Misophonia

[Chippy_Tea]

On 5 live drive tonight they were discussing misophonia i had never heard of it but do suffer to a certain degree my pet hates are the clicky mouth noise when people on the radio are too close to the mic, pen clicking and people sucking their teeth after eating.

Do you suffer and what are your triggers?


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.

Sounds that trigger misophonia
A number of sounds can elicit the agitation characteristic of misophonia.
Chewing noises are probably the most common trigger, but other sounds such as slurping, crunching, mouth noises, tongue clicking, sniffling, tapping, joint cracking, nail clipping, and the infamous nails on the chalkboard are all auditory stimuli that incite misophonia.

• Gum chewing
• Eating sounds
• Lip smacking
• Speaking sounds (s, p, k)
• Breathing sounds
• Repetitive softer sounds like pen clicking, pencil tapping
• Nasal noises, throat clearing
• Sucking through the teeth sounds
• Sniffing
• Sight of gum chewing or eating with the mouth open
• Pet licking or nails clicking
• High heels on hard floors
• Dogs barking
• and many others

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

Wow I didn't realise it had a name, I have this with several noises, all of them really annoying.

Various mouth noises - chewing, loud breathing, I've had to delete an audiobook several times because I couldn't stand the breathing noises they made.

I hate whistling noises, although I have been known to whistle myself oddly.

Repeated clicking, tapping, humming, which I find odd as I occasionally enjoy music.

Can't stand clocks with a loud tick, I had to ask my friend to take the battery out of theirs whenever I went round.

If I can hear any of these noises too loudly it's almost impossible for me to concentrate properly. Can't read a book properly as there is always a noise like this somewhere in my house - hence why I switched to Audible.


By contrast I love the sound of rain, and fireplaces. Maybe because its random and natural.

 

[Covrich]

Yeah I cannot stand a loud ticking clock or people cracking knuckles. Slurping tea aswell.

But one I cannot literally bear at allas in I have to cover my ears is a really stiff brush on the pavement. I know it is weird.

I too as Mr S says like rain sounds and even when I lived in the city at night in the summer I used to have the window open and the drone constant sound of the M6 was like white noise to me.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

YES YES YES!

The things that drive me crazy are:-

Anything ASMR, or when people talk under their breath, like a half whisper

When I used to have the dog, he used to make a licking his chops sound, like a contented champ. I couldn't stand it and I had to remove myself until he stopped. Also, I can't stand when the cat is licking himself and it's squelching. UGH!

When the husband is asleep he breathes louder, that's annoying too.

All those things actually make me sooooo angry! I've known for many years I have something odd, but didn't realise what it was until I saw Ruth Langsford on This Morning talking about it with Eamonn. She has it.

There's probably loads of other noises as welll that I've forgotten. I do have some ADHD tendencies though and I think that doesn't help either.

Edit: oh and music that somebody else has put on. If I've put it on it's ok, but if someone else has, it really gets to me and I'm like TURN IT DOWN!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

loud breathing

When the woman on 5 live breakfast gets excited she takes huge gulps of breath at the end of every sentence I have to turn the volume down until she moves on the the next article.

Another pet hate is when football commontators shout when a goal is scored drives me mad.

 

[Stevieboy]

Ken Bruce.....

 

[Covrich]

YES YES YES!

The things that drive me crazy are:-

Anything ASMR, or when people talk under their breath, like a half whisper

When I used to have the dog, he used to make a licking his chops sound, like a contented champ. I couldn't stand it and I had to remove myself until he stopped. Also, I can't stand when the cat is licking himself and it's squelching. UGH!

When the husband is asleep he breathes louder, that's annoying too.

All those things actually make me sooooo angry! I've known for many years I have something odd, but didn't realise what it was until I saw Ruth Langsford on This Morning talking about it with Eamonn. She has it.

There's probably loads of other noises as welll that I've forgotten. I do have some ADHD tendencies though and I think that doesn't help either.

Edit: oh and music that somebody else has put on. If I've put it on it's ok, but if someone else has, it really gets to me and I'm like TURN IT DOWN!

Not trying to trigger you here but someone sent me this the other day and it really made me think of what you wrote

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Yes that's similar to the noise. I had to go la la la la la la la after one second of playback

Oddly enough it was also at bedtime that he used to do it. We used to have to carry him upstairs every night due to old age and medical problems.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

If I can hear any of these noises too loudly it's almost impossible for me to concentrate properly.

I can identify with this, as any background noise at all also renders me incapable of thinking and I demand silence if I'm trying to read something. I sound like a nightmare but I'm nice really lol

Makes me even more sure I have ADHD as it is linked to true misophonia. Have you considered this a possibility for yourself?

