I'm so sorry that you are having to deal with misophonia while living in a home full of musicians. While I do not have this myself, my oldest son (who is also autistic) has a similar disorder, hyperacusis. Nothing they have tried with him has worked either, though it doesn't appear to be as severe as yours. I wish I had a good suggestion or piece of advise for you ... maybe someone else here will. I guess I just wanted to let you know that someone out here at least has some idea what your going through and hopes the best for you in finding a way to deal with / overcome it. You can always PM or IM me if you need to further vent about it.

 

Thank you for the offer to vent, sometimes I really need it.

 

i didn't recognise it under this name, but i have this as well. i read about it on a website which called it sound sensitivity syndrome. i can't stand chewing, swallowing/gulping, slurping- any noise made while eating or drinking, even a fork scraping against a plate. when i was little my mom had me wear earplugs at the dinner table because i would get so upset- but it didn't help because i could still see the 'chewing movements' and imagine the noise. also, breathing noises, especially the kind made when people sleep. in fact, describing it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

it must be really hard to have this reaction to so many different noises. when i'm living at home i just go to my room, shut the door, turn on the air conditioner and my music to drown out any eating noises! but musical instruments are pretty loud. i can feel your anger...i get SO angry when i hear these noises. like, afterwards i am surprised at how angry the thoughts i've had can be.

it's really hard. i've never had a therapist who actually recognised it as a problem. they think it's just a 'pet peeve'. only one therapist said i could have some OCD but never elaborated on it.

 

Thats the same thing my current psychiatrist said. He associated it with OCD.

I know what you mean about still being bothered by "seeing" sounds (ie: seeing a chewing movement) It probably comes from, like you said, imagining the noise, or anticipating hearing it. For me, if I see someone's leg shake, even if it's nowhere near me, my blood begins to boil, and all I do is focus on that leg waiting for the moment its going to make a tapping sound against the floor.

I wish I could comfortably wear earplugs, but putting them in my ear really sceeves me out and feels nasty and invasive.

Sometimes, even blasting music doesn't help. All it does is give me a headache, and I can stil hear a very minor "thump thump" under it, and all my mind knows how to do is focus on that tiny tiny noise.

The most frustrating part of having this, is being misunderstood. I'd imagine you must hate being told to "ignore" things :/

 

Oh my...this sounds really rough! I think I have this too, but then again I think I have EVERYTHING.

Mine doesn't have to do as much with "noises" (even though there are certain noises that piss me off too, I am guilty of doing the same, but I try to do them in solitude)....it's more with voices. Like when there are too many people talking loudly at one time, back and forth......ooooooooh, that puts me in the most anxious rage EVER! I can't block it out at all....its like my brain involuntarily tries to process each and every sound, face, body gesture (all at once).....its so horrible.

 

That doesn't sound like misophonia, I'm going to be honest with you. However your problem sounds a lot like ANOTHER issue I have. It sounds similar to the way my social anxiety effects me. Being in crowds usually puts me in a rage, and noisy crowds are even far worse. Could also be ADD, if you are trying to focus on everything, and getting frustrated over it.

 

I recently realized I have misophonia thanks to another member who wrote about it. Head tremor, my main SA symptom, seems to radiate anxiety to others and makes them cough in turn, even though everyone denies it. The coughs get louder and more frequent when I'm more anxious.

I started hating the sound and people who make it. I can hardly stand it anymore. I want to tear off everyone's vocal cord in the room when I hear a cough. I can control the anger only when I'm in a very good mood, and even then the stress from SA and misophonia overwhelms me quickly.

I gave up fighting it a long time ago. I'm sick of paying loads of money to therapists who know nothing about the disorder and only add to my frustration.

I sit at the computer 12+hours a day, eat 2 small meals at most, and sleep extremely irregularly. Except for a 4-hour class, I never go out unless I absolutely have to. I stayed home during the entire winter break except when it snowed once. I'm eagerly waiting for a heart attack to end my life.

 

I sit at the computer 12+hours a day, eat 2 small meals at most, and sleep extremely irregularly. Except for a 4-hour class, I never go out unless I absolutely have to. I stayed home during the entire winter break except when it snowed once. I'm eagerly waiting for a heart attack to end my life.

