Misophonia

For those who do not know what misophonia is: "Misophonia is a disorder in which certain sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses that some might perceive as unreasonable given the circumstance. Those who have misophonia might describe it as when a sound “drives you crazy.” Their reactions can range from anger and annoyance to panic and the need to flee."

Misokinesia (visual triggers instead of auditory) often accompanies misophonia.

I've suffered from misophonia since I can remember. I spent so many days at the dining room table or in the car with my family in tears because, at the time, misophonia was unheard of. You were seen as a crazy, overreactive person. People thought you were crazy for not being able to tolerate noises that other people seemed to never take issue with. Compound that with being a literal child and you stood no chance.

Luckily, sometime in the 2010's or around there, things turned around. People started to become more aware of the condition and recognizing that those suffering from it were being genuine. My mom watched a documentary and learned that she quite possibly is the reason for my misophonia as I believe there's a genetic link that can be found on some of those DNA/ancestery sites (she is triggered by metal scraping against anything and never realized that her response was not the average response to the discomfort it may cause somebody without miso).

With that being said, I've found that as I age, my misophonia becomes easier to handle. It still sucks but thanks to the invention of wireless earbuds, I can more or less function like an average person now. I can go to the movie theater or a ball game and not have anxiety burdening me the entire time. It's nice to see how much things have changed in just a few years.

So, anybody else here unfortunately suffer from misophonia and/or misokinesia? What are your preferred coping mechanisms? Do you have any advice for, say, our younger members that may be dealing with the condition and how to cope if they do not have a good support system? Or do you have some questions yourself about the condition, whether you think you may have it or you're just curious?

Yo, holy shit, I was just thinking about this the other day! I've had misophonia for my entire life- though I've noticed lately mine has gotten a lot, lot worse. I'm 21, and I've found that it's suddenly spiked as a result of moving in with my partner; everyday sounds like him singing, humming, scratching, anything will drive me up the wall.

As a baseline for me, though, I'm primarily triggered by 'human' noises, chewing, smacking, slurping and 'wet' noises being the obvious, and most applicable. I do have that sweet, sweet misokinesia that accompanies it, which I've only really learned about lately. 

You mentioned genetics in your post, which is great to hear, because when I mention misophonia it seems like nobody's aware of that link (or, y'know, that it exists in the first place...). My grandfather has it, so do all three of his sons, and surprise, so do I! The part of my life I dislike it in the most is in my personal relationships- I feel so bad having to ask my boyfriend to chew quieter, or my friend to stop doing something as simple as scratching her head, just because the noise makes me physically ill, physically repulsed, or in some cases, physically violent.

Coping is hard, and I haven't found a good way to do it yet. I default to either asking the person making the noise to stop, or if it isn't a person/is a stranger in public, I will do my best to leave the area. Sometimes I cover my ears (cupping my hands around the entirety of the ear, not plugging them! This means you can hear the sound of blood whooshing in your ears, which is a good distracting/comforting sound to me), turn up the volume on my headphones, or in lesser cases, mimicking the sound myself helps.

My misophonia is definitely severe- on bad days, the sound of my own chewing will set me off, and I can't eat certain foods until I feel I can tolerate it. It's a debilitating thing to live with, and so frustrating when people think you're just 'being sensitive' or even rude. It's comforting to see public posts about misophonia/misokinesia though!! It reminds me that I'm not alone, and that I'm not crazy. So, thank you so much for adding this post! I'm sorry I didn't have more coping mechanisms or advice, haha xD

I've had misophonia for a few years now (Or at least, realized I had it), around 3 or 4? It sucks. I'm really glad you've posted this though as it's always good to have a place to talk about it and get more people informed about it! I actually made a similar post way back on Lioden to try and get info on it out there n give people with it a place to chat!

Similar to pocketwatch, all those dang mouth noises are the things that really set me off. Smacking, gulping, licking, humming/singing, heavy breathing/chewing, etc etc.. I've told most people I know about it and they generally try to take it into consideration but sometimes someone will let a noise continue even if they see me actively being bothered by it or trying to block it out :/ I find most people are respectful of it but some just really don't care since they don't personally experience it and will just ignore it.

Mostly, I just try and listen to music to block it out if I can (And I find even outside of being a misophonia escape, music really helps calm my nerves) but if I can't I just try and cover my ears I guess. Not very effective for me but you gotta do what you gotta do. I've heard that for a lot of people listening to ASMR helps a ton, but I've never been able to get into it no matter how hard I try, just gonna stick to my tunes.

It really sucks that it's not very well known and the fact that there's barely any research being done for it - while I don't think there's any potential cure just waiting to be discovered, I think it could really benefit from some attention. Most people I talk to have never even heard of it, and it feels like a hard blow when I try to explain it to someone and they tell me "Oh yeah, I think I have that. Don't most people have it?" Because they get mildly annoyed by...universally annoying sounds. It's so much more than just being annoyed as you explained. Hopefully, in the future, we can get some more recognition and be taken a bit more seriously than I've seen/experienced!

Ugh yeah I agree mouth noises are the worst, I don't know how chewing asmr is soothing for some people lol. I had a roommate for a while that I started to struggle being around because unfortunately they just made, obviously through no fault of their own, a lot of Bad noises. I had to wear earplugs whenever they were in the same room as me. I don't think I ever really managed to get them to believe I had it...? Which just made it even more infuriating when the noises picked up again orz. Thankfully I live with people now that all believe me.

Those silicone earplugs plus some headphones on top are what I turn to in the direst circumstances. I'll generally leave the room if possible if it's just way too bad in there.

Oh, yes, absolutely! Add issues with loud sounds on top of this and I've had a really hard time with going out into the world. Folks I know have been understanding, though, and I've found a lot of ways to help me through it. I don't think it's ever going away, though, and that's frustrating, cause I wish I could enjoy a meal with people but that's not a thing for me