Social Anxiety Support Forum banner

Selective Sound Sensitivity/Misophonia?

22K views 52 replies 27 participants last post by  Lapatik 
#1 ·
Anybody have this? I'm wondering if there's any relationship with this and SAD or Asperger's as there is between SAD and Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). I seem to suffer from all of them.

"People who have misophonia are most commonly annoyed, or even enraged, by the sound of other people eating, breathing, coughing, or other ordinary sounds. Oddly, they are not normally annoyed by sounds that they themselves make. Reactions to these sounds are not limited however to just loud eating noises, people with misophonia find themselves affected by all kinds of noises. Such reactions are also involntary. Often, people who have misophonia are also annoyed by other people's repetitive movements, such as leg-tapping, nail-biting and typing."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia

http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/content/full/70/6/739
 
#3 ·
It was an easy diagnosis for me. I feel intense rage. I have to leave the room when I hear such sounds or stay with immense anxiety/rage. I feel like annihilating anybody who makes those sounds including those closest to me. I have trouble eating with them, unless there's some white /distracting noise in the background. I've been like this since I was a teenager. The worst is to be inside a closed place like a car. My psychiatrist didn't even know about the condition because it isn't in the DSM, as of the latest edition, as far as I know.
 
#10 ·
Holy ****...I can't believe I'm not alone. I seriously feel like murdering anyone who coughs or clears throat loudly and continuously. Everytime someone makes either noise, I get an enormous urge to tell them to shut the **** up or give them the finger.

This started happening just months after I was diagnosed with social anxiety. My main SA symptom has been head tremor/twitch. One time at a conference my head was shaking, and the lady right behind me started coughing soon after. She would not stop until I was completely out of her sight. Since then I found more and more people clearing throat and coughing when my head shook or twitched. I've come to believe that my head tremor, when seen, makes others uncomfortable, and they in turn clear throat and cough as a sign of anxiety.

As my anxiety worsened, so did the intensity and frequency of head tremor and the sensitivity to those sounds. Eventually the frustration caused by sound sensitivity completely overshadowed that from social anxiety itself. I've become so sensitive to coughing sound that it doesn't just annoy me but startles the crap out of me. It literally feels like someone shocked me with a defibrillator. And I have to go through it everytime I hear them.

I know my 'theory' is far fetched and often not true as people cough for many reasons, but I don't think I'm being completely paranoid either. At this point it doesn't matter what I think anyway. This shocking sensation and subsequent rage come before I can do anything about it.

I'm stuck in my room all day because of this. I go outside only when I have class or absolutely have to. I'm wrecked so much physically and mentally. I don't think it can get much worse than this. But I feel a bit better now that I know this is a known medical phenomenon. Thanks a lot for posting this.
 
#5 ·
I think a lot of people have this to a certain extent. I get annoyed by people biting or picking at their nails to the point of wanting to murder the person, but other noises don't bother me. I guess it just depends on how many types of things bother you and how angry you get with them.
 
#6 ·
Interesting. Never heard of this. I don't have it, though there is the odd time when I'm sleep deprived that I find breathing/eating noises incredibly annoying and in my head I start swearing for a good minute, stop, take a deep breath, then it goes away. Sleep deprivation does weird things to me...
 
#7 ·
Whoa does my roommate have this?! I was eating my soup the other day, and she was like "you're slurping." I looked at her like she had 3 heads. Like, really? I'll eat my food anyway I damn well please. I thought she was just being obnoxious. I wonder if it is actually an issue.

I feel this way sometimes, but usually only if someone is already pissing me off. Like when I was little and my little sister would try to watch tv with me. I thought she was too young to be watching what I liked to watch, so when my parents allowed her to watch with me, every little thing she did used to piss the hell out of me. But I'm pretty sure that's not what you're talking about.
 
#8 ·
I feel this way sometimes, but usually only if someone is already pissing me off. Like when I was little and my little sister would try to watch tv with me. I thought she was too young to be watching what I liked to watch, so when my parents allowed her to watch with me, every little thing she did used to piss the hell out of me. But I'm pretty sure that's not what you're talking about.
No, this is a serious disorder, that dramatically affects your life. I often could and cannot eat with my wife/parents because the noises are so irritating.
Sufferers tend to start noticing a particular feature of a loved one's breathing or eating habits. They become obsessed by the sound(s), and hypersensitive to them. That sensitivity can spread to other noises made by that person (or another person) or the actions with which they make the noise, or even anticipation of it.
http://www.misophonia-uk.org/
 
#11 ·
#12 ·
aksylish,

You might want to try some ear plugs (when you don't have to listen) like these
I tried them a long time ago. I use my earbuds to listen to music instead. Neither helps much though. I can still hear the sounds faintly, which is enough to cause anger.

