Tinnitus is one of the most distressing hearing-related symptoms.
"Having psychosis is a very distressing thing – hearing voices, having delusions," said Dr James MacCabe from King's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, one of the authors of a new study.
There is something slightly distressing about hearing this sound, a facsimile of a real voice, an acoustic simulation of human life emanating from this inanimate, artificial figure.
It was a lot more distressing to hear the same misreading of the election from John Boehner, the Speaker of the House.
So it was especially distressing to hear Mr. Bush's barely veiled attack against Senator Barack Obama in front of Israel's Parliament.
It was distressing to hear the suggestion by Bishop Wilton Gregory, the prelate charged with directing the inquiry, that the "terrible history" is just that -- history.
"In one particular meeting I held with a group of heads, it was distressing to hear how isolated and vulnerable many of them said they felt".
During the economic downturn, it has been extremely distressing to hear my profession being vilified when, as the column said, it offers so much to the American economy.
So it was distressing to hear that the Justice Department plans to appeal a federal court order that the military immediately stop enforcing the law that is used to drum out gay service members once their sexual orientation becomes known.
And it was distressing to hear Mr. McCain still talking about "winning" the war in Iraq and adopting the tedious tactic of accusing Mr. Obama of "giving up" when he talks about a careful withdrawal of troops.
This background might explain why it has been immensely distressing to hear one voice amplified above others over these last few days – the voice of the rapist and murderer, Mukesh Singh, repeating the worst of these prejudices.
