Voices
in their words
What life with noise sensitivity is really like. Different ages, different days, one shared experience of a world that is often too loud.
"The supermarket is the hardest part of my week. The lights hum, the tannoy blares, trolleys scrape. By the till I can barely think. Having a calm, quiet corner to come back to afterwards makes a real difference."
A shopper, 41
"My son covers his ears at the school gate every morning. For a long time I thought I was getting it wrong. Realising the world was too loud for him, not that he was too much, changed everything for us."
A parent
"Open-plan offices were designed without people like me in mind. Headphones help, but so does knowing the overwhelm is a normal response to too much noise, not a personal failing."
A designer, 29
"At my age you're expected to just cope. I don't always say it out loud, but busy rooms wear me down fast. A few quiet minutes and a slow breath, and I can rejoin the day."
A retiree, 68
"Finally somewhere that treats this as real. I stopped feeling like I had to apologise for the way sound affects me."
A teacher, 38
"I understood my son so much better after reading a single page. The world is too loud for him, and that was never his fault."
A parent
"The reset zone is the first thing I open on a hard day. A minute of slow breathing, and I can carry on."
A reader, 52
Have a story you'd like to share? We would be honoured to hear it. Get in touch.