I have always been sensitive to sound, even when I was a young child.
My father used to work in construction and sometimes took my sister and I to job sites where he was working.
I was frightened by the heavy machinery at that age. A lot of young boys would have been thrilled to see construction equipment like that, but it imparted on me a real sensitivity for loud noises. I didn’t like going to high school football games because of all the shouting, despite them being the main hangout spots for my friends at that age. I have never been able to get on a motorcycle because of the roaring sound of the engine. It’s easy to see why I’m such a light sleeper, as I can awaken from the sound of a person walking on the floor near my bed. Even the air conditioning kicking on sometimes wakes me up from my sleep. This got worse after we installed a new a/c last month that is more powerful than our old one. The air handler is inside a closet down the hall from our bedroom. I often hear it turning on in the middle of the night as I will open my eyes half awake in confusion. It’s frustrating because the air conditioner turns on and off a lot to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. I can’t afford to get a new air conditioner, nor would I want a less powerful system just because the current one is a little louder than I’m used to. I have since solved this problem by using ear plugs while I sleep at night. If my wife wasn’t here, I’d be worried that I wouldn’t be able to hear the smoke or carbon monoxide detectors in the event of an emergency.