Do you have any Asperger's tendencies/characteristics or is your diagnosis just SAD?
I do have a few Asperger's symptoms, but I'm only diagnosed with SA. I should ask my psychiatrist about this.

By the way, can misophonia be acquired? I just read a few articles and posts about it, and they all seem to suggest it's congenital. It's not the case for me.
 
#16 ·
You should research a bit more before saying that. It doesn't just bother people with misophonia. It's as debilitating as severe social anxiety. Watch some YouTube vids.
 
#17 ·
geeez thats me thats me !
i hatte the sound of people chewing, it will tick it me until i have to say something. i thought it was normal to hate that sound, my ears seem really sensitive to it or something
I also hate when people cough a certain way like the clear throat cough, i dont notice any of these things when i do them though
 
#18 ·
You should research a bit more before saying that. It doesn't just bother people with misophonia. It's as debilitating as severe social anxiety. Watch some YouTube vids.
you are joking right? seriously, this is being clueless. i'm not even going to explain why that is.

at any rate, i did some small research about this cus... well, i didn't have anything better to do plus my curiosity got the best of me. the results from that are just what i suspected... i don't take misophonia, selective sound sensitivity "syndrome" (4S), or sensory defensiveness seriously. the only one i do believe is a real serious debilitating condition is hyperacusis.

these vague conditions are made up by "know it alls".

i know for a fact that i do get annoyed by sounds. if i hear a girl cry and cry and cry. fck yeah is going to get annoying. if i hear some persons next to me stomach growl over and over again is going to bother me. if i hear someone eating like a pig with the mouth open and smacking (no manners) it is going to bother me. that is normal and i don't feel like explaining it. take it or leave it.

what is out of the ordinary is when the/a noise affects us in such a way that it can make the heart skip a beat when theres nothing to fear. if i get scared cus some one spooked me fro behind and my heart skips a beat is normal. but if my heart skips a beat, say, when someone closes the door, that is not normal. the noise caused by the door triggers an involuntary reaction from past traumatic events. which means the noise had to happened when the traumatic event was taking place. this i don't consider a disorder. blah blah blah!

i know this noises do bother me but i'm not going to go ahead and label myself with what these "know it alls" say it is. NO! cus if i do that and their vague description do not all apply to me i'm going to feel like i'm "broken" when i'm not.
 
#19 ·
at any rate, i did some small research about this cus... these vague conditions are made up by "know it alls".
now i'm not a damn expert and i can see this by taking a few minutes to think about this.
Unlike yourself who's not a "know it all" but was able to spend a few minutes googling and did some small research on the internet but was able to come to a reasonable conclusion.
 
#21 ·
1. If you care a lot about socializing (e.g. you want to be a social butterfly) but can't due to your anxiety, you probably lie in the social anxiety disorder or avoidant personality disorder spectrum (the latter being a more pronounced form of the former, in my opinion). Deep down inside you are a bit narcissistic and crave to be the centre of attention or at the least crave to be much more social but your insecurities/low self-esteem, etc. get in the way.

2. If you don't care that much about socializing (e.g. hate even the thought of being a social butterfly) or get exhausted by such interactions irrespective of anxiety issues you probably lie in the asperger's/highly sensitive person spectrum. Deep down, even in the perfect world with no anxiety issues you don't want the limelight or even the need to be too social, as it is too overwhelming/powerful/stimulating and need time off to yourself.
you know best cus you have experience enough to diagnose.
 
#22 ·
But I also wrote, "Does this make sense to anyone? If it does, which of the 2 options (if they apply) do you feel best describes you."

I agree with you, I don't have the answers. Not even close. But I do have some experience. I was in medical school for 2 years. I did a psychiatric rotation in the acute schizophrenic unit as a health professional at one of the largest psychiatrist hospitals in the world (CAMH).

