Being Extremely Disturbed by Certain Sounds: Misophonia or Misophonics

Misophonia, or being misophonic, is not a disorder of hearing but a disorder of perception of sounds. Your reaction when someone around you is tapping a pen on the table or slurping their coffee is actually related to your high voice sensitivity. It is inevitable for you to be affected by sound.

If it bothers you to hear the alarm you set to get up in the morning again and again during the day, if you get angry because you can’t stop car horns, or if you like night time more than day time, you may have a misophonia. Misophonics experience being disturbed by certain sounds.

This is a neurophysiological condition in which you show disproportionate reactions to certain sounds, which can occur in 2 out of every 10 people. The reactions you show can often be unintentional and you may be aware of this. Voice sensitivity can vary and some categories of voice are more common than others. This category includes the nasal sounds that come out of the mouth and are produced when we eat, or the sounds produced by breathing, breathing and hand movements.

Sound Hatred and Ignoring

Misophonic patients, who are disturbed by certain sounds, often speak little and their reactions tend to be emotional. They are very fond of nature sounds and acoustic echoes. They like slow music and attach meaning to sounds. The songs they listen to should remind them of something, and most of all they want to connect with events they have experienced.

In 2017, a study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology examined the link between misophonia and other neurological diseases. They found that although misophonia is associated with some conditions, disorders such as eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders cannot fully explain misophonic symptoms.

Misophonic patients have a variable tendency to react, but it is not possible to try to ignore the sounds. Misophonic patients may have problems with selective attention. In a study conducted on misophonics exposed to triggering sounds, 29% engaged in verbal violence, while 17% directed their aggression towards various objects. On the other hand, 14% displayed physical aggression towards the source of the triggering sound. This inevitably affects the patients’ social environment and relationships.