To me it is both the sound of the machine running and the sound of the fast moving air running over the hands. When there are multiple people drying their hands all at once, in a tile covered bathroom, I find the sound to be unbearable. Even if it's just me drying my hands, the discomfort is too much.

I have tinnitus and so my sensitivity might be lower than the average person. Other sounds that cause me pain and distress:

1. Movie theaters these days. Why are they so goddamn loud? I can't tell if it's the sound design of the movie, or if the volume is way up in the theater. If I don't wear earplugs, my ears will be in pain and ringing for days.

2. My refrigerator that has developed an obnoxious electric whine. I can hear it from across the house. It is currently being replaced, and I am spending an absurd amount of money on a quiet refrigerator.

3. A commercial carpet cleaning vacuum running for hours at a time down the block. Again with the high-pitched sound and I can hear it from a mile away. And it's always in the mornings when I am trying to read.

4. Ceramic dishware clashing together. This too causes pain. When I do the dishes, I am mindful of the loud sounds made when stacking plates and bowls, so I stack carefully. When family does the dishes, they create a soundscape from hell. It is like their hands are not connected to their brains and they've never put anything down gently in their entire lives.

5. Industrial electrical boxes. I parked on a top floor of a local parking garage the other day, and I noticed 4-6 very large electrical boxes mounted along one of the walls. The sound coming from these boxes was so loud, so sharp to my ears, I had to get back in the car right away and drive out. It only took a few moments of exposure and my ears were ringing and my head was splitting for hours.

I know I must seem insane, but I don't care. I will go out of my way to create quiet spaces, to preserve the silence, to avoid noise that causes distress, because sometimes it takes days for me to recover. And having to battle this stuff constantly just makes me angry and annoyed, and I don't like that.

I've had numerous ear and hearing exams and in addition to the tinnitus, I'm told I have severe "hyperacusis."