Heh. For a second I had to think and make sure I hadn't written this myself. I eat even less, only leave the house to go to work, and the only time I went out this winter was when it snowed that one time lol.

Zadra - Thank you so much for posting this. I had no idea this condition existed, and when I went to read your link, I discovered I have it! I always thought there was more to it than just a "pet peeve," and now I know that there really is. I have always HATED the sound of people chewing gum and smacking their lips together and moving their tongues around inside their mouths. Even writing about it, I'm getting squeamish. Every time someone sits next to me on the train and I see their mouths working up and down, I start dreading that first smack that bores through my eardrum.
My boyfriend always does this thing where he moves his tongue around in his mouth while he's sleeping, almost like he's chewing. (I refer to this as 'mouth noises' and it makes me homicidal. He's doing it right now, little f*cker.) It makes me want to smash his face into the wall. And every time I tell him to stop, he just gets mad at me for waking him up. And he goes "Oh my god, I can't help it! Just deal with it!" Makes me want to rip his tongue out and punch him in the face when he says it.
I cannot imagine having to live with the constant stress you have to endure every day. I know you've probably tried everything and aren't looking for more useless suggestions, but have you tried wearing earmuffs? They block sound and don't go in your ears so they aren't as uncomfortable.
I truly, truly hope that you are able to find relief, I mean that. I grew up with an inconsiderate father, I know what that's like as well. I really think your best hope would be to find a place of your own. Perhaps your boyfriend could help you. Good luck. I am praying for you.

 

My absolute sympathy goes out to you. As you said, most of us probably won't relate based on misophonia, but anxiety and third party misunderstanding; yes. My own dad doesn't understand my social anxiety, and I've given up explaining.

If for some reason I ever move to Brooklyn, I promise I'll be quiet on trains.

Alternatively, we could go live in the mountains.

 

I have to say, your sound sensitivity sounds very severe and I really feel for you. =[

I do have sound sensitivity as well. I have problems with hearing people chew a lot. It makes me feel like I have to throw up and make me want to tear my ears off. The thing that usually incapacitates me is children screaming or even just talking. That's right. Children "talking". I hate it. It physically hurts.

One time I was in a very uncontrolled class. The teacher was literally absent and one time they got so loud. So incredible loud, that I had to put my head down because I was crying and shaking with rage. Literally, shaking with rage. You have no idea the amount of effort it took to not jump up and punch everyone in the face that was around me. The noise was maddening.

So, I can relate to how you feel. I'm just going to assume that yours is ten times worse.

I don't know what kind of advice to give you because my immediate thought was earplugs or an iPod, but you say you can't stand the feel of them in your ears. I'm sorry. All I can say is I understand your frustration and pain.

 

In my personal and family life misophonia is my biggest problem. My anxiety issues only happen at work.

 

Oh my god, I'm soooo sorry. I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through but the closest I can relate to that is sometimes I'll get EXTREME headaches and any small light/sound will drive me crazy and cause a lot of pain. It's kind of like having a hangover but x100.
I really hope you eventually overcome this, but until then, you should try to find some really good quality earplugs to block out the noise.

 

To everyone that actually read my gigantic post and replied, thank you. Every little bit helps, whether it's advice or a personal tale. Somehow its comforting hearing that others suffer from the same thing, even though it's hard for me to even imagine.

I just wish I could find an alternative to earplugs, ugh there's NO WAY for me to get away from noise. EVER. I live my whole life SO ANGRILY.

Also, something else kind of weird. Ever since I started doing research on the sound sensitivity, and even found a coined phrase/term for it, I've actually noticed it to become significantly worse. Not knowing what was wrong with me, was perhaps helpful. But now since I've got this thing going around in my head, "I have misophonia", rather then just "I hate sounds", the sounds I cannot tolerate now stand out even more to me. It's kind of like children unconsciously living up to a label they are given by psychiatrists at young ages.

I'm curious: to anyone else that has this, did anything similar occur when you discovered there was an actual name for what you had, and that there were others that suffered from the same condition?

