Lesser post-enc after effects - misophonia

[GreenBamboo]

I am wondering if anyone has been left with Misophonia ( “hatred of sound”) since having Enc? I cannot bear the sound of chewing, slurping, crunching or gulping. It makes my skin crawl and if I could I would leave the room.

I know this seems trivial but it makes it difficult to enjoy a meal or share a snack while watching a film etc.

This has been a problem post-enc and I know that there are a lot of serious after effects and this is minor but I just wondered.

What other, lesser effects have you been left with, I'd really be interested to know 😜

[LiLuMi]

Yes, and I have to eat with my children everyday!

[GreenBamboo in reply to LiLuMi]

Hi LiLuMi,

My kids are quite quiet but husband is such a noisy eater (to be fair he probably isn't but I just seem to tune in to it now).

By the time we have finished our dinner I want to launch at him 😅. I hate feeling like that. Enc really does affect you in ways you could never have thought.

[LiLuMi in reply to GreenBamboo]

It really does. I was never bothered by mouth noise before, but now I prefer to eat alone! It is another weird side effect. I just think of the movie, The War of the Roses, I think it was, where Kathleen Turner tells Michael Douglas that she hates him when he chews. I thought it was silly back then 🤣

[Wygella]

Definitely not trivial. One of the really annoying things about recovery from E is exactly these sorts of issues. 4 1/2 years later I can finally have music on again in the house. But not loud. And not for toooo long. But that’s a big step. For me it’s lights. I can’t bear bright lights or flashing lights. Even on the tv I have to shut my eyes at rapid movements. I don’t think that’ll go now. I struggle even in the lights in say supermarkets. To be honest though those seem trivial compare to your issue. Big sympathy.

[GreenBamboo in reply to Wygella]

Hi Wygella, Such a shame to not be able to listen to music, I am pleased that you can now for short periods.

I too have sensitivity to flashing lights but not to a degree that affects me day to day.

I do thank my lucky stars that I have recovered to the level I have but it just feels like Enc always let's you know its visited you!!

[Wygella in reply to GreenBamboo]

I love that! Yes it does. Well put.

[LiLuMi in reply to Wygella]

I still have all of my screens to the lowest brightness; I may have been the only person to rejoice that it was rainy during my driving test! I think the light sensitivity continues the most to my fatigue

[Wygella in reply to LiLuMi]

I do the same. It does help a lot but I still can’t spend a long screen time.

[beachy1980]

Oh no it’s not trivial! I have it too. You can buy earplugs that don’t block out talking but block out background noises- loopearplugs.com/collection...

I have lots of strange problems after encephalitis. I hate hugging and kissing people- apart from my children 😑it’s so strange!

Hope the earplugs help if you decide to try them 👍

[GreenBamboo in reply to beachy1980]

Hi beachy1980, Thanks I will take a look at the link.

It's a shame you are not so tactile now but pleased your kids get lots of cuddles.

Enc has affected us all in ways we could not have imagined.

I just hope that there is still some recovery to be done and so these affects lift. I live in hope

[beachy1980 in reply to GreenBamboo]

Well I am a long way in and still see improvements. Sometimes you have to work on the improvements yourself but I really feel like it can happen 🥰

[HSE_Survivor]

You’re not alone as a lot of us have strange hearing after having E. My problem was excluding outside noise when anyone spoke to me . Speaking in a crowded room was impossible , so I became antisocial as it was such an ordeal. It has improved over the years, but we still have to put the tv on pause or mute in my house if anyone wants to speak to me in the evening .

[GreenBamboo in reply to HSE_Survivor]

Hi HSE_survivor, I remember in the early days feeling like I was in a tunnel with all the noise of people around me but not really distinguishing one voice. I felt really isolated in those situations. We went into lockdown and so by the time we were socialising again I was a lot better.

I hope things get easier gor uou while watching TV

[HSE_Survivor in reply to GreenBamboo]

I’m glad you’re feeling lot better. I can watch tv these days . My 15 year old daughter still automatically puts the tv on mute when speaking to me though . To her, that’s a normal conversation in our living room . 😊

[LiLuMi in reply to HSE_Survivor]

Yes! This! Hugs

[Wygella in reply to HSE_Survivor]

yep. Me too.

[The_Bass]

Hey GreenBamboo - I’m sure us post-encephalitis folks could write a very very long book about all the ups and downs of life beyond the big E and some of the bizarre knock on effects! I do count myself lucky but I’ve got used to things like dribbling if I bend over, training myself how to blow up balloons again, how to drink from a take away coffee cup … no, I don’t understand how these things relate to encephalitis either!

I think when you tell people you’ve had encephalitis and it affects the brain, they nod, but often don’t realise that that means anything that you do can be more complicated. Turns out the brain is very important in us humans.