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She was diagnosed with severe tinnitus and hyperacusis - a reduced tolerance to sound - and began to spend a lot of time in the woods near her home in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.

The 49-year-old has pain hyperacusis, a condition which means she is often forced to shut herself away from her husband and young sons.

Whether or not Bobby was hypersensitive, he did suffer from hyperacusis—an acute sensitivity to noise and even distant sounds—and it was clear that Tal, in particular, knew just how to rattle him.

The most debilitating is hyperacusis, an acute sensitivity to certain sounds, which would make it impossible for Merritt to play with an amplified rock band – Magnetic Fields gigs are much quieter affairs.

I don’t think it’s your fault — hyperacusis and misophonia are real conditions that make people unbearably sensitive to noise — but it’s your problem regardless.