Do certain sounds drive you crazy?
Does the sound of your husband’s chewing make you want to punch him in the face?
Yesterday, there was a story on the Today show about a woman with misophonia, a condition where certain sounds can literally drive a person crazy.
And I’m thinking, this is really interesting, too bad there’s no celebrity angle…
And then, this morning, my prayers were answered! Kelly Ripa opens today’s episode of Live! with Regis and Kelly by telling guest co-host Seth Meyers that she believes that she has misophonia! Ever since she was a child, the sound of chewing drives her nuts.
Her children have been trained to eat quietly with their mouths closed, and she “has to leave the house” if her husband, All My Children actor Mark Consuelos, eats a “juicy peach”.
Hatred of Sound
Misophonia literally means “hatred of sound” and is a form of decreased sound tolerance. The term was coined by American neuroscientists Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff in 1991. For those with misophonia, everyday sounds can lead to extreme reactions.
Misophonia is not a problem with the hearing pathways in the brain. Instead, there is an abnormally strong reaction of the limbic (emotional system) and autonomic nervous system (body control system) which are closely connected with the auditory (hearing) system. Hearing the hated sound activates a “Fight or Flight” response — either you become angry and potentially violent or you get anxious and run away.
According to support organization Misophonia UK :
- the age of onset will often be around 10-12
- the “trigger” sounds which tend to be most difficult are connected with eating and breathing
- the reaction starts with the sound (or some aspect of the sound) and often develops to include actions associated with the sound and even anticipation of those actions
- the closer the sufferer is emotionally to the “trigger” person, the more offensive the sound tends to be
- the reaction is experienced most commonly as extreme rage
- the trigger sound can create an overwhelming fight or flight response in the sufferer, so they experience a desire to do extreme violence to the maker of the sound, or to escape the vicinity of the sound at all costs.
The Sounds of Silence
There is no cure for misophonia, but some treatments have shown promise for some sufferers:
- Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) is a form of habituation (tolerance) therapy designed to help people who suffer from tinnitus (ringing ears). Relies on a patient getting used to a low level of the disturbing sound.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) teaches people to change negative thinking and behaving that contributes to their illness.
- Psychotherapeutic hypnotherapy uses hypnosis to deal with triggers and the response to them.
- Antianxiety medications
Here is a video of the story on Today:
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Is there a particular noise or sound that drives you crazy?
Please share your experiences with us.
Good article and nice to see someone well known who can admit to this issue. I would offer one correction in that the term misophonia was coined in 2001, I believe that to be true. A new provider network has been established in the US, http://www.misophonia-provider.com, to allow sufferers to reach regional centers where newer treatment protocols are going to be offered. Great publicity! Dr. J
Thanks for your comment, and the link for folks who may want to talk to someone about treatment.
I am almost crying to know that i am not the only person in the world that has this! I can actually almost give a concise time line to when and what caused this in me! My family thinks i don’t know what about me when this stuff happens to me. I can stand someones nails down a chalkboard but not the sound of someone typing on the computer! I can stand my sons band when he was a teenager but i can’t stay in the same room while my husband eats chips! Hopefully, i can find someone to help me here in my city!
THere is a facebook page for people with misophonia: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=299375912551&v=wall
You may be able to get a local contact there.
Good luck Valerie.
I very much did cry when I met someone else with misophonia. The relief, despite it not changing any symptoms, is enormous.
Hi, My nana told me about the episode with Kelly talking about misophonia. I just wanted to say that I have been dealing with this very thing for a long time. It got really bad for awhile and it is cool that someone else feels the same way I do. All I can say is my ipod has saved my life.
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you have found a way to deal with the problem. Maybe others with misophonia will try using their ipods as a way to help themselves!
http://www.misophonia-uk.org/
I’ve found this website to be extremely helpful. Though there is no cure per se, it is comforting knowing that you’re not the only one.
It’s awesome that a celebrity has come forward with this “mysterious neurological disorder”. It is as real as can be.
So right you are Brandi! For someone with the disorder, it is very real. Unfortunately, since it is not well known, even among physicians, sufferers may not get the help they need. I’m glad we were of some help.
I don’t have an opinion on Kelly Ripa coming out, other than it may help the visibility of this issue that plagues many of us who felt alone in their pain. I’m glad to see that misophonia is getting some press and hope that it helps with increasing research in the near future.
I do wish that the Today video came with a disclaimer, the number of trigger sounds in the video were highly distressing to me. I had to rip my headphones off my ears and yell out every time there was an eating sound or other trigger. I know that the sounds were used as a method to help others understand what sounds bother those with misophonia, it was just disturbing and upsetting for me.
