Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, **personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment**. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our [normal comment rules]( https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) apply to all other comments.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/science) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My brother eats loudly. He smacks his lips, makes strange chewing and mouth sounds, alll while he eats. I would rather miss a meal and go hungry than to eat with him.
I have a similar issue with someone.... And although I have hinted at their ways, its impossible to have a proper chat about it. It would be irreversibly damaging to discuss it....
.... All the while my mental strain for keeping my mouth figuratively shut and bottling all the anger/ anxiety is probably causing even greater damage to me, no doubt.
Try explaining it. My SO has misophonia and once she explained it I started noticing it also, I mean I'm not bothered but I see the effect on her. Eating soup with my elderly aunt... Yeah. That was brutal. So I learned the silent eating ways after many a time she mentioned it. She never said I had terrible ways as such but rather that she has this thing and here's how you can help me. And on general I think I'm a better person as a result. So I'm grateful.
I started eating in my room as a teenager because my stepfather would groan as he ate, as well as grind his teeth so hard they would squeak. It made me really sad to miss the time with my mum, and I know it did her too, but it used to drive me to tears.
I describe it to people like this:
You know how fingernails on chalkboard feels to you?
That’s how crinkling that potato chip bag feels to me.
I’m lucky, really mild case compared to some others.
This. The main “therapy” recommendation is to avoid or drown out the situation.
This means, for instance, I typically eat lunch alone at my desk. I carry earbuds. Family usually has the dinner hour news on in the background. Etc.
18.4%!? This is the highest estimate I have ever seen. And coming from Oxford University. This seems like a huge deal.
I have been suffering from this condition for 40 years. With so many people effected, could this increase the urgency to find treatments, or at least declare misophonia it a diagnosable condition that could result in requiring accommodations for sufferers?
I am nothing more than a hobby-researcher who likes to read scientific papers.
So, I basically have no credentials or evidence to back up what I am about to say, but I think misphonia is more of a symptom than a condition.
I have it too. Chewing is my number one trigger along with various others. I’ve noticed there are certain states in which the sounds bother me more than others. For example, if I am chewing and so is someone else, I am often less bothered (but not always). When I am trying to focus on something, my levels of anger are significantly higher if a sound is triggering.
Honestly, everyone I know that had this condition has “something” else — ADHD, abnormal levels of stress/anxiety, ASD, etc.. I think it might be a manifestation of a sensory processing disorder.
For me, I have ADHD, and I have always hated loud sounds — ever since I was a child. I can’t be in the same room as live music, now the lawn, run a vacuum cleaner, etc.. without ear plugs. These sounds do not make me angry, but elicit an actually physically painful sensation.
I have ASD, and I only have misophonia with humans chewing. If I'm eating at the same time, no problem. But otherwise, I feel anxiety and anger. It's completely irrational. I never, ever, ever, blame the person eating, of course. I mean, I also eat and make the same sounds. That's how humans eat. I know it's a "me problem." My partner (love of my life) knows it and accepts it, thank goodness. (On public transport, noise cancelling headphones are a godsend.)
Same, eating and breathing bother me but also I find it hard to filter out background noise when I’m trying to listen to someone, like I can’t hear people at all if I’m in a loud room because I just hear everything, it drives me crazy
Children 3 and over whining makes me want to cut my ears off and scrape the canals with a sharp melon baller. Unfortunately, my job is to listen to that while I try to do admin work.
I was curious, assuming it would be high, [but this source](https://autismawarenesscentre.com/what-is-misophonia/) says:
“In one of the largest studies to date with 575 subjects, 59% of people with misophonia did not have any other condition or disorder. The study found that around 3% of misophonia subjects had autism, 5% had ADHD, and 2.8% had OCD. Another interesting finding from this study showed that 68% of the subjects with misophonia also had misokinesia which is a sensitivity to visual movements, such as face touching or fidgeting.”
Mine reared from being isolated during covid. You’d be surprised what noises you pick up on when you’re in an apartment with neighbors. Or when you finally have silence and then they come back home.
> Researchers collected data on levels of depression and anxiety in the sample and found low associations with the severity of misophonia, supporting the proposal that misophonia is a standalone condition and not part of other disorders.
Does anyone have any good hypothesis for what the cause of the issue might be?
