-- Reassure your safety
-- Learn and isolate those noises
-- Cover them with white noise
-- Learn to handle your fear.
-- FIRST before going to bed reassure yourself that your house is safe. Make sure the windows are closed and secure and the doors are locked. If you know that someone can't get in without making a lot of noise then you will feel more secure. If your family doesn't normally lock their doors and windows then you need to explain to them why you feel it is necessary.
There are inexpensive alarm systems that track movement. You can often set these systems to ignore something as small as a cat. You can also set up an electric eye at each door. When the beam is broken an alarm will sound. You can buy some of these items as kits from American Scientific Surplus: http://www.sciplus.com/search.cfm?
Or you could simply tie a bell to each window and you will know when they are moved. You can get a bell on a loop that you can hang up by a door and put it on the doorknob at night. When the door is opened then the bell will sound. A shop bell with a clapper at top will sound every time the door is opened. A simple tripwire hooked to a bell will work as well. If you have a door that opens in then putting a trip line connected to a bell across the door will always sound an alarm with the door is opened. Just make sure that the end of the string with the bell is attached to a hook, so that it can only be pulled off when some force is applied. Then the reaction of the string suddenly moving will be enough to sound your simple alarm.
You could set your trip wires to run over the cat's head, and to allow her room to get in and out of a room. You can also set your electric eyes high enough so the cat won't break them, don't forget about her tail. Most electronic eyes don't use a visible beam (or use a simple flashlight beam in the primitive models) so you cat shouldn't be tempted to play with them.
Light will scare off most animals and criminals. That's the idea behind the lights with motion sensors. You can find them at places like Home Depot. I have set up one so that it turns on my kitchen light whenever I go into the kitchen. Exterior lights can frighten off "beasties in the night."
Some of the best solutions are the simple ones. A heavy bookshelf that you move behind your door each night can block the door keeping out people or at least it will make a heck of a racket if anyone tries to come into your room.
-- SECOND be curious and find out what the noises and creaks are in your house. Spend some time in the daytime listening for those noises and track them down. If you know that this sound means the heater has kicked on then you will feel safer when you know that this sound won't be the sign of a person breaking in or attacking. If you can track down a creaking floor and put a nail in it to stop the creaking then that will help as well. However, there will be some sounds, like the house settling, that you can't isolate. Others will be difficult to track down or isolate so you won't get rid of all these sounds or be able to account for all of them.
A rug can muffle some sounds. If your drapes are blowing around too much then you can sew lead weights into the bottom of them to prevent this.
-- THIRD get a white noise generator. I use a fan, and I keep it on all night, every night, even in winter. The steady noise of the fan is something that I am used to and it makes me feel comfortable. When I hear that fan, my subconscious knows that it is time to go to sleep (I have worse sleeping problems then you do). The noise of the fan also covers up the odd noises that go on around me. I live in an apartment complex so I can't track down all those noises and I can't isolate or repair some of them. With the steady noise of my fan I don't hear them. The problem with the TV or the radio is that you get a changing audio pattern that can attract your attention and make it more difficult to get to sleep. A sound machine that plays a recorded soothing sound over and over can also be used. I have one that plays raindrops, train travel, ocean waves etc. If you actually listen to it you will hear only a few seconds of one sound which is repeated over and over. This kind of white noise is easy to get used to.
Walls echo sound better than cloth, drapes or posters. If you have blank walls then you can create an echo chamber. When you use soft items like the drapes I mentioned then those sounds will not be reflected as loudly, they can get lost in the folds too. Check out the links on Google: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-22,GGLG:en&q=sound+dampening+materials for sound dampening materials. Or here for sound reduction materials: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-22,GGLG:en&q=sound+reducers
You can find almost anything on eBay: http://search-desc.ebay.com/Deadening-Material_Car-Truck-Parts_W0QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftsZ2QQsacatZ6030
Bose has designed a sound reduction set of headphones. They work by listening to a sound and then broadcasting a sound that is exactly out of phase so both sounds cancel each other out. Hmmmmm, sounds like a possible science fair project to me.