I have not been formally diagnosed as I only learned a few months ago that there was a name for what I was experiencing. I am hoping to participate in/benefit from any research that may be forthcoming.
Thanks for your comment Tiffany. I hadn’t thought about the audio on the Today video as being a potential trigger. Wow! Live and Learn.
Finally, I know what this is, my ex-husband snored so loud and ate so noisially I cound’nt stand the thought of being near him, this drove us apart, I remember when I was a kid, certain sounds drove me crazy, I had to have mt hearing tested about 10 years ago, the doctor said I can hear things normal people can’t, maybe this is a clue, also I talk very low, making it difficult for others to hear me. I’m accused of mumbling constantly, but I can’t speak any louder, without becoming cranky.
I have another hearing test soon, I will discuss this with the specialist, thank you so much.
Thanks for your comment Madge. It’s good that you will be having it checked out by a specialist. Good luck to you. I hope this will allow you to get some relief from your symptoms.
When my mom told me about Kelly’s talking about this and how much it sounded like what I have lived with most of my life I was so thrilled. My first thought “WOOHOO, I’M NOT ALONE!!!” and “I’m not psycho”. I can’t remember when it started it’s been so long, and I’ve often thought it would be so much easier to just be deaf. Thank you for getting this out to the public. What a relief!
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Letting people know that there are others dealing with the same thing is one of the reasons we started Celebrity Diagnosis.
Every sound a person makes drives me absolutley insane. Crinkling wrappers and water bottles, chewing, slurping, high heels clicking, people yawning and making noise, and so many more things make me want to punch a hole in the wall. For the longest time I would sit at my dinner table and clench my fists as tight as I could and try and take the sound of chewing. Then I would go in myroom, punch my mattress and cry. This disease/ condition has made high school so hard to deal with and none of my friends understand that I want to punch them when they crinkle candy wrappers. At least I know im not a psycopath for getting so irritated!
I’m currently working on the theory that at least for some people this is related to a low/medium elevation of norepinephrine in the brain.
I am unsure, but perhaps this explains why I get really aggressive when I hear the sound of a bell. Usually it’s a high pitched bell, but an bell sounds set me off. Would this be the same thing?
With all due respect, if Kelly has this disorder (I can relate) then why does she chew her gum like a cow chews it’s cud, or a woman of the streets chews her gum? Do people with this disorder not hear themselves. I’ve seen her on live television during their fitness week and it’s awful to see her chomping gum on national television, yet believe me, I am HUGE fan of her intelligence, humor, quick wit, etc. Lose the gum, or put on a mic and listen to herself, and the gum tower back stage, very uncool. Snapping gum is like a chalk board and nails to me, so when I see all of that about her, I was just surprised to learn of her disorder…
“Do people with this disorder not hear themselves.”
The majority of those with this disorder (myself included) aren’t bothered by their own trigger noises. The noises that enrage me when other people make them (like gum chewing, nail biting, slurping, pen clicking, etc) don’t bother me one bit when I do make them. I don’t know why, but that’s just the way it is. Strange, huh?
I’ve been asked about this. I actually am bothered by many of my own sounds. Most I have no choice but deal with. I CANNOT chew with my mouth open. I fight fire with fire when I’m in a situation where I can’t get away from the sounds and I try chomping right along with them, but my jaw wears out fast as I’m not use to chomping like a cow. I cannot chew gum for more than a couple of minutes and then only in an emergency (out of mints). When my TMJ acts up and my jaw pops I can’t eat, it drives me out of my skin. If I accidentally slurp something I feel like throwing up from the sound.
I agree there. Can’t stand the gum. Really can’t take it when people chomp on TV, on the phone and in person. Cashiers, hairstylists and secretaries chomping like a TV street walker. Just like nails on a chalk board. No tolerance for it here either. Not to mention its just totally unprofessional!
I sure would like to see more information for those of us who have a loved one with this condition. It also has an effect on us. It’s difficult to not absorb the extreme anger that emanates when they have a reaction. It can come out of the blue. Although they might deal with it as appropriately as they can, slamming doors as they leave the room and/or yells of rage DO affect the people who are emotionally connected to them. It’s very difficult to creep around the kitchen fearful that any chink of silverware against a glass plate will send them into a rage. I can’t use the microwave, eat crunchy food, wash dishes, prepare food using pots, pans, silverware, glass…..it gets very impractical after awhile. Communication is a must! Every time I think I have this figured out and what to avoid, something new comes along. Or something that doesn’t bother him one day will bother him the next. How do I live a calm life going about necessary activities, while at the same time avoiding triggers? I’ve been left a weepy mess even though I know his anger will be temporary. When you really do care for someone, you really don’t want to be the source of the problem, or have them feel revulsion for you….even temporarily. Sometimes I feel like asking him to go for day and try not to make the same sounds (that if I make would be a trigger, but if he does it it’s not). It doesn’t seem fair that he can eat an apple, but I can’t. I finally said that I have to be able to do things like use the microwave…he needs to own some of this and either put his head phones on, or offer to do it for me. That seems to be working….giving him some control to intervene does help. He has been very good about offering to warm my tea up for me and things like that. Encouraging him to be proactive (rather than reactive) is helping a lot. Just not everything.
