A recent article is bringing light to the condition known as misophonia, a disorder which causes people to have severe responses to certain sounds.

Misophonia

Misophonia, which literally translates to “hatred of sound,” is a chronic condition that causes affected individuals to have intense, but involuntary, emotional experiences to specific sounds. These emotional reactions can be either mild or very strong, and include anything from disgust and rage, to anxiety, fear, or other serious emotional distress with violence and suicidal thoughts. Regardless, overall, these experiences can majorly impact the patient’s life quality.

Cause:

The exact cause of misophonia is unknown, but scientists know that the condition is not a problem with the ears, but rather, related to how sound affects the brain and triggers automatic responses in the body. The specific trigger stimuli for the reactions are usually repetitive and/or social oral sounds that are produced by another person, such as chewing, pen clicking, tapping, and lip smacking, and from which the affected individual cannot escape.

Symptoms:

The symptoms of misophonia usually come on quickly around the ages of 9 and 13. These come on in episodes, and may be described as any of the following:

• Aggression towards the route of the stimulus
• Fear
• Irritation or rage
• Disgust
• Depression
• Social isolation
• Feelings of skin crawling
• Suicidal thoughts

Treatments:

Even though misophonia affects daily life, it can be managed by avoiding the trigger sound or by blocking the reflex that occurs. This can be achieved using sound therapy combined with counseling, hearing plugs or aids, antidepressant medication, and an active lifestyle to manage stress. In particular, Cognitive Behavioral therapy, or CBT, and Progressive Muscle Relaxation have been successful when applied to misophonia. There are more than a dozen misophonia clinics around the United States that can offer a support system to people affected by the condition.

Sensitivity to Certain Sounds

Every person has sounds that mildly annoy them or get on their nerves, but if certain sounds are causing you to have emotional or physiological responses, you might have misophonia. The sounds that often distress people with misophonia include:

• Pen clicking
• Dog licking
• Kissing
• Chewing noises
• Gum Popping
• Whistling
• Tapping
• Silverware scraping/scratching
• Keyboard/mouse clicking
• Snoring
• Throat clearing
• Leg shaking

Although there are other sounds that can trigger misophonia, these are common everyday sounds that tend to irritate those with the condition.

Understanding Misophonia

Unfortunately, misophonia is often misdiagnosed as anxiety, OCD, or other disorders. This means people often go through life believing they are just overreacting to some sounds. Their responses to these sounds can affect their relationships with other people since those without the condition find it hard to understand the severity of a response. However, having a diagnosis and the ability to explain the condition can help with others becoming more supportive.

Misophonia affects females more often than males, and usually the condition comes on quickly between ages nine and thirteen.

Living with Misophonia

Although it can be a relief to be diagnosed with misophonia after dealing with severe responses to sound without understanding why, it can also be overwhelming. There isn’t a cure for the condition, but there are ways to treat it and stop it from completely disrupting your life. For one, joining an online or social media group of other patients with misophonia can greatly improve your mental state. They can offer your support and tips and tricks for living with the condition. Furthermore, finding a therapist can be very helpful as they can provide you with a space to talk and offer you coping strategies. There are also some sound therapy options that audiologists can provide. Finally, some patients have found that using a device such as a hearing aid can distract you from sound triggers by replacing them with more relaxing sounds.

No matter how you choose to treat your diagnosis of misophonia, the most important thing to remember is you are not alone or crazy and support is out there.