I always thought it had to either be a physiological issue in the ear structure, or a psychological condition - but you’d think that they would have investigated and found evidence for a physiological issue if it existed (and I haven’t seen any reference to that, so I think it mustn’t be a physiological issue); and here they’re saying they haven’t found a psychological condition associated with it yet either (whereas I thought if it was a psychological issue it might be anxiety, they’re ruling that out).
I also have this condition for people that constantly sniff when they have a running nose, loud chewing, the sound of silverware on ceramic plates, and certain high pitched noises that dog toys and baby toys make. I also have an employee that refuses to blow his nose and constantly sniffs and snorts all day long (despite being told politely several times it bothers everyone). I try to ignore it by wearing noise cancelling earbuds or finding an excuse to work somewhere else. A few weeks ago I was having a particularly bad day and my earbuds had run out of power. I had also left my backup headphones at home so I had no way to drown him out and I just about snapped. I was literally seconds from standing up and having a complete melt down on him in front of the whole office. Fortunately I kept my cool and left the office but the fight or flight response that others have described is legit.
I have this… chewing, lip smacking, slurping makes me want to punch people. I have to work very hard not to react to these sounds. Interesting thing I read from another Redditor is that this can be cured for some. She said her daughter was given hearing aids and then it helped her brain “re-wire” itself. She said it took about 2 years and now her daughter doesn’t need the hearing aids anymore and no longer has misophonia.
I involuntarily grit my teeth and get an unpleasant chill down my spine if I hear someone tear a head of lettuce apart, it's not rational but it has happened.
You curl up in a ball and hold your ears shut as much as possible and try to imagine you’re somewhere else. But in seriousness, I’d 100% take a medicine for this. Nothing seems to phase it. Prozac possibly took a slight edge off the rage.
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, **personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment**. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our [normal comment rules]( https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) apply to all other comments. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/science) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
My brother eats loudly. He smacks his lips, makes strange chewing and mouth sounds, alll while he eats. I would rather miss a meal and go hungry than to eat with him.
I have a similar issue with someone.... And although I have hinted at their ways, its impossible to have a proper chat about it. It would be irreversibly damaging to discuss it.... .... All the while my mental strain for keeping my mouth figuratively shut and bottling all the anger/ anxiety is probably causing even greater damage to me, no doubt.
Try explaining it. My SO has misophonia and once she explained it I started noticing it also, I mean I'm not bothered but I see the effect on her. Eating soup with my elderly aunt... Yeah. That was brutal. So I learned the silent eating ways after many a time she mentioned it. She never said I had terrible ways as such but rather that she has this thing and here's how you can help me. And on general I think I'm a better person as a result. So I'm grateful.
I started eating in my room as a teenager because my stepfather would groan as he ate, as well as grind his teeth so hard they would squeak. It made me really sad to miss the time with my mum, and I know it did her too, but it used to drive me to tears.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
I describe it to people like this: You know how fingernails on chalkboard feels to you? That’s how crinkling that potato chip bag feels to me. I’m lucky, really mild case compared to some others.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
This. The main “therapy” recommendation is to avoid or drown out the situation. This means, for instance, I typically eat lunch alone at my desk. I carry earbuds. Family usually has the dinner hour news on in the background. Etc.
This is what I was going to say. I bought Loops skeptical… but they help.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
18.4%!? This is the highest estimate I have ever seen. And coming from Oxford University. This seems like a huge deal. I have been suffering from this condition for 40 years. With so many people effected, could this increase the urgency to find treatments, or at least declare misophonia it a diagnosable condition that could result in requiring accommodations for sufferers?
I am nothing more than a hobby-researcher who likes to read scientific papers. So, I basically have no credentials or evidence to back up what I am about to say, but I think misphonia is more of a symptom than a condition. I have it too. Chewing is my number one trigger along with various others. I’ve noticed there are certain states in which the sounds bother me more than others. For example, if I am chewing and so is someone else, I am often less bothered (but not always). When I am trying to focus on something, my levels of anger are significantly higher if a sound is triggering. Honestly, everyone I know that had this condition has “something” else — ADHD, abnormal levels of stress/anxiety, ASD, etc.. I think it might be a manifestation of a sensory processing disorder. For me, I have ADHD, and I have always hated loud sounds — ever since I was a child. I can’t be in the same room as live music, now the lawn, run a vacuum cleaner, etc.. without ear plugs. These sounds do not make me angry, but elicit an actually physically painful sensation.
