If you are looking for a definition of misophonia, it is a severe sensitivity to specific soft sounds and visual images. It also includes other forms of stimuli that cause an immediate extreme reaction. When a person hears the sounds, the person has a very strong emotional reaction such as hate, anger, anxiety, rage, and resentment. People who suffer with misophonia often report that they feel the person is intentionally making the sound intentionally .
A person experiencing misophonia generally has excellent hearing. It is not a sensitivity to the volume of sound, but an emotional and physiological reaction to specific sounds. At first it is generally the sounds of specific individuals that cause the reaction, but it usually spreads to the sounds made by others and to additional sounds. The chewing sound of a friend may be annoying, while the chewing sound of a parent elicits automatically) a strong reaction and is intolerabl
What causes misophonia? The misophonic reaction appears to be an involuntary physical and emotional reflex caused by the sound. The sound directly activates the Autonomic Nervous System which is located in the brain stem and the Limbic System which is associated with emotion. This is a direct connection between the sound and a reflex reaction. Think of the sound as causing the same reaction as a hard poke in the ribs with a stick.
behavior that has been acquired or developed by pairing the sound with a distressed (stress, anxiety, etc.) physiological condition. When these two things happen at the same time (distress and the sound), it creates neurological wiring in the brain that causes the misophonia reaction when the sound is heard again. I call this an acquired reflex because it is not an innate or inborn reaction (did not exist at birth). It is a reflex because it is a direct connection from a sense (hearing) to the Autonomic Nervous System and the Lymbic System.
Once the misophonic response is established for one sound, other sounds seem to be added over time. Because of this, those with misophonia often have a number of sounds that cause the reflex reaction, and it may impact many aspects of their lives. Without treatment, the prognosis for misophonia is grim. The misophonic responses usually get worse and worse, and the negative impact on the person’s life gets progressively greater.
But… There is reason for hope. In the past 3 years, there have been new treatments developed. We also have cases where existing treatments (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT) has been successfully applied to misophonia
I myself didn't fully understand or was even aware of misophonia until i worked in a call center. Repetitive sounds drive me crazy mostly the clicking of a ink pen any clicking sound . I dated a man that misophonia . I thought the clicking was bad that was nothing little things bothered me. He had a severe case of misophonia someone chewing,eating chips ,chewing gum , You name it sound affected him . We as humans are inconsiderate of other people. We never think what our actions could be doing to others . So please before you start clicking that pen look around be considerateof others.
