Scientists investigate the phenomenon of misophonia

People don’t realize that misophonia isn’t just an annoyance with sounds. It’s rage...I want to hurt people over chewing sounds.

My daughter can't have dinner with the family without having ear buds in. Her triggers are clicking, chewing, slurping, smacking, also certain tones of voices. Layered voices in songs (like harmonies by Simon & Garfunkle) baritones, the group volbeat. I remember when she was 1-3 if I was singing to the radio in the car she would tell me "stop it mama stop it" I didn't understand why until years later. School was almost unbearable for her and some sounds trigger absence seizures for her (like loud trucks and motorcycles) so now she's 23 but can't drive due to these. Eating sounds cause a strong disgust, nausea, extreme anger. Other types like some music sounds and harmony can cause major irritation, some anger, and some seizure-like sensations. It can be really rough for people who suffer from misophonia.

I’m glad that there are videos out there on this subject that don’t suddenly bombard the audience with unannounced trigger sounds. Thank you for being considerate. :)

When I was a child, my room was in the front of the house, and I heard every single noise. It would literally put me into a rage. My parents ended up swapping mine and my brothers' room, which was at the back of the house, and put a box fan in there. Now, as an adult, certain sounds throw me into a fight or flight response, such as repetitive tapping, slurping, taking too long to close chip bags, soft, but high-pitched singing, or humming. I also have visual sensitivities, like repetitive movements, like leg bouncing, or feet moving. The list goes on and on. I finally purchased some noise cancelling earphones, and they help a lot, but it is difficult for me to watch a tv show, unless everything else around me is silent. I wish I knew what causes it, because it is not a fun thing to live with. It's almost as if my blood starts to boil when I am triggered, as I can literally feel my body start to flush, as it makes its way toward my head/face.

Thank you for these insights. It's not easy to live with misophonia when you work in a shared office. Crunching sounds, the sound of an apple being chomped on rather than being cut into manageable pieces, the aggressive scraping of an empty yogurt container; the sound of air bubbles going up a straw when a beverage is finished, etc, truly infuriate me to the Nth degree. I become a hateful monster with V shaped eyebrows and ears back. I find that even more infuriating than the sounds themselves is the fact that the miscreant is utterly unaware of how annoying it is.

I actually felt crazy for so long. I understand how irrational it must sound to someone who doesn’t suffer from this. I could be in a great mood and suddenly want to punch a hole through someone’s skull if I hear them chewing. Other sounds like celebratory “woos” also piss me off. “Piss me off” is an understatement, it’s the most unbridled, visceral rage I’ve ever felt. The frustrating thing is we just have to sit with it and act normal.

People whispering/talking to themselves makes me want to claw my eyes out and stuff them in my ears

I'm almost 70. My misophonia started as a child too. When I would hear things that would annoy me, I'd complain, but the response that I usually got from either parent was, "Just tune it out." That was like telling me to stop breathing. I COULDN"T tune it out and couldn't understand why. I heard about misophonia for the first time a couple of years ago from an unrelated TV program. It was a reality-type show, and one of the people in the cast referred to it. I sat up straight and said, WHAT? I realized instantly there was a name for my problem, and I wasn't alone. However, mine extends beyond just annoying sounds. I work as a transcriptionist, typing various audio files. I don't have any problem as long as the principle voices are relatively clear. I've even had to learn to control my reaction if someone is chewing gum or making some other noise like that in the background. I guess because I can't do anything about it. BUT the real problem comes in when there are multiple noises in the background, be it unrelated voices, people milling around, then my brain has trouble isolating the voices I'm transcribing. Add an echo to the mix, and it's nearly impossible for me to do the job. I have struggled to finish jobs like that, but it takes me WAY longer than it should, exhausts me, and causes me great anxiety and agitation. It can even get to the point where my brain simply can't process it anymore. My experience in those situations leads me to believe the problem may be more complex than just being unable to tolerate chewing or other repetitive human noises.

I love this..I suffer from this daily and I think it really boils down to us being affected and disturbed by peoples lack of social awareness and etiquette

cbt did not work me for me i have lost a lot of hope in ever recovering from misophonia. it’s such a peculiar illness and the lack of research jus makes me so upset. nobody knows what we go through and how hard it is for us to do normal things. it’s so much easier for us to develop anxiety n depression. ive noticed i’ve become less social since it started :(

I'm suffering terribly from this and I just started learning about it last week. I feel really helpless to it

headphones help me a little because when a trigger occurs its like everything else is unbearably loud. i don't want to be hurtful to everyone eating around me so i eat in a different room by myself. its depressing but having seen how this affected my dad, to the point of not always controlling his rage/violent response, i'd rather not allow it to well up that way.

So glad awareness is becoming greater on this subject.

I have misophonia. Crunching noises give me electric shock sensations in the ear drums. As a kid, loud noises such as fire alarms going off drove me crazy and caused physical pain. It turns out I'm sound sensitive due to adhd, cerebral palsy, and migraines, Surprisingly, I became an EMT // RN years later and work in ambulances.

Loud noises are what makes me angry. From morning to late at night, people here seems to like loud noises. If is not loud exhaust, motorcycles or loud car speakers, even churches are loud here in Puerto Rico. This is hell, and it won't matter if you uses ear plugs or earphones. Even people without misophonia, will propably end up having it. This is seriously insane, and government and their laws are dumb. I've been here for one and a half year and im going insane. Thankfully im moving soon 😡

Todays world is loud as f*#@ you just can't easily find a quiet place or time.. with the cars, the mobiles, the social media, the yelling, the children.. it's too overwhelming for me.

Thank you for researching this. My misophonia started when I was 7 or 8. I discovered it's name when I was 29. My childhood was extremely traumatic and I have a whole bunch of problems as an adult because I was not able to deal with this as a child. I long for a cure and help. It's traumatic for me that my life could have been very different. It was triggered by a sexual exploitation when I was 7 and I think that actually triggered another memory that I had gone through earlier as a child but have blocked out of my mind. Still to this day, no one in my family can talk openly about the way that I have suffered. No one understands or can identify. It's like this big secret. I never ever talk about it because it's too heavy.

i noticed that when sounds repeat overtime they become a trigger

It brings me hope when I see these videos, however... I find it odd that most studies mainly mention rage. My reaction is extreme, soul crushing anxiety (blurred vision, hyperventilating, shaking that can lead to a panick attack) and I've head of others who also have extreme sadness as their reaction.

Mine started age 12. I'd have full on panic attacks from certain sounds that were constant. An alarm clock, the shower, and even the ceiling fan would trigger a panic attack. Still deal with it today but it's more people chewing and unexpected loud noises enrages me