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

OMG I'm so glad other people actually have this. I mean it's crap obviously but it's good knowing I'm not just mad lol.

My dad was like it a lot, especially at meal times - probably where I get it from.

My son is 8 and at that age, well, he's basically a jumble of energy, twitches, weird noises and humming lol. It drives me mad.

My girlfriend thinks I'm just an ******* (which I am) but I genuinely find a lot of those noises really irritating.

What's funny though is when he goes to his grans overnight I find myself waiting and listening for a noise that isn't there lol.


I did think it might have something to do with the medication I'm on but I had not considered ADHD

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

OMG I'm so glad other people actually have this. I mean it's crap obviously but it's good knowing I'm not just mad lol.

My dad was like it a lot, especially at meal times - probably where I get it from.

My son is 8 and at that age, well, he's basically a jumble of energy, twitches, weird noises and humming lol. It drives me mad.

My girlfriend thinks I'm just an ******* (which I am) but I genuinely find a lot of those noises really irritating.

What's funny though is when he goes to his grans overnight I find myself waiting and listening for a noise that isn't there lol.


I did think it might have something to do with the medication I'm on but I had not considered ADHD

My dad had a head twitch and a stammer. My youngest also talks suuuuper fast and you can't understand a word. Also has a stammer. I, being in the middle, seem to have got off lightly (or perhaps it's cos I'm a woman and my symptoms are more inward).

You're definitely not mad, and if you do have it, it can be a positive thing in many ways.

I've been watching YT channels for quite a while now, and learned loads about it. It's like watching myself lol

Purely guesswork here, but it seems to me like your son could have the type of ADHD that is commonly seen in boys in particular, and the type that people imagine when anyone mentions ADHD. I however, believe I have the inattentive type that women and girls most commonly get. Doesn't mean I don't pay attention, but it's more inward than the hyperactive type that is more common in boys. This is the reason more boys get diagnosed than girls. It's the same condition, but often presents differently in men and women due to the biological differences.

It's very easy to hide the inattentive type so people don't think you're weird. And it doesn't mean you're not intelligent. I thought this for years.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

This channel is amazing and has helped me so much to better understand myself.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

 

[Clint]

I think they've got this the wrong way round...it isn't the people who get annoyed that have the problem it's the ones that are oblivious to the fact the can't conduct themselves properly in public. For Christ's sake..eating with your mouth open...continually clanking your cutlery on the plate..stirring tea fifty million times..
Dogs excluded of course.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

It's a lot more complex than you're seeing Clint. You are looking at it down tunnel vision, and from one perspective only.

ANY sound can cause someone with misophonia to have a reaction, and it's not just randomers in public. It can be someone you live with. Sufferers of misophonia have a brain abnormality that doesn't let them bypass the offending sound and makes them hone in on it, causing grievance.

The abnormalities don't stop there for some people. I am hypersensitive to light as well - not part of misophonia but joined to a related condition.

I was just watching Nadia Sawalha's ADHD diagnosis story, and as she says, "I'm now able to forgive myself for past behaviours that I didn't realise were caused by the condition". That is bang on how I feel too, though to get a diagnosis on the NHS would be a lengthy process. The doctors don't listen.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Thanks for posting that a real eye opener, i didn't know people could be so sensitive to noises, it must be a nightmare for Michelle who cannot stand sniffing to the point she has to leave the room when her hay fever suffering husbands has an attack and he doesn't get what she is on about as to him its just a sniff

 

[Leon103]

I think they've got this the wrong way round...it isn't the people who get annoyed that have the problem it's the ones that are oblivious to the fact the can't conduct themselves properly in public. For Christ's sake..eating with your mouth open...continually clanking your cutlery on the plate..stirring tea fifty million times..
Dogs excluded of course.

But a clock ticking or my music isn't my problem it's the problem of the person rocking in the corner. I guess they are two different scales of what people are described.

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

Ah but if you’re the one who invited the person round your house and it’s your clock, then you’re responsible for making that person comfortable being there. So you’re the one who’s going to be removing the batteries from said clock.

Or I’m the one that’ll be leaving said house that I was invited to and finding some nice salty chips.

 

[Leon103]

Ah but if you’re the one who invited the person round your house and it’s your clock, then you’re responsible for making that person comfortable being there. So you’re the one who’s going to be removing the batteries from said clock.

Or I’m the one that’ll be leaving said house that I was invited to and finding some nice salty chips.

Good way of making sure people overstay their welcome

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Ah but if you’re the one who invited the person round your house and it’s your clock, then you’re responsible for making that person comfortable being there.

I doubt many guests are going to ask you to remove the clock batteries because the tick irritates them they are just going to put up with it even though it drives them mad.