What Is It Like To Live With Misophony?

Misophony is one of the disorders that remains invisible to almost everyone. Those who live with misophony live in absolute torture as a result of insignificant noises that most other people do not even notice. It is, for example, the sound of someone chewing gum, the sound of rain or a pencil writing on paper.

What makes things even worse is that many health professionals undermine the regrets of those who experience misophonia. They tend to label these patients as bipolar or schizophrenic.

Living with misophony is no small feat. Patients should not just deal with the pain they face in the face of constant intolerable stimuli. They must also deal with the general lack of understanding of the problem. In addition, no treatment is currently available for this selective hypersensitivity to sounds.

What is misophonia?

The term misophony means “hatred of sounds”. It refers to a disorder in which individuals express a disproportionate rejection of everyday sounds. It is defined as a pathological form of acoustic hypersensitivity.

When people with this disorder hear certain sounds, they experience irritation and a desire to scream or hit something. Sounds as often as the sound of others’ breathing can produce a feeling of anger, anxiety and panic.

Not all people with misophonia are sensitive to the same sounds. The most common triggers are about food – chewing, sipping, swallowing and so on. However, annoying sounds such as the squeak of a chair or the backing fingers of a table can also be triggering.

Causes and symptoms of misophonia

Misophony was first recognized as a medical problem in the 90s. However, the scientific community has not yet fully accepted it as a disease. To date, few physicians are competent when it comes to diagnosing dysphonia.

Everything seems to indicate that individuals are suffering from this disorder due to a neurological problem. According to the available research, these individuals show unusual activity in their insula. Experts believe that there is an abnormality in the processing of emotions that stems from perception.

This problem is categorized as a symptom rather than a clinical disorder in itself. It tends to appear in childhood, but there are cases where misophonia occurs later in life. Apart from extremely selective hypersensitivity to sounds and the anxiety that it produces, there are no other visible manifestations of this condition.

There are no specific tests to determine if a person is suffering from misophonia or not. Diagnosis, on the other hand, is typically the result of observing a person’s reaction to certain sounds. Although many people may feel disgust at certain sounds, people living with misophonia show disproportionate reactions.

What is it like to live with misophonia?

Misophony completely changes a person’s life. One of the first consequences is social isolation and the loss of the support system from its fmailie. 

Depending on how much the person’s tolerance is for sounds in everyday life, he or she may need to isolate themselves from others to avoid extreme discomfort and anxiety. This is especially true because disgust is almost always about sounds that another person makes.

The situation can be very tiring and deter a person from working outside the home  because it exposes them to constant noises. Lack of the ability to eliminate sounds such as those from a computer keyboard or the breathing of others limits a person’s opportunities for social integration.

People living with misophonia sometimes choose to use headphones and listen to music all the time, since most do not feel a disgust for melodies. This allows them to distance themselves from sounds in their surroundings. Similarly, people can wear earplugs, noise-canceling headphones or noise-canceling helmets.

Is there anything that can be done about it?

There is currently no treatment for misophonia. However, there are several ongoing studies on the subject.

In the meantime, patients should work on developing adaptive behaviors. In other words, they need to examine strategies that combat the need for social isolation. Psychotherapy is especially beneficial in these cases.

Relaxation and meditation techniques can also be helpful. They offer effective tools to overcome anxiety when it occurs. In any case, it is important for patients to talk to their close friends and family so that they can be aware of the disorder and understand it.