Really weird breathing problem

[Mystic Mungis]

A year or so ago I started to develop this really weird problem... if I listen to music through headphones while on public transport I find it hard to breathe. I travel a lot because I live in a village so I generally have at least 2 bus rides a day which usually amount to about an hour so I usually listen to music (I would read but that makes me feel sick), when it first started it was as if I had a slightly blocked nose which wasn't bad but recently it's got so bad that I begin to feel sick and light headed so I've had to stop listening to music on public transport all together.

When I told my friend he said that it could be because I can't hear myself breathe and subconsciously I think that I'm breathing too loud so I start taking shallower breaths and thats why I feel like I can't breathe. The thing is I feel like that even if I'm the only person on the bus or train and I feel fine on a plane. I haven't went to the doctors because I don't think it's a serious problem but lately it's just started to get annoying because journeys are so boring now.

Anyone ever experienced anything like this or have any idea what could be causing it?

[Seizure1990]

is there a large change in altitude over the course of your bus trips?

My cousin is extremely sensitive to altitude changes, and he gets miserably sick when he has to deal with them.

[Mystic Mungis]

The road is pretty much flat because the village I live in is in a valley and the town I usually go to is at the other end of it plus I feel fine if I'm not listening to music :/

[xendrome]

Honestly it sounds psychological...

[c.grz]

Sounds like it has something to do with your ears and balance. And I only say that because you say reading a book makes you feel sick which is motion sickness.

[Mystic Mungis]

Honestly it sounds psychological...

One of my friends said that it could be because there are usually nedy/chavy (no idea what you would call them in other countries) type people on public transport around here and since I listen to metal/hardcore bands I'm scared their going to hear it and start a fight with me :p

But yeah that''s what I'm thinking, just don't know what's making me feel like that or whats causing it though. I might get someone to watch my chest on the bus and see if I do start taking shallower breaths or if it is actually all in my head.

[Soulsiphon]

Is it the same effect simply wearing the headphones with no music playing? How about 1 earbud in one ear with or without music playing? Do you watch the phone/mp3 player/device or do you tend to watch the scenery while listening?

Curious indeed.

[lupich]

A year or so ago I started to develop this really weird problem... if I listen to music through headphones while on public transport I find it hard to breathe. I travel a lot because I live in a village so I generally have at least 2 bus rides a day which usually amount to about an hour so I usually listen to music (I would read but that makes me feel sick), when it first started it was as if I had a slightly blocked nose which wasn't bad but recently it's got so bad that I begin to feel sick and light headed so I've had to stop listening to music on public transport all together.

When I told my friend he said that it could be because I can't hear myself breathe and subconsciously I think that I'm breathing too loud so I start taking shallower breaths and thats why I feel like I can't breathe. The thing is I feel like that even if I'm the only person on the bus or train and I feel fine on a plane. I haven't went to the doctors because I don't think it's a serious problem but lately it's just started to get annoying because journeys are so boring now.

Anyone ever experienced anything like this or have any idea what could be causing it?

Oh my God, I have the exact same thing!!!

I definitely think its sub-conscious and purely psychological so I wouldn't get extremely worried about it. I usually have to go about with one earphone off my ear or extremely low volume - Unless I'm super concentrating and in the groove of doing something then I've too focused to worry, I imagine my breathing is fine because I've never heard comments about it from my loud mouth friends. :rolleyes:

Sometimes I do the same thing when I see a super cute girl I'm like "Am I walking normally?" and start walking slightly different and think about it way too much.

Maybe we suffer from mild OCD? Lmao.

[Mystic Mungis]

Sounds like it has something to do with your ears and balance. And I only say that because you say reading a book makes you feel sick which is motion sickness.

I can walk around fine and occasionally go running while listening to music through my headphones so would it not affect me more then? And I feel fine when in a car

[c.grz]

I can walk around fine and occasionally go running while listening to music through my headphones so would it not affect me more then? And I feel fine when in a car

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_sickness

[Linda Schwagger]

weirdly i have trouble breathing on tall buses in general. short ones are cool though.

