wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

This has been a problem with me almost since I can remember. Even now, I almost always react to my family when we eat dinner together, especially my Dad. If someone has a particularly crunch piece of food it completely restricts me from doing or thinking about anything else. I often stop mid-conversation and try to drown out the sound or plug my ears. If I'm sick or my nose is slightly clogged, trying to sleep is torture as the slightest wheeze or whistle makes me tense up. I've nearly gotten into fights at movie theaters because of people loudly crunching popcorn.
Finally yesterday, my Dad reacted angrily and said how he thought I was just making it up, or that I should seek help. Thankfully I searched it up and was able to discover some info and that it's not only me, at least hopefully I can use this info to help others understand, though I don't expect them to.

ALL my life I thought I was weird and CRAZY! Now to know I am not alone - and it is REAL, and I actually DO have an issue. Just WOW. As far back as I can remember I have been like this. For me it is mostly gum chewing and nail popping. Oh and popcorn in the movie theatre ... can't take it. I have missed so many opportunities to go to the movies just for fear that someone in there is going to be chomping their popcorn so loud that I just go crazy! It's pretty easy with my kids because they know the things that bother me - and the are very respectful. And when I do tell them to stop they do. But, it is not so easy out there in public because you cannot tell a complete stranger to please stop popping their gum. My main coping mechanism is simply leaving the area or the room. Can get quite lonely at times when you are afraid to be around people for fear they are going to make a noise that sends you into a rage. I have never been violent to anyone (other then myself) when stuck in a car with someone popping gum as a child I would dig my nails into my leg trying to get my focus off of the excrusiating noise. But, the thoughts in my head - yeah that is a whole other story. And as soon as the offending sound is over .. it is like a sigh of relief comes over me and I can just breathe calmly once again. And I feel SO guilty for the hatefulness I just experienced. Especially when it was directed at someone I love! I am just SO happy to know I am not CRAZY and not alone.

I am sooooo relieved! I thought I was crazy! I feel better knowing that I am not alone. I wish there were a cure. It's so hard planning outings. Thinking of being around people chewing gum, clicking their nails, eating, etc makes me not want to leave the house. It helps, a little, knowing I am not alone.

For many years I blamed my mother and sister for this problem......... They would make fun of me, my older sister would hold me down and pop gum in my ears to the point I thought I was going to come apart. Until I watched 20/20 last night I had no idea about what my problem was, it makes it no easier to deal with, just knowing that they didn't make me like this helps. God I hated them so much when they did this to me. People that I love so much can do these thing and throw me into such anger that things in my mind start to happen that I can't even tell you......... They would come to lock me up if they knew what was going through my mind and I could not get away from these sounds, (bad bad thoughts)!! I am 64 now and it has gotten no better!!Clicking of a key pad drives me up the wall!! When in church, if someone is chewing gum it is like a beast is unleashed inside me,I watch the clock knowing that the pastor would be finished and praying he didn't go into over time, otherwise I am a normal life loving person. My mom is now 85 ( Mom, Sis, I forgive you..........If there is any hope for this please...anybody dancarrier4@aol.com

Amazing topic. I thought it was just me. The sound of my mother swallowing or my dad eating made me enraged from the time I was 10 or so. I am now 70 and the sounds of gum chewing, eating with mouth open, loud breathing, tapping fingernails, someone singing to an old song, anyone touching me except my family, people with obese faces, slow talking people, the tone of some peoples voice, the thought or taste of dairy products. It truly has been a struggle all my life to contain my rage over such small things.

@ Jon from Manhattan, I dont hear these people complaining at all. What I hear is a lot of RELIEF from them (along with myself)from finally finding out that there is actually a name and it is actually a condition. The sound of the dog cleaning himself or barking would drive me completely insane and my kids could NOT understand why I would ask them to quit moving their feet or leg with that repetitive motion. Anything repetitive is a huge trigger for me.

Could not believe it I cannot stand sneezing and sniffles....drives me crazy even from my own children. I dont go into a rage but become severely annoyed. My coworkers are aware and if someone sneezes in the office I cannot bless them and God forbid they sneeze more than once! I find myself holding my breath rolling my eyes and waiting for it to end.

I just saw a tv report in passing 20/20and have finally found the name for my affliction. I kinda intuitively figured I was wired differently because I reacted to certain noises that don't bother other people. I have had this since I was a young kid, younger than adolescence. The noises that bother me mostly tend to come from other people: the sounds of other people chewing, crunching, snapping gum,slurping, snoring, breathing. The way some people say certain letters, extremely raspy voices, frogs in the throat, throat clearing,licking, gargling, spitting, knuckle cracking, shuffling feet. Chewing is my worst trigger. It was at one time in my life unbearable and I needed to flee whenever my father started eating. He was quite the masticator! Excrutiating.

