The creaking of chalk on a blackboard, the scraping of metal on glass, the continuous whine of an alarm… There are many sounds that cause us the most unpleasant sensations. However, for some people, they are not just unpleasant: the generally harmless clatter of cutlery on a plate can provoke an uncontrollable outburst of rage, anxiety or panic in such people.
An intolerance to certain sounds is called misophonia. This is a chronic condition in which the sounds produced by other people (champing, chewing, swallowing, noisy breathing, pulling the nose, crunching fingers, clattering the keyboard) cause excitement and a violent emotional reaction: hysteria, screaming, panic.
It is little studied, but it is safe to say that a severe form of misophonia leads to serious consequences and certain restrictions in daily life. Misophons have to avoid situations that can provoke the reactions described above, which affects their work, family and social life. And it is likely that over time, forced isolation will only get worse.
This is what 27-year-old Vera, who suffers from misophonia, says: “Champing sounds make me furious. If my husband starts eating, for example, an apple, I immediately go to another room, otherwise I won’t be able to restrain myself and start screaming.” A shared meal can turn into a real source of stress for one of the family members.
The term “misophonia” was coined by Pavel Yastrebov of Emory University, who studied the phenomenon with audiology expert Marsha Johnson. She found in many people an aversion to certain sounds, especially those that are inevitable during meals. At first, she defined this condition as “soft sound sensitivity,” because for some of her subjects, it was low-frequency sounds that were unbearable.
There is no exact data on the number of people suffering from misophonia. But it can be assumed that it is much more common than it seems. Last year, Monica Wu and Eric Storch from the University of South Florida conducted a study on 483 students and found that 20% had signs of misophonia. However, the representativeness of the group is questionable: more than 80% were women, plus all participants were promised additional points in psychology.
Both Monica Wu and psychiatrist Arjan Schroeder of the University of Amsterdam found a link between misophonia and obsessive-compulsive disorder and suggested that sound intolerance could be considered a variation of it. Pavel Yastrebov considers the approach to misophonia as a psychiatric disorder incorrect and, having worked with hundreds of patients, is convinced that this is just a reduced tolerance for sounds.
It is better for misophones to choose work in noisy places, listen to music with headphones, turn on the fan
As already mentioned, misophonia is little known, but ways to deal with it are known. A multidisciplinary team of specialists can be consulted, including an audiologist for therapy and a psychologist to help manage emotions.
Monica Wu argues that cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is effective in overcoming sound intolerance. Pavel Yastrebov, in his work with patients, uses the technique of desensitization therapy (desensitization is a decrease in an anxious reaction to certain situations, images, etc.).
There are also misophone support groups, both real and virtual. For instance, or the closed Facebook community Misophonia Support Group. In addition, it can be recommended to muffle annoying sounds. For example, choose to work in noisy places (dance clubs, bowling centers), listen to music with headphones, turn on a fan, install decorative fountains or aquariums with bubbling water.
Source: iPost.
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