Thanks so much for your comment Kristine. It sounds like you are really trying to work out some of the difficulties associated with living with someone with misophonia. Best wishes to you!
You are right. It does also effect family members and friends of those with this condition. It is so important that we remember that our loved ones don’t always understand what we hear and feel. I have lived with this for so long without knowledge of others and knowledge of what it was. All I knew is it was my problem. After all these years I have had to learn to deal with it. Try not to take it out on others around me. And although it hasn’t been easy, my loved ones thought I was just over sensitive or just plain nuts, I have just accepted that it isn’t something I can stop, but it isn’t anything they can change either. I put plugs in my ears, if I leave the room I try to contain myself and not slam doors or get huffy (sometimes not so easy). I apologize a lot. My husband knew I had this problem before we married, so it wasn’t a surprise to him. He apologizes for smacking his lips, crunching or slurping and I tell him it’s my problem, not his. If plugging my ears or putting headphones in my ears don’t help at any particular moment I quietly “go to the bathroom”. I try to remember they don’t hear what I hear. I get funny looks in public when I put tissue in my ears, people ask if I have an earache. Sometimes I just say yes, others I try to explain whats going on. I am also aware that if I’m having an especially senstive day or time I try harder to not take it out on those around me. I’m not perfect and I do go off half-cocked sometimes, but I apologize when I realize it and we go on.
Keep up the love and patients and it’ll pay off. Good for you for trying to understand and help find ways to make both your lives easier.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Tanya, we can all learn something from them.
thank god , i cannot belleive what i am reading here…me and my (twin)brother suffer from this strange disorder. i think it started around 6 yrs.old. its definately lead me to live a somewhat isolated life.. i still function as a (normal) person day to day but i limit myself.very few freinds and avoid going to public places where i cant flee…we are 42 yrs. old now,,,,…..iam raising a 9 y.o. daughter by myself., and i dont lead on that i have this condition., but she asks all the time why i eat upstairs and not with her, also when we are driiving she likes to figit with her fingers and bounce her legs up and down(so normal)i just calmly tell here it distracts me .. man i hate this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! iam so afraid to tell anybody and very ashamed….i pray to god my daughter does not get this …….my pet peives are long, just some here.,,.,. sniffing,any noise made by the mmouth in general,pen clicking,tapping fingers,sraping or hitting the bowl or plate,.sluping., even the sight of the mouth moving as people are chewing., get this blinking of the eyes., the list goes on and on…….its so hard not to think that it is directed at you on purpose.. but rationaly i know thats not the case.. i constantly tell myself its me not them… GOD BLESS YOU DR. FOR TAKING THE TIME AND FOCOSING ON THIS DISORDER…. YOU ARE A BLESSING.. AND TO ALL THOSE OUT THERE SUFFERING (YOU ARE NOT ALONE) HOPEFULLY IN THE NEAR FUTURE WE WILL HAVE A CURE… THANKS
http://www.misophonia-provider.com
Here is a website the lists providers throughout the US dealing with this form of misophonia
I was so happy to find this. I feel like I’m going more and more insane from this problem. People who are very close to me are driving me absolutely F-ing nuts with their eating noises. It’s like I can hear their salivary glands pumping away and it makes me want to smash my head into a window. It’s getting that bad for me. I need to find a doctor to help me but I do not want to have to take anti-anxiety drugs. I worry that I’m going to lose control of myself sometimes. It is something of a relief to know that other people have this issue as well.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m a little offended that she would state on public television that she believes to have this disorder. Having lived with this for a long time now, I can honestly say how horrible and debilitating a condition this is to have. I can’t go out and do normal things. A trip to the store is hell on earth. Kelly is active and happy and famous and is surrounding by clapping audience members and a ton of other normal and common triggers among 4S sufferers and yet she shows no signs, but because the single sound of chewing bothers her she claims to have this condition making people think it’s not that bad of a condition at all since someone like her with it can rise to such fame. I feel she has hurt the cause and disguised how bad it really is to truly have it. I hate having to explain my condition only to have most people respond back “Oh, I think I have that too.”