[Davo]

Is it *only* if you have headphones on? I'm going to go with altitude change as well if that's applicable. Your ears might not be able to "pop" since the headphones are in and you end up feeling overwhelmed.

[Mystic Mungis]

@Soulsiphon I have proper over ear headphones so I have to have both ears covered but I think when it first started happening I had in-ear earphones, I'll try it with a friends with only one bud in. It's fine without music on which is handy because if theres any annoying people I can just put them on and it helps block them out :p I tend to watch the scenery unless I'm texting someone or playing a game.

@lupich FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WITH THIS! Agreed the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that I think I'm making some weird sound or something and subconsciously I panic, usually if I turn the volume down so that I can hear other things too then it helps a bit but I never feel normal again until I've stopped the music and even then it takes a minute or two before I feel I'm breathing "normally" again

I looked into motion sickness and altitude change but I really don't think it's because of them, as soon as I get on the bus and play music, even if it's still waiting at the stop I feel it instantly and even if it was because my ears couldn't pop I should still feel like I can't breathe while no music is playing but I don't :/ Thanks for the suggestions though :D

[lupich]

@lupich FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WITH THIS! Agreed the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that I think I'm making some weird sound or something and subconsciously I panic, usually if I turn the volume down so that I can hear other things too then it helps a bit but I never feel normal again until I've stopped the music and even then it takes a minute or two before I feel I'm breathing "normally" again

Honestly, you've described word-for-f'ing-word the exact same things I'll do. Like in school when I had an iPod on or something I'd have to take a "break" between every few songs where I just take my headphones off and breathe... There has to be a term/word/name for this!

:o

[Arceles]

@Soulsiphon I have proper over ear headphones so I have to have both ears covered but I think when it first started happening I had in-ear earphones, I'll try it with a friends with only one bud in. It's fine without music on which is handy because if theres any annoying people I can just put them on and it helps block them out :p I tend to watch the scenery unless I'm texting someone or playing a game.

@lupich FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WITH THIS! Agreed the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that I think I'm making some weird sound or something and subconsciously I panic, usually if I turn the volume down so that I can hear other things too then it helps a bit but I never feel normal again until I've stopped the music and even then it takes a minute or two before I feel I'm breathing "normally" again

I'm afraid that I have exactly the same symptoms, wich at the same time relieves me... it must be psychological indeed, altough my tastes in music vary from rock progressive to videogame music...

[Nagisan]

Sounds like it has something to do with your ears and balance. And I only say that because you say reading a book makes you feel sick which is motion sickness.

Motion sickness is caused by a disagreement between what your ears are feeling and what your eyes are seeing.....reading a book distracts your eyes and reduces their vision of the road, making motion sickness more likely, listening to music however should not affect his balance at all and therefore it wouldn't be motion sickness.

OP: I was about to ask if you have tried it wearing headphones with no music but you already answered that :p

That being said, have you tried different kinds of music? Maybe something that your community wouldn't see as bad/crap or whatever? It sounds like you are subconsciously worrying about the music in some way that your body attempts to draw less attention to itself by breathing softer or less often.

Either way it definitely sounds psychological, its up to you to find out what exactly is the cause (by trying to change different variables and figure out what does and doesn't cause the behavior you are experiencing).

[Mystic Mungis]

@Lupich and Arceles if there isn't a name for this yet we should definitely get to name it :p It's a big relief to know I'm not the only person and that it doesn't develop into something worse, or at least I hope it doesn't.

Yeah if I do brave it and listen to music then I have to take breaks every so often but then I get the feeling that people think I'm stupid because every 5 mins I take my headphones off then put them on again a minute later :p

@Nagisan I also listen to Dubstep and some dancey type stuff and if I ever feel uncomfortable I usually switch to listening to that, at one point if I turned my EQ off I would feel a bit better but after a while I felt the same even with it off :(

[Soulsiphon]

While it does sound like classic, clinical motion sickness, there are some symptoms that you mention that suggest more is involved. Some of what you describe about being aware of your breathing almost sound like some physiological effects of a panic attack.

