I'm not talking about 'hearing things' as in things that go bump in the night (although there's plenty of that in my house)

I mean I am starting to hear real things that I've never noticed before.

Two nights ago when I was trying to sleep I heard what I thought was the tap dripping in the basin in my bedroom. I was lying in the dark wondering whether or not to bother investigating when I noticed how regular the 'drip' was.

It turned out that the noise was my alarm clock ticking. Now, that clock has been on my bedside cabinet for about eighteen months and I've never before noticed it ticking. I'm an insomniac and it can take me anything from half an hour to about two hours to drop off to sleep, so I ought to have noticed the clock before now. But I hadn't.

Once I had noticed, it became almost impossible to sleep with the noise. How on Earth have I gone all this time without hearing it?

I wasn't going to bother starting a thread about this because it seemed too silly, but an hour or so ago I noticed another noise that had always escaped me.

It's been raining heavily, something it does with great regularity where I live. And for the first time, I actually heard the rain coming down at the back of the house. It must have been doing this for all the time I've been here and yet I've never noticed.

Is this some sort of 'syndrome' where a previously inattentive person starts to notice what's going on around them? (Not deliberately, either).

I am quite serious although I understand that this could look as if I'm just having a laugh.

Having written all this I've started to wonder if my hearing is coming back due to the fact that I'm in a quiet environment and I don't have to make the same efforts to block out noise as I did in the city.

Except, when I was exposed to noise in the city I never felt as if my efforts to ignore it actually worked.

Drink less coffee. ;-)

perhaps you are just now localising your attention.

one of the training methods used to increase situational awareness was to make large amounts of noise and keep it up for a week. banging and clomouring.

then stop and try to be as quiet as you can, paying sttention to the noises around you.

maybe you have just stopped being "noisy" so to speak.

or it could be the coffee thing!! lol * just kidding* i dont want to make light of a wonderful thing! hearing whats around you has saved millenia of humans from beasties in thier caves!!

Maybe something is in the air...

Just yesterday I noticed this sound my mouse made on it's pad. Never noticed it until yesterday. Odd?

Originally posted by okamitengu
perhaps you are just now localising your attention.

That makes sense to me - maybe in a quieter environment I feel safe to do so.

Thanks for the replies everyone - oh, and no coffee for me. I run on tea

Once when I was younger and in experimental stages with substances. I could call my own name in my head. Yes, it was scary, but It was induced by chemicals.

Nearly 17 years later, and after starting to meditate, I've had some sounds in my head that were of something else.

It could be that I am going insane because of realizing that I believe in this huge thousands of years old conspiracy, but it is very interesting, no doubt.

Maybe there are more of us that these types of things are happening to.

[edit on 7-10-2009 by sticky]

Circle - don't think that didn't occur to me. I think I read in a thread on ATS that you can eat up to eight spiders a year in your sleep. So it stands to reason the little perishers would just as easily settle for a cosy ear as crawling into your mouth.

I know the charms of a nice warm ear 'ole, when my nose is cold I'm inclined to look for one to poke it in.


Sticky I've had night terrors and strange noises in my head just before going to sleep for a long time. It's really hard to think of them as an 'interesting' experience, which be good if I could do it. It's more horrifying.

I don't expect either of us are going insane - I tend to think it's the ptb that are insane and people like you and me have just woken up to realise we're probably in an asylum

muggl3z - it would be wonderful to think that things are changing for the better at a vibrational level. I'd hardly dare hope that my improved hearing (or improved attention to my surroundings) was a sign of that.

It is quite something though, to experience the change in myself since I've come to the country. I'd so recommend it to everyone. Maybe opening up to the beauty all around me will improve all of my senses. I was so closed down in the city.

Hey Cindy I do find sometimes that if I want to send healing or support to someone I think of it just before I go to sleep or sometimes when I am waking up. I never know if the person I am trying to help is aware of my efforts. I hope I don't scare them if they suddenly feel a 'presence' - I'd not thought of that before. Hopefully I give out a benign 'vibe' (well, there is one (very well deserved) exception to that. I hope I do scare the bejazus out of him)

I think maybe you're starting to relax and take in your quieter enviroment. Also like other posters are saying, I think in your more relaxed state your senses are becoming more astute and re-awakened.

Are you hearing any nnnnnnnnnn sounds, maybe your bionic!!

Have you been medatating more, or are you feeling more relaxed when you go to sleep since settling in to a more countryside type of enviroment. During my early teen school years an English teacher used to teach some basic medatation to help us all concentrate before class, I was amazed how much my senses whould highten, hearing the birds outside and people moving around the school. It was great fun.

Maybe try some low volume music on in the background to help you settle? This might take your mind off the other distractions.

[edit on 8-10-2009 by Kurokage]

Originally posted by Kurokage

Are you hearing any nnnnnnnnnn sounds, maybe your bionic!!

Actuellement, je suis bilingual Et, aussi bipedal