I have also struggled with anxiety issues my whole life. I've seen many psychiatrists and psychologists. I had free and easy access to them due to previous exposure in the field. I also finished a 4 year degree in neuroscience. I'm not trying to say that you should believe me but I hope you can, at the least, be a little more open to other people's experiences because the sound sensitivity issues, even without my anxiety, have messed up my life big time; especially since there are reports/case studies of such people in peer-reviewed journals. I hate it when other people fail to undersand how serious this is. I witnessed the same skepticism when we were learning about SAD in both medical and pharmacy school. A lot of people in my class thought it was a "pseudo" mental disorder.
 
#23 ·
^what is it exactly that bothers you about these noises?

do you feel physical pain or are they just irritating?

and why do you get enraged when you hear them?

do you get enraged about other things as well?

do they bother you because they are repetitive or they remind you of something else?

allow me to understand... you don't have to answer though.
 
#24 ·
Thanks for listening pumapunku. Basically, it's not fear or anxiety. It's severe pain, excruciating pain. It comes and goes over and over in my head until it causes rage in me. Most times, I have to leave the room or I suffer with excruciating pain. It's like a very intense emotional reactions to certain sounds, smells, touches, movements that hurts my brain as I can't tune it out. In fact, my mind pays more attention to it the harder I try to dismiss it. Sometimes it actually helps if I tell the person to do it louder or more purposely. It's as if my knowledge that the person is doing it on purpose to piss me off or as a joke bothers me less than if the person was doing and not realizing it. The latter bothers me a lot more. It's really weird.

Many times I have to leave the room or I get in major fights with the people very close to me and people that I like. I can't explain it. Also it tends to generalize so after I know that this person's sounds bother me, I start to almost want to avoid that person in certain situations, because I know I have to face those sounds/repetitive movements. It's also more likely to happen when I'm tired/stressed out and in a quiet place (like in a car or in a quiet house). Less likely outdoors because of more background noise/activities.
 
#25 ·
^i see... but i don't quite understand...

was there a time when this didn't bother you?

if yes, how old do you think was when you first noticed this?

are any of your parents verbally or physically abusive?

is there a reason why you don't like someone in the table other than just their noises?

BTW, thanks for explaining.... again, you don't have to answer.
 
#26 ·
^i see... but i don't quite understand...

was there a time when this didn't bother you?

if yes, how old do you think was when you first noticed this?

are any of your parents verbally or physically abusive?

BTW, thanks for explaining.... again, you don't have to answer.
I've had it as far back as I can remember, since I was a little kid. It's actually gotten a bit worse. I rarely ate with my family. I also had trouble being around with a few of my friends. They never realized how much it bothered me since many people are affected somewhat by these sounds, but I go crazy! My dad never hit me and was/is a pretty good guy but like anybody else I do want to drop-kick him at times. My mom hit me but that was the norm in my generation. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with them. I started to think it might be symptoms of mild autism/Asperger's or high sensitivity issues (that afflict HSPs). The reason, I thought/think it might be related to Asperger's or HSP is both these conditions have major sensitivity issues (both sensory and emotional).

My psychiatrist read the literature as I downloaded and printed it for him. He said it sounded somewhat like an OCD-type behavior. I'm not convinced. I think it's primary sound/olfactory related and then generalizes to other senses (visual).
 
#27 ·
i think i'm understanding it a little...

are you close with any of your parents?

why do you feel you want to drop-kick your dad?

did he do anything to hurt you?

why do you feel that your mom hitting you was the norm?

did you feel like you did something wrong enough to justify your mom hitting you?

if yes, what was it that you believe provoked your mom to hit you?

you can ignore me if you feel like it, i'm a curious person by nature... also, i don't know anything about aspergers.
 
#29 ·
i think i'm understanding it a little...

>are you close with any of your parents?
Yes.

>why do you feel you want to drop-kick your dad?
Because I feel he's too stubborn and judgemental

>did he do anything to hurt you?
No

>why do you feel that your mom hitting you was the norm?
Because all my friends got smacked/slapped around from their parents when they were younger (it was the norm)

>did you feel like you did something wrong enough to justify your mom hitting you?
Sometimes, sometimes not, but I can't remember much. She never hit me once I was past 10-12 years old.

>if yes, what was it that you believe provoked your mom to hit you?
Me and my brother did a lot of activities, like playing with fire, breaking windows, stealing from stores, etc.

>also, i don't know anything about aspergers

Here's a start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome

I score superhigh on all Aspie tests. I thought I have a lot of empathy but apparently not. I only scored 17 on this test measuring empathy quotient (EQ) in Asperger's:

http://glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/EmpathyQuotient/EmpathyQuotient.aspx

Another person on this forum pointed out that it's possible to have high emotional empathy but low cognitive empathy. I'm convinced this is my case.
 