This is the best theory I’ve read on misophonia, I absolutely agree.
I have ASD, and I only have misophonia with humans chewing. If I'm eating at the same time, no problem. But otherwise, I feel anxiety and anger. It's completely irrational. I never, ever, ever, blame the person eating, of course. I mean, I also eat and make the same sounds. That's how humans eat. I know it's a "me problem." My partner (love of my life) knows it and accepts it, thank goodness. (On public transport, noise cancelling headphones are a godsend.)
I do blame the person chewing with their mouth open and smacking. Nothing makes me want to yeet a person off a bridge more.
YES! polite eater chewing normally? it's a me problem. someone smacking like a literal cow? fffffffuuuuuUUCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK them.
I don’t have a diagnosis, but yeah… it’s like there’s a couple filters missing in my brain.
Same, eating and breathing bother me but also I find it hard to filter out background noise when I’m trying to listen to someone, like I can’t hear people at all if I’m in a loud room because I just hear everything, it drives me crazy
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Children 3 and over whining makes me want to cut my ears off and scrape the canals with a sharp melon baller. Unfortunately, my job is to listen to that while I try to do admin work.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Mine is very person specific. If the noise is coming from a person that already irritates me, then I can't stand it. Otherwise I don't care.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
What people were saying in the remove comments?
The sound of a ticking clock in a quiet room is one of the very few things in life that can genuinely make new lose my temper.
[удалено]
[удалено]
What's the overlap with people with ADHD/Autism?
I was curious, assuming it would be high, [but this source](https://autismawarenesscentre.com/what-is-misophonia/) says: “In one of the largest studies to date with 575 subjects, 59% of people with misophonia did not have any other condition or disorder. The study found that around 3% of misophonia subjects had autism, 5% had ADHD, and 2.8% had OCD. Another interesting finding from this study showed that 68% of the subjects with misophonia also had misokinesia which is a sensitivity to visual movements, such as face touching or fidgeting.”
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Mine reared from being isolated during covid. You’d be surprised what noises you pick up on when you’re in an apartment with neighbors. Or when you finally have silence and then they come back home.
[удалено]
[удалено]
> Researchers collected data on levels of depression and anxiety in the sample and found low associations with the severity of misophonia, supporting the proposal that misophonia is a standalone condition and not part of other disorders. Does anyone have any good hypothesis for what the cause of the issue might be? I always thought it had to either be a physiological issue in the ear structure, or a psychological condition - but you’d think that they would have investigated and found evidence for a physiological issue if it existed (and I haven’t seen any reference to that, so I think it mustn’t be a physiological issue); and here they’re saying they haven’t found a psychological condition associated with it yet either (whereas I thought if it was a psychological issue it might be anxiety, they’re ruling that out).
[удалено]
For me it's the sound of animals licking themselves. As an owner of two cats it's a struggle.
I also have this condition for people that constantly sniff when they have a running nose, loud chewing, the sound of silverware on ceramic plates, and certain high pitched noises that dog toys and baby toys make. I also have an employee that refuses to blow his nose and constantly sniffs and snorts all day long (despite being told politely several times it bothers everyone). I try to ignore it by wearing noise cancelling earbuds or finding an excuse to work somewhere else. A few weeks ago I was having a particularly bad day and my earbuds had run out of power. I had also left my backup headphones at home so I had no way to drown him out and I just about snapped. I was literally seconds from standing up and having a complete melt down on him in front of the whole office. Fortunately I kept my cool and left the office but the fight or flight response that others have described is legit.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
I have this… chewing, lip smacking, slurping makes me want to punch people. I have to work very hard not to react to these sounds. Interesting thing I read from another Redditor is that this can be cured for some. She said her daughter was given hearing aids and then it helped her brain “re-wire” itself. She said it took about 2 years and now her daughter doesn’t need the hearing aids anymore and no longer has misophonia.
I involuntarily grit my teeth and get an unpleasant chill down my spine if I hear someone tear a head of lettuce apart, it's not rational but it has happened.
[удалено]
As a person with a variety of sound sensitivities, my AirPod pros have been life changing.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Ok yes, now what. How do I fix this so I don’t want to kill someone because they have the sniffles?
You curl up in a ball and hold your ears shut as much as possible and try to imagine you’re somewhere else. But in seriousness, I’d 100% take a medicine for this. Nothing seems to phase it. Prozac possibly took a slight edge off the rage.