People Who Get Irritated By Small Noises As They Get Older Usually Have These 11 Other Personality Quirks
Getting older comes with plenty of odd changes and challenges.
Bricolage / Shutterstock As some people get older, they may experience changes in their auditory process. Their brain may have a difficult time filtering out background noise while they are in loud and crowded environments.
If this is the case, they may feel overwhelmed by this, especially if they feel that they have lost a sense of control and independence. They may start developing traits that are different from the ones they possessed before experiencing these changes.
People who get irritated by small noises as they get older usually have these 11 other personality quirks
1. Sensory sensitivity
fizkes / Shutterstock
People who get irritated by small noises as they get older usually have sensory sensitivity. Sensory sensitivity makes it difficult for the brain to filter out background noise as well as it did when they were younger.
“Sound sensitivity as we age is most common in individuals with hearing loss, but it can occur without hearing loss as well. Some can become so sensitive to sound they can barely tolerate what many others consider a ‘normal’ level of sound,” explains Dr. Kevin H. Ivory, an audiologist and owner of La Cañada Hearing Aids & Audiology.
2. Heightened sensitivity and empathy
pixelheadphoto digitalskillet / Shutterstock
A person who has gotten more easily irritated as they have gotten older may also be more sensitive and empathetic. A highly sensitive person will not only possess a greater amount of empathy and deep emotional processing, but they will also have a higher sensitivity to surrounding sounds.
Psychologist Chivonna Childs, Ph.D., mentions that highly sensitive people will typically differ from others emotionally and mentally. She explains that they are not just more emotional than others, but they also may have difficulty with bigger crowds and bright lights due to their sensitivity to textures and sounds.
3. Anxiety
fizkes / Shutterstock
As a person gets older, if they tend to get more irritated by small noises, they may also struggle with an anxious personality. This is typically due to the connection between sensory processing and experiencing heightened stress.
As the brain overacts to certain sounds, a “fight-or-flight” response starts to occur. The combination of these two things can cause a person to feel an emotional overload, which may turn into them becoming a very anxious person.
4. Detail-oriented
pikselstock / Shutterstock
As a person ages, they may experience auditory changes that cause them to get easily irritated by smaller sounds. A person who experiences this may also be a very detail-oriented person.
While the brain is having difficulty with filtering out background noises, it is also picking up on sounds and other details that most people would overlook. While this may be irritating and a distraction most of the time, these individuals typically approach their surroundings by paying more attention to detail due to the heightened sensory sensitivity they are experiencing.
5. Need for control
fizkes / Shutterstock
People who have gotten more irritated by smaller noises as they have gotten older will typically have a need for control. This controlling personality will be the result of feeling helpless in most settings due to their inability to filter out certain sounds.
This need for control may cause them to cling to quieter and controlled environments. They will likely want to do this as a way to feel like they are gaining at least a small sense of control. They could also invest in hearing aids that would help their auditory processing feel a little more normal.
6. Hypervigilance
Dragana Gordic / Shutterstock
Some people who develop more irritation toward smaller noises as they get older may also be hypervigilant. While the brain is having trouble separating the noises that they want to focus on and the background noises, they may constantly feel on high alert.
Psychologist Susan Albers explains that hypervigilance causes an individual to constantly be aware of their surroundings. When a person struggles with stronger auditory sensitivity, they have no choice but to constantly be aware of what is going on around them.
7. Emotional distress
fizkes / Shutterstock
When someone gets extremely irritated due to smaller sounds as they get older, they likely experience emotional distress. If they are dealing with a disorder called misophonia, they may experience overwhelming amounts of various emotions when triggered by certain sounds.
“Misophonia is a disorder where you have a decreased tolerance to specific sounds and things you can sense related to them,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. If a person is struggling with this, they are likely to experience emotional distress due to the heightened physical and emotional sensitivity they experience with certain sounds.
8. Introversion
fizkes / Shutterstock
If a person has found that they get much more irritated by certain sounds as they have gotten older, they may notice that they have developed a more introverted personality. The sensitivity they have toward smaller noises will cause them to want to remain in tranquil settings that do not have a lot of background noise.
A 2003 study found that introverts are also much more likely to be sensitive to sound than extroverts are. Introverts will be less inclined to use background noise as they try to strengthen their performance while doing mundane tasks. However, extroverts tend to work better when there is more sound involved.
9. Confrontational tendencies
fizkes / Shutterstock
Someone who struggles with always feeling irritated by smaller sounds as they have gotten older may also have a confrontational personality. While these individuals would maybe be calmer individuals, the fact that they have to deal with constant irritation makes them more likely to get angry.
The heightened sensory sensitivity that they are constantly having to deal with will cause them to get frustrated, especially since this is a struggle that is out of their control. Feeling a loss of independence may cause them to feel overwhelming amounts of aggression that they have difficulty determining how to deal with.
10. Avoidance behaviors
FOUR.STOCK / Shutterstock
People who are getting older and experiencing more irritation toward small noises may exhibit avoidance behaviors. These people may have been much more interested in going out to crowded places often before, but now the sensory overload they experience may cause them to avoid these settings.
They may avoid places with a lot of noise in order to escape the overwhelming feelings they have as a result of being highly sensitive to background noise. “When your environment has lower levels of sensory input, your brain can recover its cognitive clarity. Spending time alone in silence allows your mind to relax,” mentions psychiatrist Judith Orloff, M.D.
11. Intolerance
Raushan_films / Shutterstock
People who get irritated by small noises as they get older will likely become intolerant of certain things. As they move through life, sounds are exceptionally louder to them, and this can quickly become overwhelming.
They may lose patience when it comes to other things that also cause them to feel very overwhelmed. While not everyone who feels irritated by small noises will display these traits, they may if they find that the change in their auditory processing causes them too much emotional distress.
Kamryn Idol is a writer with a bachelor's degree in media and journalism who covers lifestyle, relationship, family, and wellness topics.
