Misophonia

a disorder of decreased tolerance to specific sounds or stimuli associated with such sounds; these stimuli are experienced as unpleasant/distressing and tend to evoke strong negative emotional, physiological, and behavioural responses

Misophonia (meaning "hatred of sound") is a rarely diagnosed mental disorder. It is a condition where certain sounds can cause someone to be angry or enraged.[1] The sounds could be as simple as someone chewing food with their mouth open.[1] Other examples include a ballpoint pen clicking (repeatedly), tapping, typing and other common sounds.[2] The disorder has only been identified and named in the last 20 years.[1] According to one sufferer, "It’s like a fight-or-flight response: Your muscles get tense, you’re on edge, your heart races, and you feel the urge to flee".[2] Misophonia is often misdiagnosed as one of several psychological disorders.[3] Sufferers often keep away from trigger sounds. There is no cure but it can be treated.[3]

People with misophonia have different amounts of tolerance for triggering sounds. The presence of misophonia may be determined by specific diagnostic criteria.[4] They all, however, result in anger and irritability. Many also have trouble focusing on normal activities while exposed to triggering sounds.[5]

The cause of misophonia is not know. Some studies say that it affects more than 5% of the population.[source?]

Symptoms of Misophonia

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  • Repulsion to Specific Sounds
  • Emotional Response
  • Physical Response
  • Avoidance

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Barron H. Learner (23 February 2015). "Please Stop Making That Noise". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Meeri N. Kim (1 December 2014). "Misophonia is a newly identified condition for people hypersensitive to sound". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Gail Deutsch (17 May 2012). "Do You Have Misophonia?". ABC News Internet Ventures. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  4. Dozier, Thomas H.; Lopez, Michelle; Pearson, Christopher (2017-11-14). "Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for Misophonia: A Multisensory Conditioned Aversive Reflex Disorder". Frontiers in Psychology. 8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01975. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 5694628. PMID 29184520.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  5. "Misophonia: The Hatred of Sound Explained". Quiet Living. 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2022-03-09.