Is this considered Misophonia?

Question

I've noticed for the last several yeas (since I was about 13-14) that I react weirdly and feel really distressed whenever I can hear somebody chewing (nails, hair, food, gum, etc.)... I looked online and found a condition listed as "misophonia" which is an intense hatred of sounds that are usually less noticeable to others...

For the most part, I don't feel a "boiling rage",I feel more upset or afraid and sometimes it escalates to be being angry if it goes on too long. I'm generally really meek so I won't voice my opinion if I'm upset about it so it tends to escalate... I will literally do anything to try to avoid hearing the other person chewing.

Does this still count as misophonia or is there a phobia or condition that describes it?

Answer 1

It sounds like a mild form of misophonia, but I'm not a doctor and this is the Internet, so I can't say that with 100% confidence. I have misophonia, but every case is different and many doctors barely even know what it is. Your reaction sounds a lot like mine (my main trigger sounds are sniffling, breathing noises, and snoring), but I get angry pretty fast over it, though I don't do anything violent. Today, I ate lunch in the dining room instead of the kitchen because my brother has a cold and I can't listen to him sniffle. Anyway, if you think you have misophonia, chances are that you do. Here are some websites you can visit for more information:



http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/05/18/safer-for-misophonics-2020s-misophonia-coverage/ (This is the episode of 20/20 that made me aware of the condition. These people featured have severe misophonia, so don't think yours has to be as extreme as theirs to count.)



http://www.misophonia-uk.org/index.html



http://misophonia.com/symptoms-triggers/



Knowing what your condition is may give you some comfort, but it ultimately won't help alleviate your suffering. There is no cure for misophonia, though there is a new treatment called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that may or may not help. It's probably expensive though. If you feel that you need it, regular therapy (counseling) might help, too. Mimicking the sounds helps some people, but I know you can't always do that. Really, the best thing to do is make sure you're not angry or upset all the time due to other things, so that misophonia doesn't make your reaction to the sounds worse. Meditation has helped some people. Anything you can do to de-stress or get away from the sounds will help you.

Answer 2

It definitely sounds like you may have misophonia, I've had it for about 11 years so far and am 21 now. I know it's difficult to deal with, I live on earplugs and always have my mp3 player with me which does provide some relief. I use musicians earplugs which people wear at gigs that have different inserts that filter out different levels of noise so maybe you could try those? There is no known cure for it at the moment but it might be worth speaking to an audiologist.

Answer 3

This sounds like a mild case on a misophonia scale of mild to extreme. I'm on the verge of extreme. There is also a difference between misophonia and simple sound sensitivity, but sound sensitivity relate more of repetitive sounds. It os possible, and I would ask a doctor about it because that's how I learned more about it