Hi all.
My entire life I have had issues with focusing and has gotten worse as I have gotten older. It's hard for me to hold a conversation at all. It is also very hard for me to read or grasp a concept sometimes because my mind gets so distracted. I have a BS is Electrical Engineer, so it has not hindered me so much that I wouldn't get good grades, but I do have to try hard than others. I do not take any medications and don't really plan on it because I'm afraid the symptoms would be worse. I was diagnosed in high school with mild ADD, but it just doesn't seem like mild is the correct word. lol I was also diagnosed with OCD because I have motor ticks like blinking my eyes, especially when I'm stressed. I also used to count things quite a bit as a child. Apparently it's genetic because my 9 year old son has an audible tick of doing a blowing thing with his nose, mainly when he is congested. That seems to be all the time since he has allergies.

One of the things that may stem from my ADD is background noise. I cannot stand most background noises. Whether it be someone talking, something clicking, etc. It's really bad whenever I'm concentrating or watching TV and trying to grasp whats going on. The reason I bring this up is because my sons tick of blowing out of his nose drives me insane. I can't even be near him when his does it and sometimes he does it everyone 10 seconds. Is this something that stems from ADD or OCD...or is this something completely different? Any advice on how to fix this issue or improve it? I do have noise cancelling headphones, but I hate to wear them because then I cannot interact with my son. Any meds that may help with both my ADD and anxiety from noises? Meds would be the last resort.