Unpleasantly loud or harsh to hear; causing auditory discomfort or annoyance.
From 'ear' plus 'sore' (from Old English 'sār' meaning painful or uncomfortable). This combines hearing with physical pain vocabulary, showing how medieval English treated sound discomfort like physical injury.
Our ears have pain receptors, so 'earsore' isn't metaphorical—sounds above 130 decibels actually trigger the same pain nerves as burns or cuts, making this old word scientifically accurate about actual nerve damage.
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