#28 ·
MY DAD HAS THIS SEVERELY. i think i have it too, but a very mild case, as well as a few other members of my family. my dad is the worst, though. when he was little, like 4 - 6 years old, he told my grandma "STOP BREATHING!!" he also poured chili pepper down my uncle's throat when he was sleeping because he was snoring - they shared a room growing up. he was always highly irritated at meal times (and still is). my aunt and uncle both went through a phase where didn't like eating around people because my dad gets so enraged at sounds of chewing and swallowing, scraping and clinking of utensils, etc. for the first 10 years of my life when i lived with my parents, he BLEW UP at any slight noise (especially eating), yet he is the NOISIEST of all! living with him was like walking on eggshells, especially when he had been drinking. he also would punish me about food sometimes - i would get whipped if i didn't finish my entire meal, and sometimes he wouldn't let me have dinner if i was "bad". i buried all of those emotions for years, and i guess the start of my social anxiety was when they finally surfaced. i get very, very anxious eating with people because in my head i'm telling myself to do everything as quietly as possible. i also have certain patterns in which i eat most types of food, and i know it's borderline OCD and it makes me paranoid when i do it around people. i'm sure my father's own irritability is part of, if not all, of the cause of this. there are many other things that grate on his nerves, but i think eating noises are the worst for him.
sorry this is so long...just thought i'd contribute my experience.
 
#30 ·
aight man, i think i sort of see what's going on here....

i still don't see this as a disorder in it of itself. it sounds to me that is the same thing as if someone developed sweaty palms, cold hands, bushing, frustration, not being able to look someone in the eyes, scared of elevators, etc... i don't think they are all disorders by themselves, i believe they are all learned behaviors.

if i was to go around and label every by-product of my SA it would be a never ending quest.

one of the things i hate a lot is when people look at me or follow me. and this really gets to me cus i get really frustrated. people who are needy and stick to me like glue trigger this in me. they just want to be all over me due to some admiration they see in me. i have a clue where this comes from though.

another thing that is debilitating is that i blush. i can keep this under control but when i get it, it goes full throttle.

another is that when i make a mistake i torture myself mentally that i get mental blockage and develop a headache. i have to do some massive mental distraction so my mind will stop from going in a loop.

wait, there's more.... i also don't like certain noises. if i hear a door close, my heart skips a beat, literally... it does this involuntary. i also have a clue what this is... this is very irritating to me and debilitating....

i also avoid people religiously, not in fear of rejection or anything like that... i just don't find that we have anything in common. i sort of look like a bad boy and i attract females or guys who like that, but i'm more of a nerdy (not complete) but i don't get a long with nerds... if i say i can relate more to the sort of bad boys but i'm soft...

so, i believe these situations are not all disorders to me... i don't know what to call them but you could think of them as being as pieces of metals being attracted by a magnet. the magnet is the root of all of these situations, so the root is the only disorder in my eyes. once i take the magnet away, the pieces of metals should just drop off.

so i cannot fix the bushing and expect to fix everything else.

that's my opinion anyway... thanks for the input.

i'm not trying to convince you dude, you label yourself how ever you feel like it.
 
#32 ·
i still don't see this as a disorder in it of itself. it sounds to me that is the same thing as if someone developed sweaty palms, cold hands, bushing, frustration, not being able to look someone in the eyes, scared of elevators, etc... i don't think they are all disorders by themselves, i believe they are all learned behaviors.

if i was to go around and label every by-product of my SA it would be a never ending quest.
First, misophonia is not a symptom of SA. You can have it without having SA, although they don't seem completely unrelated.

Being annoyed by sounds is a common SA symptom, but misophonia is way, way worse. The difference is similar to that between stage freight and a full-blown panic attack. You are so enraged by certain sounds you want to hurt or kill anyone who makes them, even those you love most. I haven't come across a complaint of such extreme sound sensitivity on this forum except this thread.

Good vid:
 
#31 ·
I get really really annoyed when people eat, breath and cough around me and do repetitive noise etc. I always get so furious with my family, but i know they can't help it but i still ask them to do things quieter or not cough. It doesn't happen as much at school in class but sometimes when im hanging out with friends at home, at cafe etc. It really doesn't help me that my mother has a habit cough and my dad and brother are possibly the loudest eaters in the world. My 3rd oldest brother is also annoyed by all these things like me. Along with these i get very angry and frustrated when i can see small movements out the corner of my eye, like someone tapping their pen or swinging their legs etc. Is there any help for it? i know it's not anyone else's fault, they're just being alive but i still get really mad and feel bad after i've calmed down.
 
