Dealing with misophonia.

[Tolerance]

Hey everyone.



So, I've been struggling with misophonia for around 10-12 years now. I'm currently 19.
For those of you unfamiliar with misophonia (probably most of you)...



Wikipedia:

Misophonia, literally “hatred of sound”, is a form of decreased sound tolerance, also known as Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome or 4S.

People who have misophonia are most commonly annoyed, or even enraged, by the sound of other people eating, breathing, coughing, or other ordinary sounds.

I've always been driven to the point of near-insanity by what I now know are called "trigger sounds". Always assumed it was normal, or that it was a problem with my own attitude. I was told from a young age by family and friends that I mentioned it to to just ignore those sounds, or that I was simply attempting to micromanage things going on around me.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIhoEtlgiyI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y11iPr_i-RQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlWHLx9PTE4


These clips can just give you an idea of what it's like to exist on a minute to minute basis. There is no real freedom from sounds like that, because most people don't even know that they're being made... and it feels impossible to "correct" someone on something that they don't know they're doing, that is only effecting me.

"I can't describe it any other way except absolute and total disgust and revulsion."

"I can't eat near people. I want to vomit, throw things, cry, and scream... any noise that comes out of someone's mouth from eating or finishing eating makes me want to die."

Unfortunately for me, sometimes it isn't even just the sound that causes the trigger. If I'm exposed to those sounds, and then block my ears or listen to music or something along those lines, and the motion that causes those sounds is still visible... the reaction is nearly the same. It causes unpreventable twitching, clenched fists, clenched stomach, feelings of violence. I need to block out both the sound AND the sight in order to avoid the reaction. And even then, simple awareness of the action drives me to the point of insanity.



Here are a few more links on the condition.
http://www.audiologyonline.com/news/news...ws_id=4897
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health....html?_r=3



Some are now theorizing that misophonia is actually a neurological condition, at least in part. There's the idea that the brain is recognizing normal sounds as "fight or flight" panic sounds, activating feelings of fear, anxiety, panic, rage, and anger. It's basically all of those mashed into a little ball, squared.

[Innocence.]

So, like in the videos the guy was hatred to lip smacking. Are you basically hatred to all sounds, or specific sounds? I highly recommend you training yourself to ignore it, and actually calm your anger. What's best for that is actually facing your problems. For example, if you were the guy with the hatred of lip smacking; In this case I'd be the guy who hates it. I'd close my eyes and lip smack for myself to hear it. Now, I'd train myself to ignore it and also calm myself.

[Tolerance]

It's only specific sounds, Innocence. Unfortunately I've tried that training before, it's somewhat similar to a method used by audiologists to help people with tinnitus. I've considered going to a professional for that specific treatment, but I'm unsure of how effective it is. The issue is that my attempts and calming myself and ignoring the sounds simply... don't work. I can calm myself down slightly, but I still know that the sound will happen again, and when it does that feeling of panic/anxiety/fear/rage/anger comes back with a vengeance.

[Innocence.]

It's only specific sounds, Innocence. Unfortunately I've tried that training before, it's somewhat similar to a method used by audiologists to help people with tinnitus. I've considered going to a professional for that specific treatment, but I'm unsure of how effective it is. The issue is that my attempts and calming myself and ignoring the sounds simply... don't work. I can calm myself down slightly, but I still know that the sound will happen again, and when it does that feeling of panic/anxiety/fear/rage/anger comes back with a vengeance.

Hmm. I kinda have that, when people eat cereal, or any food and they make the LOUD eating sounds I get really pissed off at them and I start going off at them.

Anyways, I really would see a professional as they will be able to help you best.

[Guest]

Thank you for helping to increase awareness about Misophonia. Please also have a look over the following website for more information.

www.soundsensitivity.info

[Yellows]

Man, this sounds like a horrific thing to have, I'm very sorry man.
You say you haven't had it your whole life, did you just acquire it?

[Pikachu]

I know what you mean, I think I have a slight syndrome of this.

Some sounds are annoying and such.

[MineCrack]

This is something you can get over. It is hard, but i've seen a family member and a teacher at my school get over misophonia. I hope you have best of lucks with this, but trust me, you can get through this .

---

The only time I suffer anything like this, is at the dentist. Those cleaning tools that use a drills to get plaque off your teeth annoy me. When I hear it, I want to stand up and flip over every chair then scream to the top of my lungs.

[AceInfinity]

No sound really annoys me, i'm a hobbyist music producer, so I can hear a drumbeat or a synth on the same pitch and tone all day and repeated melodies over 100 times up until the time I come out with a finished product.

[Fragma]

No sound really annoys me, i'm a hobbyist music producer, so I can hear a drumbeat or a synth on the same pitch and tone all day and repeated melodies over 100 times up until the time I come out with a finished product.

That probably doesn't help the OP very much lol.

I hadn't heard of Misophonia until seeing this thread. It sounds like a tough condition to have. I'm not sure what you want from us here though, whether you want help or you were just spreading the awareness of it. Your best bet would be to contact a doctor if you haven't already.