Along with so many weird phenomenon attributed to the Change comes a newfound sensitivity to noise. The simple sound of breathing can be too much, too loud. The football game, the leaf blower, or the stereo are in danger of triggering a psychotic break. Even my favorite music or the mew of a beloved cat can tighten my neck muscles so taut that my shoulders rise up to my ears and my teeth clench tighter than a victim of lockjaw. Most of the menopausal women I know suffer from this malady. Sound is more than an irritant – it’s an invasion.
Perhaps our menopausal hypersensitivity to noise can be likened to that of people who overdevelop one sense when another sense is waning or diminished. We seem to be losing our visual acuity (along with our mind – but that’s another story), but we can hear every freaking sound for miles around. Clock tick, computer hum, bird chatter, cereal crunch, water drip, coffee slurp, page turn, leaf fall, breeze blow, tire whoosh, stomach gurgle, icemaker, fridge motor. It is sensory overload and threatens our sweet dispositions, not to mention our sanity.
I’ve managed this week to wend my way into the back canyons of Zion National Park in Utah, where I can soothe myself with the rhythms and ripples of rosy sandstone. Red rock simply sits there beaming beauty and it does it QUIETLY.
Although we can’t always travel to out of the way places to find quietude, we can find ways to garner solitude and silence in our daily lives: in our garden, taking a walk, or indulging in a warm (not hot) bath. Midlife women crave quiet.
(Adapted from our upcoming book "Venus Comes of Age: The Wit and Wisdom of Menopausal Goddesses".)
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Wow, I just found your blog as I sit in my "silent" office. I thought it was just me, turning into a hermit. I can't stand the radio in the car, the sound machine my husband uses, or the loud TV. Hallalulia I'm NOT going mad.
/45
/Two kids out of the house!
OMG
This is so totally me. I used to like so much more music in my life, but now I just want blissful quiet. My dear spouse is getting deafer each year, and his high volume on the TV puts me over the edge. It is a continual source of friction. I've had the gentle, kind talk about him getting hearing tested and told him it doesn't mean he'll have to get "aides", but it will quantify what is going on. I doubt he'll do it anytime soon. I thought I was "just sensitive".
I just found your blog. This will be a godsend to me. I did not realize noise was a menopause symptom. At least now I know my husband is not just deaf!
Oh my Gosh! That is sooo true. I thought it was just me!!!
Diane
I REMEMBER RIDING TO WORK WITH MY HUSBAND, OUR SHOP WAS IN THE INDUSTRIAL AREA, SO ALL THE SEMI TRUCKS WOULD ALREADY BE OUT ON THE ROADS DELVERING AND PICKING UP LOADS. I SWEAR, MY EARS WOULD HURT!, IT WOULD GET BETTER AS THE DAY WENT ON, BUT FINALLY, AN EXPLIANATION!, MAHALO – RAE
How funny! All this time I just thought I was weird, and it turns out I'm more normal than I thought.
The Sounds of Slience Have become very meaningful to me.. relief from the constant barrage ….I live in a suburb of Chicago … I wake up in the middle of the night to hear the trains fully 2 miles away … the music in the store where I work … makes me want to scream,, turn the damn music down… which falls on deaf ears ( I wonedr how they got that way)The TV when my other half is watching I am sure you can hear in the next county… So when I went to Nova Soctia a few years ago … one of the first things I noticed is THE QUIET… no Airplanes no traffic.. no uninvited music… big spaces for the noise to disappear before it ever gets to me … I think I need to go back…