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The "Butterfly's Whisper" Blog

Welcome to my blog. I hope by sharing my own misophonia experiences, others who are frustrated with misophonia sensitivities will discover that they're not alone. I also hope that people who may not have misophonia will gain some insight about what it's like to have this condition.

Please feel free to post any comments or use the "Contact Us" page if you have any questions/comments you don't want to post online.

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Misophonia and our environment

10/22/2013

4 Comments

 
Today my office held our monthly staff meeting at lunch. I think my coworkers have gotten to the point where they know me and my misophonia sensitivities well.

Normally I try to get to the meeting early so I can get an ideal seat right in front next to the projection screen so that I don't have to deal with visual triggers in my peripheral vision. Before the meeting, I heard our receptionist clanking her silverware on a glass plate, so I knew I had to be prepared. (Instead of sandwiches, the office got roasted sliced pork with steamed vegetables. Pretty yummy but I can't stand the noise of everyone's silverware clanking on their plates.) Since the meeting is also covered by WebEx for our other locations to participate, speakers use a microphone when presenting. It's great for me because I know I can wear my earplugs to block out the background noises but still hear the microphoned speakers.

Today I wound up getting to the meeting on time (which for me is late), and I was really worried that someone would've taken my spot. Luckily, whether because people know I always sit in the front corner or because people don't like sitting that close to the screen, I was able to get my favorite seat. I still had to hold up my notebook at times to block the view of some of the other people in the front who would bounce their feet during the meeting; but other than that, it was a typical staff meeting.

One of my coworkers presented an interesting tibit of information that really hit home for me. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm a lighting designer at an architecture/engineering firm. During these staff meetings, we share "lessons learned" issues that can help us on other projects. Today, one of my coworkers shared a situation where they designed a K-12 school that had classrooms for special-need students (like when a student has autism). Evidently, an issue came up where the hand driers in the adjacent restrooms were upsetting some of the special-ed students. They wound up having to remove them.

I spoke to my coworker after the meeting to say that her example piqued my interest. I explained that it might not have been just the sound of the hand drying machines, but perhaps also the vibrations caused by the machines, that the students could sense. I explained how sometime I can feel vibrations caused by people moving near me (since our office has hard floors with very little padding), and I can always feel when someone rests their feet or another object on the chair on which I'm sitting. She replied that what I said made sense, since the school building's construction had hollow cavity walls that would allow sound and vibrations to easily travel between the adjacent spaces.

It's really interesting how sometimes people take our environments for granted - not just the ones that we're physically in, but also those that are adjacent to our own. It's people who have heightened senses that really pick up on the environmental factors that other people just don't perceive.
4 Comments
Bad Momma link
10/22/2013 07:34:00 pm

I think there might be two issues with the driers. My son reacts to low frequency sounds. Air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, the low hum of refrigerators, water heaters and even the fan in his laptop. I would also avoid ceiling fans. Since sound is made up of vibrations this might be one issue with 2 senses affected, hearing and feeling (touch).

Reply
Emlyn link
10/24/2013 03:06:33 pm

Yes, I can imagine how frustrating it must be for him, especially with modern building designs that like to celebrate architecture and leave everything exposed. (Many of the recent K-12 school designs on which I worked incorporated a lot of exposed building elements.)

I wonder if the issue with ceiling fans is not just the sound, but a combination of the sound, the feeling of the pulsing air pressure being caused by the rotating blades, as well as the visual stimulation of the blades which, depending on how fast they are, can create a strobe effect. Whenever I have to design the lighting for a room that has ceiling fans, I'm always concerned about where to position the lights to get enough illumination without creating that strobe effect.

I shared what you wrote to the coworker I mentioned in the above post. (I design lighting for the K-12 school projects where she's my project manager). She hadn't thought of those items in past designs either, but said it made sense.There are so many components in current building designs that were not considered in past archtiectural designs. She even mentioned how many of her projects with special needs classrooms now include a swing in the room design, since swings can calm the child and help them to focus. I wonder if one of the reasons why the swing works is because it might help remove the direct contact between the child and any vibrations that travel through the floor (like those caused by kids running or actively playing).

I'm sure you are more familiar with the special considerations that are required than anything I can share. I just find it interesting how much more involved architectural/environmental design is now than when I first entered the profession nearly twenty years ago.

Reply
Angela
11/12/2014 01:30:36 pm

I would just like to say that I have thought a lot about this subject. Currently I am a student of Architecture who suffers from misophonia (I have since I was 9 years old). It has crossed my mind whether or not design could be a tool that would help provide relief to environmental stressors. In fact, I am developing my thesis project on architecturally designed environments and how they influence Neurological disorders. I can from experience say I have been uncomfortable in many similar daily activities. I have struggled in many professional environments such as at work or school, as well as in my home. I feel it is really important to be thought about in Architecture as well as design. I have a few thoughts on how Architecture could be helpful but I can only speak from my own experiences. I hope this subject becomes more valued in design but more importantly becoming more aware.

Reply
Emlyn
11/17/2014 03:44:17 pm


Hi, Angela. I don't know if you knew this but I have an architecture degree and work in the design industry. Over the past year, I pursued positions in academia hoping to study environmental design and sensitivity issues, but didn't get accepted anywhere (which is why I'm still in the private sector). I'm still interested in the investigation, and am more than happy to help however I can to encourage someone like yourself with your research.

If you haven't already done so, you may want to look into EDRA.ORG (an association for environmental design). You many also want to check out www.anfarch.org as another resource. I know there's a neurological conference that's always looking for presenters to connect environmental factors with neurologic issues. (I'd have to look in my notes to find out that info for you.)

I'd love to correspond with you, or even speak live, about your thesis. Feel free to use the "contact us" link at the top of the page to email me directly.

I look forward to hearing from you!

-Emlyn

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    About the Author

    Emlyn Altman has been suffering with misophonia for over 35 years, even though she only found out about the actual medical condition much more recently. As frustrating as the condition has been over the years, her heightened sensitivities across all the senses considerably influenced her talents within the visual fine arts (particularly sculpture), music (singing, piano, and many other instruments), writing, and culinary backgrounds, as well as professional achievements as an architectural lighting designer. Her goal in developing this website is to promote more awareness about misophonia and help other sufferers as well.


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