Some sounds are particularly annoying, we all know that. From nails on a chalkboard to someone chewing like an animal, these noises can catch us off guard and irritate us. However, some people experience these sounds at a much deeper level, leading to panic attacks and outbursts of rage.
Misophonia: When everyday noises drive you crazy
Think about all the sounds you are exposed to daily. Radio, television, barking dogs, people working, chewing and drinking, cars, computers, printers, phones, refrigerator motors and air conditioning systems, screaming children... the list seems endless. Eventually, we all reach a point where we cherish silence, but for some, it's a matter of mental peace or living a day of madness. "Filtering" becomes a titanic task, and they cannot do basic things like sharing a dinner with someone because the sound of chewing turns them into a sea of tears... or into the Hulk.
Naturally, thousands have turned to the Web to try to identify this problem and found a name: Misophonia, "hatred of sound."
A more professional term would be "selective sound sensitivity syndrome," though both describe the same thing: extreme levels of intolerance to everyday sounds. Now, any sound can bother us, but misophonia stands out for its intense emotional component.
Sounds made with the mouth are almost universal triggers: Chewing (especially gum), throat clearing, coughing, sneezing, and nose blowing are all part of the package. Typing on a keyboard, using a pen's mechanism, tapping a surface rhythmically, or humming also don't go down well.
Misophonia is relatively new, which complicates diagnosis because most professionals don't know about it, or they associate it with a different behavioral disorder (similar to what happens with electromagnetic hypersensitivity).
In fact, the word misophonia isn't even entirely accurate, because the "hatred" is concentrated on a specific group of sounds.
https://old.neoteo.com/los-colores-los-ruidos-explicados-video/a 2017 study links misophonia to a notable and unusual increase in activity in several brain regions, along with a jump in stress levels (accelerated heart rate, sweaty hands, etc.).
For those who claim to suffer from misophonia, the study is critical in their search for treatment, but experts insist that additional assessments and face-to-face interviews with health professionals are needed (after all, a paper doesn't diagnose).
Another hurdle is that the cause of misophonia remains a mystery. The most popular palliatives are noise-canceling headphones, filling the environment with audio sources to create a kind of white noise, breathing exercises, walks, antidepressants, and more intense physical activity... which shows they are trying everything.
(From the NeoTeo Archive, article originally published on March 19, 2019)
Source:NPR