 

.I'm curious: to anyone else that has this, did anything similar occur when you discovered there was an actual name for what you had, and that there were others that suffered from the same condition?

I don't know anybody that has it as bad as me. I found that heavy drug use/abuse (benzos + narcotics) helped a bit. Knowledge of it didn't make it worse or better. Explaining it to others didn't help. They can't understand. What I do sometimes do to try to dissipate it is to make really loud chewing, girgling, breathing, sipping sounds (exagerrating their sounds) to try to anger my family so they understand what it feels like. They just laugh or get very angry like I'm being a nag. The worst sound is someone who is older adjusting their braces or slirping soup. The clicking sound of the braces drives me crazy. I've told them that I wish they were dead. They just laugh at me, because they know I don't mean it literally, so they think.

 

Anyone just bothered with people eating loudly ? I'd be fine if they stopped making Ms Vickies chips. I have to try and drown it out or just deal with it. It seems to be only when your in a quiet room and the only noise is eating..... I had no idea thats what Misophonia is.

 

I had no idea thats what Misophonia is.

I hope finding out doesn't make it worse for you
Because thats what happened to me.
Hell, i was outright SHOCKED when I found out it was a legit serious condition.

 

lol yeah the sound of people eating drives me nutty, but obviously it's nothing compared to this issue. Is there any form of medication which can help with the emotions associated with hearing these noises?

 

I have misophonia as well, and it is terrible. There are several triggers that get me going:

the sniffles: absolutely cannnot stand this
hearing people chew their food
watching sports on tv and seeing the coach chew gum
snoring
heavy breathing
eating dinner with my parents and hearing the sound of the knife when it cuts through the potato and makes contact with the plate
people who drag their heals when they walk


To cobat all of this I always bring my mp3 player with me. I will not go on public transit without my mp3 player. By listening to the music, it prevents me from getting annoyed by the sounds that people make on the train.

 

people who drag their heals when they walk

Wow... thats another one for me. When my dad slumps through the hall in his slippers, I want to go outside and kill him. It sounds like a lot of the same stuff bothers you.

 

Troll has been removed. We now return you to your original topic.

 

Troll has been removed. We now return you to your original topic.

Thank you :yes

 

I used to have this in relation to eating. I'm also sometimes abnormally sensitive to sounds when I'm sleep-deprived or in a bad or irritable mood, but for a while, I probably did have misophonia when hearing people chew their food. It was like I couldn't help but focus on it and let it bother me, and I would repeatedly get into fights with my dad about the volume of his chewing. I don't even notice it anymore, so it must have been a phase. I do get annoyed with certain sounds, though, and I have a very overactive startle response. My dad has a tendency to slam doors, and that nearly sends me up the wall with anger. I'm able to contain it, though. I attribute the startle response largely to my ADHD.

Anyway, it's really awful that you have to suffer like that, and worse yet that no one tries to understand. I did read the Wikipedia article for the disorder, and apparently these white-noise generators are effective in well over 95% of cases: http://www.amplisound.com/tinnitusdevicess/ Have you looked into them?

 

bmwfan07. You say you "used" to have misophonia. You know I'm going to start asking you a billion questions. If you have or know the cure, I will pay you millions for it! No really though, do you have any idea how or why it doesn't effect you anymore? Can you think of any life changing events that may have triggered it?

Also, I might look into one of those devices. They are meant for tinnitus (similar), but it looks like something that could help.

 

bmwfan07. You say you "used" to have misophonia. You know I'm going to start asking you a billion questions. If you have or know the cure, I will pay you millions for it! No really though, do you have any idea how or why it doesn't effect you anymore? Can you think of any life changing events that may have triggered it?

I don't know if it was of the severity of misophonia, but I was definitely set off and bothered immensely by the sound of chewing. I can't think of any precipitating circumstances, but perhaps there were some. I think one night I just realized that I couldn't handle the sound of my dad chewing. Eventually, it seemed to fade on its own. I also had a throat-clearing tic for a while, which resolved itself as well. I guess I chalk it up to the hormonal fluctuations of an already mentally disordered adolescent. :b I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful, though.

Also, I might look into one of those devices. They are meant for tinnitus (similar), but it looks like something that could help.

