Does hearing someone eat with their mouth open, or hearing someone breath loudly make you want to run away or even lash out at the source of the sound? If yes, then you are suffering from a disorder known as misophonia.
To those of you who don’t know, Misophonia is a Neurologic disorder that leads its sufferers to extremely negative reactions and feelings related to certain sounds.
Being a Sufferer of misophonia myself i find that many people don’t know about the disorder and that’s what prompted me to write something about it.
That said, here are 5 Things everyone should know about Misophonia (hatred of specific sounds)
1. Misophonia
Although The literal definition of misophonia is hatred of sound, that is not truly the case, because people with misophonia does not simply hate all sound, we are just sensitive to specific sounds…
The little-known disorder can be triggered by particular sounds that are often bodily related or repetitive in nature.
2. Reaction to trigger sounds
When exposed to a trigger sound, a sufferer of misophonia may become panicky, agitated, defensive or offensive, distance themselves from the trigger or possibly act out in some manner.
Some of this trigger sounds are sounds people make going about their day, they include; chewing, slurping, sniffling, throat-clearing, humming, tapping and so on.
3. Common irritants
The most common irritants that are most likely to trigger an episode are; someone eating with his/her mouth open, sneezing, coughing, sniffling, chewing gum, throat-clearing, lip-smacking, swallowing, breathing sounds including snorting and sneezing; vocal sounds such as throat-clearing or humming; visual triggers also include someone jiggling their leg or fidgeting with their hands.
When a sufferer of mosophonia hears any of this sounds, he exhibits “a pattern of intense anger, impulsive reactions and they want to get out of the room and if they can’t, the sufferer might end up attacking -mostly verbal assault- the person making the sound. In extreme cases the sufferer might even lose control and do something drastic like this boy who killed his roommate for snoring.
4. Misophonia can be incredibly isolating and lonely
Most people suffering from misophonia almost always prefer to eat in solitude during meal times… They eat alone just so they can escape hearing the sound of another person chew his meal loudly.
5. Is there a cure
Well, Unfortunately, there’s no cure for misophonia, but accepting your condition and being prepared are the keys to living with it.
Also, controlled exposure to the offending sound can also help; Deciding to stay in the room whenever you’re affected, can help build up resistance.
Source 1, Source 2
