Torture Method Using Sound

"Sound torture is a type of psychological warfare used to break the will of prisoners using loud music or white noise."

I wonder if these prisoners are ACTUALLY being tortured or if it is just their bad reaction to the sound? Maybe they all have underlaying anxiety issues or could use some TRT? It sounds like this torture method is banned in certain parts of the world. I wonder if those countries know and understand that it's all about reaction. No reaction, no suffering, and that it is more the prisoners fault if he reacts and suffers from the unwanted noise.


http://www.medicaldaily.com/torture...-can-be-used-break-you-psychologically-318638

 

If people can break due to an external noise then what hope is left for us with 24/7 built in model...???

 

I think if the experience of listening to music/birdsong/babbling brook/cat purring/whatever else can be inherently enjoyable to the senses (as I think it can) then the experience of unpleasant or too loud/persistent sound can also be inherently unpleasant. The "suffering is 100% reaction'" thing seems like a psychological coping mechanism that is now getting adopted too literally by some on the forum. Try to be patient with them as they mean no harm (despite how insulting it might feel to someone such as yourself who has it so bad).

For a bit of light relief, maybe check out Chumbawamba's response to James Hetfield's ill-considered words. As an ex-teenage-Metallica fan I like their humour.

Chumbawamba - Torturing James Hetfield

 

Is it your opinion that some tinnitus can be so intrusive and unpleasant that you can never habituate to it completely? Your reaction can never become completely neutral to it??

 

Stink, I just don't know the answer to that question. My tinnitus is intrusive but I don't think as bad as many have it. If I travel on the noisy clapped out trains that run where I live then I can still hear it. I have sort-of-habituated since it got to this level about 18 months ago. I get through the day but I am no way the same person as I was. I do not react to my tinnitus much at all. I have no particular anxiety about it except when a spike makes me worry it is getting worse. But I hate having it. I have stopped doing most of the things I used to live for. Life seems grey and flat to me. Is that habituation? I am not clear. Subjectively it feels like the hardest thing I have experienced, despite living with a year or so of intense pain in my late 20's when an arthritic illness started and left me barely able to walk. That is much milder now, but even at its worst it did not take away my passion to live and to learn/develop. But I am older now and would surely react to that experience differently now too.

So I can only really give you a personal/subjective answer, and an inconclusive one at that. Some people with seemingly much worse T than me claim to be at peace with it and enjoying life. I don't doubt them, but like I wrote in the 'suicide and tinnitus' thread, I think they would still jump on a cure, so they are perhaps not truly indifferent or 'neutral' about having it.

You have suffered T for longer than me - what do you think?

 

I lived for 5 years with stomache pain (that was 10 years ago). But I could control it and it was maybe bad for two weeks and then better for two weeks. After 5 years, they find the root cause and a surgery fixed it.
No comparison to T, which is just a sound, put no pain. But like intrusiveness of pain, it all depends on loudness of T.
If I have a milder day (for whatever reason), coping is much better. My regular days are very loud.
Like @dboy, I go through my day. Try to cope, but still have anxiety.
I hope for milder days in the future, the magic pill or habituation.
Reacting to this sound is very difficult. Consciously I do not react, subconsciously I still have a high stress reaction.
Feel much limited in all things I do.

 

Of course intensity/frequency/loudness matters. Only a fool would disagree with that.
Only a widely available drug that can be spread cheaply to millions is an acceptable solution to this issue.
But what do you do in the meantime - How do you generically deal with the suffering and give hope?
Encouraging a neutral reaction to lessen the suffering is all we've pretty much got. Of course those that can't benefit from this due to the severity of their condition will be aggrieved at this approach (And rightly so).

Look we got shafted by nature - We really did. This is an awful affliction - I'd take pretty much anything over it.
I'm giving TRT a real go - If in 2 years it hasn't worked - Well then plan B comes into effect - Which is the Vegas Nerve treatment. Thats when I go to Vegas - Stick 50 grand on Red and dependent on that decide whether or not to do a Thelma and Louise off the Grand Canyon and sever all my nerves...

 

Telis
Good to see you on the site; interesting post.

Yes, the military has experimented with directed energy weapons (intense, focused sound being one of them). It's kind of a 'yes to all' answer to your question with one critical factor left out. Yes, the loudness and intensity most definitely matters; so much so that NO human being can control their reaction (it's just not an option -- you will react negatively and severely and there will be a resulting disarray of thought/action leading to a break down of the central nervous system). It's horrible and effective (from one point of view).

The missing part in this thread (however it is addressed in the link you provided) is the psychology behind it; the victim not only suffers with the knowledge it is being done maliciously/intentionally but more importantly that it is completely out of their control. Thus, it not only overwhelms their senses it overrides their will -- truly terrible!

All that being said, I have no knowledge of this being carried out (in any form or venue); I just know the 'academia' regarding the proposed use and implementation.

I'll freely admit, I'm such a wimp that if you put me in a room and made me listen to certain artists for an hour I'd tell you anything you want to know .

Mark

 

Um, my guess is this thread is a reaction to an intense discussion on a suicide thread that some of you may not seen. Although I am not OP here, so I could be wrong.
It started with a comment about reaction from Dr. Nagler. Here is the thread. Start on page 2, if you're interested. At least it could help put it in context.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-suicide.2894/page-2

 

@LadyDi
I claim ignorance about the suicide thread; but you may be right. I just posted on the 'face value' of this thread; by no means did I want to make comment about suicide thread.

Mark