borderline personality, I think its bipolar. My psychiatrist thinks the sound thing is caused by my OCD. This problem highly disturbs me, I've been dealing with this for 30 years, it seems to be getting worse though. Please, if anyone knows how to solve this problem or has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it. I am currently taking 200mg Lamotragine, 75mg Seroquel and just came off of 60mg Celexa which was not working well and I am now starting at a dose of 150mg of Effexor. Good luck with anyone who has this debilitating problem.
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