Does anyone else’s OCD cause them to be hyperaware or background noises (hum of refrigerator, fan, distant traffic, etc.) and make your hearing incredibly sensitive? If so, how do you push your way through it? Mine gets to the point where I can hear all these things that the mind normally tunes out, and then I fear I am having “hallucinations” because I get thoughts about how “I mean it kind of sounds like a whistle, or this or that” and then it causes panic due to my health anxiety and fear of psychosis. My psych has said this is a part of OCD and that I’m focusing on the noises and coupling them with intrusive thoughts, but I’m curious how others have fought this and gotten through.

Yeah it disappears and then I’m like... what the hell how do some noises become “louder” just because im thinking of them or anxious. Woofta it’s annoying!

I have the same problem at night. It tough for me to go to sleep. I am scare of become schizophrenia and one of the symptoms is hearing the voice. Every night before i go to sleep i try to check the sound because everything is quiet. When i focus on my hearing to much and my ear turn really red. And than i just got tinnitus from there. I want to find a way to get out from there.

I agree the app is great. It’s horrible because it’s like those sounds then appear louder since you’re fixating on them. Then I start with the “what if no one else hears it” or “it kind of sounds like someone humming” so then I’m convinced it must be me hearing things instead of it being an actual noise just coupled with an intrusive thought. Ocd is exhausting that’s for sure!!! How have you pushed through these things?

It’s hard sometimes I tell ya!!! Especially because when you notice a sound, it’s hard to unnotice it.

@Drepet123 I can hear it only in quiet

I’ve had that too. It has moved to noise, but in the beginning I had it with visual as well. All the floaters or just natural slight movements we tend to ignore I focused on. Then that coupled with my fear of psychosis I thought it must have beeen me seeing things. Now I no it’s only hyperawareness. It passes though, I promise!!!

@Drepet123 Yup! I realized this awhile back, that anxiety can cause that hyper awareness of senses. Once you realize that, it takes away a lot of the fear of what you’re experiencing.

@Drepet123 I have the same problem as you. But i start with sensorimotor obsession. I check everything in my body. From breathing, swallowing, blinking and floater. Now i got tinnitus. My life has been ruined because of that.