Pavlovian Responses

Workplace construction seems to be a staple of my professional career. My eight years at ICPSR were marked by non-stop moving, construction, and environmental issues (radon, flooding, diesel fumes, etc.). There have also been some small-scale construction projects in my new workplace, most notably the renovation of our offices over winter break. I have now been physically conditioned to respond to certain noises and sounds associated with construction. For example, even the slightest hint of diesel fumes makes me nauseous. Also the beeping sound coming from large construction vehicles sets off an automatic pulsing in my temples.

This Pavlonian conditioning is going to be a problem for me this summer. They are starting a major renovation project of the building adjacent to mine. On Friday I had to take breaks from a student conference held on our campus because diesel fumes from the construction vehicles were wafting through the open windows and making me ill. Today there has been almost non-stop beeping from the same vehicles, making it very difficult for me to concentrate. This does not bode well for my work plans for the summer. Any suggestions for changing my responses to these smells and sounds would be greatly appreciated.*

(*I've already tried headphones and the beeping noise pierces through them. Of course, for my ICPSR friends, these would be headphones of the usual variety, not the RR uber-headphones.)