Of course I am exaggerating a little, but in all honesty ever since I was a little girl people have been telling me I have unusually good hearing. Most would say this is a blessing, but it is more of a curse. I can hear people rooms away when they are literally whispering, alarm clocks in the apartments next to mine (it wakes ME from sleeping), watches ticking in the next room, televisions in the next room that are on the next setting from mute, conversations in restaurants tables away, etc. It is very annoying and causes me a lot of grief when trying to concentrate or sleep. I have tried earplugs, the works, it doesn't help. Most people don't ever believe me but after time find out it is no joke. Is there a name for this condition and is there anything that can be done to reduce a person's actual hearing ability?

I think that you are looking at the wrong stage of hearing for a solution. Some people do have better hearing than others because they have a genetic predisposition to have more celia (the hairs that sense the sound energy in the cochlea).

The problem you are having is that you find it difficult to ignore the sounds because you have so many coming at your brain constantly. That's a cognitive problem. You can approach this a couple of ways. I would first suggest that you try a white noise generator. There are various types on the market and they can make other sounds in addition to white noise. I think that white noise will be your best bet.

The white noise masks other noises in your environment. Your brain learns to ignore the white noise because it is constant and unvarying. That may help you sleep by taking away specific noises that your brain focusing on.

You can also get a product called Sonex. It's a convoluted foam panel that cancels out reflected noise. They are a bit weird looking though. I once enter an anechoic chamber that was completely lined with the stuff. You have never heard quiet until you go into one of those rooms. I lost all sense of direction. It was just plain weird.

The final option is medication. You would probably have to get it from a neuropsychiatrist. The medicine would just calm your brain a little so it wouldn't focus on the noises.

You are dead on the money with the white noise suggestion and I know this to be true because of one the things I forgot to mention in my original post. Any time I sleep in a room with a wall unit for a/c or heat (example: motels) I have no problem sleeping in the same bed with husband (another thing I forgot to mention is that even a light snore sounds like a full fledged roar to me) or if we are staying somewhere where there is a ceiling fan above us in motion. However, at the same time that these things are helping to "lull" me to sleep they are very disturbing to someone with average hearing who doesn't need this type of distraction in the first place. I'll look in to the other two suggestions. Thanks!!

jul,

I agree with Robert that you should look at the solutions from a cognitive point of view. That is try out the different products as mentioned in his posting, etc.

Cause, believe me, not wanting to have as good hearing that you have, should be the last thing you'd want to impose on yourself.
Coming from me and others in this board that has a hearing loss that would love to have some of their hearing back !

One way or another, best of luck in solving your dilemna !

Most normal hearing people don't have difficulty getting used to a white noise generator. It blocks out otherwise disturbing noises. You could also get the pillow speaker which lies under your pillow just for you to hear. White noise is the most common solution for people with your kind of difficulty.

You mentioned a husband that snores bothering you too. Why hasn't his snoring problem been checked out? Quite often snoring can indicate a sleep apnea problem or something else that can easily be corrected. Have your husband get this checked out. I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to adjust to some sort of a white noise machine either. Good luck.