#34 ·
Thank You For Giving My Phobia a Name ("MISOPHONIA")

I have an INTENSE AND POWERFUL fear of hearing my father cough and choke. He is a lifelong smoker and for as long as I can remember (he is 74 and I'm 52) he's been coughing and choking intensely (emphasema), losing his breath, turning beet red, to the point where I literally need to run from the room covering my ears, my heart pounds in my chest, my breathing becomes labored, and my legs turn to jelly. It's even worse when he eats, so sitting at the family dinner table (at holidays, etc.) becomes immensely nerve-racking for me. The problem now is that he has recently been hospitalized due to stroke, heart attack and pnemonia (from smoking) and I am TERRIFIED to visit him without another family member present, which is often impossible. I did visit him a few days ago when my brother and his family were present, but I was on the verge of a full-fledged anxiety attack the entire time I was in his hospital room, and had to leave once or twice immediately and go into the corridor (covering my ears) because he began to cough. I texted my sister yesterday asking if she'd car-pool with me "tomorrow" to visit dad because I didn't want to go alone, and she said no because of one reason or another. I 'm afraid to tell my brothers and (especially) my sister that I found a NAME for this fear ("Misophonia") because they probably won't believe this phobia exists and will most likely say ,"You're not visiting Dad because you're afraid to hear him cough and choke??? Give me a break!" It's well known by everyone in my family that I have severe anxiety when my father coughs and chokes. It's gotten so bad over the years that even in a social situation, I have to immediately leave ANY room where coughing and choking is present from RANDOM people. I'm embarrassed and ashamed that I cannot visit my Dad while he's recovering in the hospital. What can I do?
 
#35 ·
Mesophonia

I've been dealing with mesophonia for many years now but I never knew what it was. I was actually on tumblr and I saw a "did you know" post about it and googled it, and I fit the description perfectly. I am still in school at the moment and it's becoming increasingly difficult to sit in class hearing certain noises, because I can't leave otherwise I miss class, and they no longer allow us to listen to music while we work independantly. This is getting more and more frustrating as the days go on. I'm picturing doing violent things to my classmates that make the noises, and even the teacher who always wears high heels which click as she walks and it drives me crazy.

List of noises that enrage me:
-Popping or chewing gum
-Loud chewing "smacking lips"
-Snorting
-High heels clicking on hard floors
-People singing, humming, or whistling
-Loud music from headphones
-People "sucking their teeth"
-Shuffling feet

When I hear these noises I can't help but get angry, and I always end up coming off as an anti social ***** because I ask them to stop. What they don't understand is, I can't help it and I can't just ignore it! And it's not my fault. It's severly distracting and even now I'm sitting in class and I can barely type this because of the noises around me. It gets so bad I often wanna cry from the anxiety. I guess what I want to know is there anyone else dealing with this, and do you have any suggestions as to what I can do. Like I said I used to listen to music to drown it out and I can't do that anymore, and I don't think they'll let me use earplugs in class. Please Help!!!!
 
#36 ·
This is getting more and more frustrating as the days go on. I'm picturing doing violent things to my classmates that make the noises, and even the teacher who always wears high heels which click as she walks and it drives me crazy.

List of noises that enrage me:
-Popping or chewing gum
-Loud chewing "smacking lips"
-Snorting
-High heels clicking on hard floors
-People singing, humming, or whistling
-Loud music from headphones
-People "sucking their teeth"
-Shuffling feet...
Can definitely relate to all those plus sipping/gulping sounds when people drink fluids and people clearing their throats or sneezing. I also hate people talking/laughing on the phone. It's become so bad that I generally cannot tolerate being around people for very long. I've also noticed that the effects are worse with people that I'm closer to or know better. And some people seem naturally "louder" and less tolerable than others. This disorder forces you not to want to be around other people for too long. Ditto on the violent thoughts. I don't understand why it is almost always human sounds. Animal sounds don't usually bother me.
 
#38 ·
I have sensitive hearing. Sometimes at night noises can keep my attention. My father is a noisy eater and I have to leave the room when he eats because I can't stand his slurping.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top