I only asked about eliminating the earbuds to try and figure out if it was motion sickness. You could also get the effect by not hearing the vehicle (taxi, train, bus whatever) accelerate and decelerate while the earphones are on and that can cause disorientation also - I know because I listen to the same heavy stuff and very LOUDLY ;)

Still, an interesting test would be to try something simple I saw suggested many years ago in some USENET newsgroup talking about motion/3D sickness people were having when Everquest launched: as you move along with the phones on do NOT look at the device playing. As a matter of fact, find some point outside of the vehicle and preferably straight ahead past the driver and lock on to it. I've also read that some people would wear a baseball cap (not for me) and focus on the brim of the hat.

The fact that you would get ill while reading is classic motion sickness but like I said, you have some other effects that may just be a result of the disorientation and vertigo and may want to try some classical approach so that you can enjoy your tunes whilst traveling. I can't even fathom commuting to work on my bus with no music going and having to suffer overhearing the smalltalk of gangsters and parolees.

[c.grz]

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070227172007AAQllF1

If you search for it; you'll find that there are quite a few people that experience the same problem.

Could it be the air pressure caused by the headphones messing with the ears?

[Mystic Mungis]

@Soulsiphon thanks for the tips, not being able to hear the vehicle definitely relates to me because turning the music down to the point where I can hear it and other noises makes me feel a little better. I'll try fixing my gaze out the front window and see if that helps, I usually tend to keep looking around because I become restless because of it. It's pretty hard listening to all the junkies talking about what they got up to at the weekend and proudly talking about how 7 of them battered one person half their age "/

@TheReasonItFailed I've found quite a few people who have trouble breathing while wearing headphones, I was just wanting a more specific answer since it only happens to me under certain circumstances

[AJerman]

What kind of music are you listening to? You could just be listening to ****ty music and it's making you sick. That happens sometimes to me when I hear Britney Spears and Kesha type music.

I'd prescribe a moderate dose of metal to see if your symptoms go away.

[Nagisan]

Still, an interesting test would be to try something simple I saw suggested many years ago in some USENET newsgroup talking about motion/3D sickness people were having when Everquest launched: as you move along with the phones on do NOT look at the device playing. As a matter of fact, find some point outside of the vehicle and preferably straight ahead past the driver and lock on to it. I've also read that some people would wear a baseball cap (not for me) and focus on the brim of the hat.

Very true for the most part.....I have had motion sickness my entire life (cars, planes, etc) and focusing on something that doesn't move much (a tree in the distance, until you get closer to it, then refocus on another far tree) helps tons. I still get motion sickness at times (mostly in planes as you cannot focus on anything in the distance) and sometimes in cars (depends on who is driving and how rough or smooth the vehicle rides), but any time I expect the slightest chance of motion sickness I take one of the many over the counter medications and I don't get sick.

The fact that you would get ill while reading is classic motion sickness but like I said, you have some other effects that may just be a result of the disorientation and vertigo and may want to try some classical approach so that you can enjoy your tunes whilst traveling. I can't even fathom commuting to work on my bus with no music going and having to suffer overhearing the smalltalk of gangsters and parolees.

Agreed, his getting sick while reading in a car is 100% motion sickness, but the particular case here is something psychological that's causing a panic attack (from the sounds of it....I'm no doctor, but listening to music in a vehicle is something that normally causes motion sickness, though for me personally, despite many people who get motion sickness from some games....I have NEVER gotten motion sickness from any game).

[Mystic Mungis]

I'd prescribe a moderate dose of metal to see if your symptoms go away.

Right now my most played bands would be The Black Dahlia Murder, August Burns Red, Whitechapel, Chelsea Grin, Parkway Drive, Bleeding Through and All The Remains :p

[AJerman]

Right now my most played bands would be The Black Dahlia Murder, August Burns Red, Whitechapel, Chelsea Grin, Parkway Drive, Bleeding Through and All The Remains :p

Damn, there goes my idea! :laugh:

[Mystic Mungis]

Good idea though ;) You'd do well as a doctor, I'd recommend you to many of my friends who have "ailments" of the musical retardation variety :p