-- FOURTH, we all have fears, for some it is snakes, heights, knives etc. Some fears we out grow, and you still might out grow this one. Other fears are with us for life. It can be very hard to reason with a fear and removing it. My fear of heights makes me scared when I go up beyond 6’ on a ladder. However when I am in a skyscraper I can look outside with no problem as long as I have my hand of a rail or wall so I know I won’t fall. You can try and deal with your fear though hypnosis. There are psychological (medications) that can help as well, but I don’t think you are that bad off. You should make your fear known to your parents, so they can help reassure you. Your parents probably have their own little fears as well.
Don’t dwell on the fear. I have flown on several airline trips, across the US, and twice across the Atlantic and back. I only got frightened on one flight when I started thinking about the bad things that could happen. I took my own fear and magnified it to the point where I had an uncomfortable trip. I always have that fear of heights, but my confidence in airplanes reduces it so I can fly comfortable. On the next flight, and every flight afterwards I wasn’t nervous. I accepted that airline travel was the safest, and that by watching the safety brief I was doing as much as I could in case if disaster struck. The best way to stay safe would be to keep a clear head.
Even some forms or acupuncture have been claimed to be able to cure fears. I don’t have any experience in this area, but since I have used acupuncture to treat my chronic pain I am open to the idea.
2006-11-13 15:09:28
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answer #1
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answered by Dan S 7
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sounds to me that the fact you are living in the middle of no where is the problem and you are probalies feeling a bit insecure. Talk to your parents about this and im sure they will help you. I had the same problem of not been able to sleep due to noises. I overcome this by trying to logicaly explain the noises i hear ie a creak in the floorboard i would explain as they are contracting due to turning off the central heating and so on and so forth.
I wish you luck in this problem and hope you too also find peace and finaly get a good nights sleep.
2006-11-13 14:25:06
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Your cats death triggered this fear in you, how did your cat die? Old age hit by a car or a sick prank? I think your afraid of loss. Your fear isn't so much of the noises as it is of the quiet solitude ie. loneliness. Or maybe its a fear of losing your family if it were a tragic loss. I know from experience that getting another pet doesn't replace the one that is no longer around, but maybe you might consider getting another pet. I would suggest a dog for 3 reasons. 1. It will alert you if the noises are caused by something or some one that needs human attention. 2. A barking dog usually scares "intruders" away. 3.They are more loyal and less independent that a cat for a constant companion.
2006-11-13 14:34:47
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answer #3
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answered by sonkysst 4
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I use to be worried about noises at night too. What helped me was to make sure I was very tired before I went to bed, & I would listen to music until I fell asleep. Hope this helps. Good luck!
2006-11-13 14:39:05
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answer #4
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answered by Sherrie L 5
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Try not having caffeine before you go to sleep. Maybe warm milk and try using the ear plugs again. Also soft music would help in your room to kinda be a buffer from other sounds. Sleep tight and good luck...
2006-11-13 14:19:26
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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I do the same thing, and I'm grown with children. One thing that helps is turning on the washer and dryer. I also turn my radio down really low and leave it on. There are white noise machines, like radios, that can work, too. Good luck!
2006-11-13 14:20:08
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answer #6
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answered by coach3258 1
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Are you startled easily during the day too? Do you have other fears? If not maybe you can work on desensitizing this fear with a desensitizing therapist. Good luck!! You are not alone in this behavior I know others your age with this problem.
2006-11-13 14:22:58
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answer #7
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answered by Alex 2
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well, it's a common problem. it happened to me for a long time. any little thing freaked me out. my solution was to listen to the radio while i sleep or watch tv. not too loud, though. but it's a controlled noice. i think subconsciousely, your mind will assume all the noises it hears is due to the tv or radio. it will take a while to adjust to, but it has worked for me for years.
2006-11-13 14:22:51
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answer #8
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answered by HW-7 3
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I have this same fear, I sleep with my tv on too but maybe u could talk to ur parents & discuss ur fears. U could also try having ur mobile under ur pillow, putting a lock on ur door & having something like a bat by ur bed.
2006-11-13 14:25:09
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answer #9
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answered by swelljosie 2
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maybe try listening to your favorite music on an ipod. So you can go to sleep to your favorite song.
2006-11-13 14:20:28
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answer #10
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answered by Missy 2
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