They are designed for tinnitus (which my mom has), but the Wikipedia article alludes to a study in which 285 out of 300 study participants with selective sound sensitivity (same thing) experienced improvement with the device.

 

Some of those noises wind me up a lot too but like you said it's not quite the same thing. I imagine what you're going through must be a lot worse... ah, i feel for you :/

 

have you tried Bose noise canceling headphones?

 

Damn man, a few people have already tried to suggest earplugs and headphones. Thats one of my problems, I cant use either, because it makes me physically uncomfortable. I'm sensitive to touch also (its even effected my relationship) I'm just overall very sensitive to outside stimulus. My dream is living in a bubble.

@ Kon
It's better for you that you walk away and be a "chicken", believe me. I'm not proud of how severe my problem is. I actually fear for my safety, both personal and legal. I wish I could be a chicken, it would save me so much stress. The feeling after getting into a fight is disgusting, I want to crawl up into a ball and die. Even if it's just verbal. I usually start shaking like I have Parkinsons for hours, and if anyone comes within ten feet of me, I explode again. It's so bad, and my therpist isn't helping me. I need serious serious help, otherwise my entire life is going to get ruined by a drastic event.

 

Popping my eardrums has been a consideration going around in my head for years.
I can't tell my therapist because they'll lock me up for threats of self inflicted damage :/

 

h

 

Have you ever thought about why you feel this way? Why in particular you feel rage towards people for making sounds? Why are these noises irritating? You need to think about that, to get down to the root cause of these feelings.

My problem with noises is different from yours, to the point that I would consider any "misophonia" I deal with to be secondary to my anxiety disorder. I suffer from anxiety/panic and when things become loud, I am losing my ability to focus and a variety of things happen. I become slightly agitated and feel trapped, and if the noises continue to bother me I become panicked. But the most important thing for me in dealing with these things is realizing the root cause of these feelings lies in my anxiety. I find I am most sensitive to noise and loudness when I am feeling most anxious. Thus my dealing with noise is best resolved by dealing with my anxiety, for instance using relaxation techniques (yes, I'm sure we all know how difficult it can be to relax as anxiety sufferers), other mental coping, and at times medication (Xanax 0.5 mg.)

If it is the root cause, maybe it is best to talk to someone professional about this in the context of your general anxieties. At any rate, with or without therapy, whenever dealing with any kind of psychological malady it's important to think about not just how something is bothering you, but why.

 

I read both responses above. Firstly, thank you both.

emmy186, I noticed this is your first post here. My boyfriend pointed out yesterday that when he googled "misphonia", my thread here was on the first page! Did you happen to find this forum because of my thread? If so, I am very glad, I hope you find help and comfort in this forum. I myself have only been here for a few days and already find it to be a friendly and therapeutic place to vent, and give advice to others based on experiences. Hopefully we can talk more and try to work on coping methods together. Every part of your response touched me so close to home I almost started crying. Thank you for posting your part here.

unreasonable man, I've actually been trying to get down to the root of things for a while. My therapist won't even acknowledge things because even SHE does not understand what the heck misophonia is, she seems to think they are minor annoyances stemming from my hatred for society. The most I've come to figure out on my own, is that I am the most effected by people that are close to me, and certain members of society that I cannot tolerate (examples would be ghettoed out thugs, airhead dumbdumb females, etc.). Say if, a ghetto nasty attitude faced black girl is on the train popping her gum.... yeah, its going to make me even MORE angry then usual. Because I already can't stand her presence to begin with. My hatred for people coincides with the level of my reaction to noise. Although I haven't had social anxiety my whole life. Misophonia on the other hand, I have. The two have interloped causing me one big heaping mess of (what I believe to be) untreatable. I'm trying very very hard to figure out why the noises are doing this to me. I've read that the brain perceives trigger noises as "alarms" or noises that are associated with danger, like the feeling someone gets upon hearing a woman screaming for help in a dark alleyway.

Oye! I need a new therapist but I have the worst medical insurance in the country (medicaid) + no job. For now, I'm stuck with what I've got. The crap at the local hospital clinic

 

h