Natural and mechanical sounds don't bother me as much and I am usually only bothered by stuff that would bother a "normal person." Over the years I have developed enough coping mechanisms to stay socially engaged. Air conditioning and other white noise, avoidance of situations that would put me in the presence chewing, just gritting my teeth, pacing my own chewing to block out other people's chewing. (I can get thru a movie as long as I have my own popcorn) I'm 52 now and my hearing is not as acute as it used to be, plus I have an i pod and can listen to loud music to block out noises I don't like.

It would have been nice to have known this when I was a kid. I think my Daughter has it too.

I feel like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders. Misery loves company!

For YEARS I thought I was just too picky or over expectant of others or just down right crazy...then I stumbled upon the description of this "disorder"... I saw the cover of Reader's Digest one day and it said something about your pet peeves and do they qualify you as "crazy"...so I read it and low and behold...I found that what I've been suffering from actually has a name. It is such a RELIEF knowing that there are others out there with the same thing...and I ache for each and every one of you because I know it's something we cannot control...our reactions are instant, whether we hold them in for one minute or all day...it's going to go into a direction none of us WANT it to go. I can't stand the popping of gum, the smacking of lips while one is eating or talking, the snoring, the dog chewing on his beloved bone, someone tapping a quarter on the counter repeatively, absentmindedly clicking their pen while working or talking, the repeatitive sighs someone does cause they are bored, the person I'm talking to on the phone yawning over and over again loudly in my ear, the unnecessary rattling of the paper or wrapper of the piece of candy you just popped in your mouth and are loudly sucking on right in front of me...or across the room, or down the hall...I can hear it all. Over dinner in a crowded restaurant, my company is intently listening to me talk and I try to "stay with" the conversation, all the while I hear the clanking of dishes and scrapes of forks and knives and plates throughout the restaurant, the crying baby across the room, the toddler who is banging their silverware on the table and the parents think it's cute or are just happy that the child is at last occupied and the man four tables to the back of me lightly drumming his fingers on the table during his dinner... ALL THIS SENDS ME UP THE WALL....and what can I do? Nothing. Except remove myself from it all. I have left a buggy FULL of items in a store just because I could no longer take the sounds of certain things happening around me, or ACROSS the store. But music soothes me...I like it soft or loud, it doesn't matter...I think it helps drown everything else out to a certain extent...I have a very good ear for music, etc...And I have to agree with some other comments I read (sorry, I can't remember who said what) but I agree things are worse when we are emotionally connected to someone (the snoring, eating, etc...it's all AMPLIFIED). The part I hate the most is that it's annoying...not only to me but my REACTIONS are annoying to them and myself as well. It was suggested to me to go to a hypnotist...has anyone else tried that? Anyway, my heart goes out to you all...I feel your pain...and I hear it as well.

I am so glad I am not the only one who gets irritated with certain sounds. I can't stand to hear chewing, crunching on chips, lettuce, cookies anything that crunches unless I am doing it myself. Chewing gum is okay but not when the person chews with their mouth open or pops the gum or smacking their lips. I don't like when I hear people whistle. I really do not like to hear snoring. I like it in the summer time when I can turn on the air conditioner to drown out my husband's and my pug's snoring because in the winter, I am usually sleeping on the couch. My husband also pops his toes in his sleep, it drives me insane, therefore my average amount of sleep is usually 3 hours. I do not like when people crack their knuckles. I do not like it when I hear someone walking and I can hear their pants rub together. I do not like when someone makes noises like they need to vomit. I toss and turn all night from hearing birds, frogs, crickets or any outdoor sounds. I like being alone alot just to have piece and quiet. I usually let the people who are close around me know that these certain sounds bother me and they normally try not to make these sounds for me, but there are sounds like the snoring that they can't help. I love them for trying their best and I am sure it is hard for them. I just tell them it's not them it's just me that has the problem. I do not like the feet tapping or even a knee jumping up and down at a fast pace while that person is sitting. I don't like it when someone eats with their mouth open. I don't like to hear nail chewing or pen tapping. I feel terrible that I let these things bother me.

Anyone find that its way worse around loved ones?? i do.. i hate slurping, gulping, chewing, anything crunchy makes me want to flee or just sock the persons face in..I ruin every morning with my boyfriend because he swallows wrong,or eats breakfast wrong, or makes too loud of noises. ITS getting worse as i get older! I cant stand when my mom chews gum or gulps her coffee in just that way that makes me have to leave the room or secretly plug my ears. I ve had this since i can remember and my twin sister has it worse than me. i know my aunt had it as well. WHAT do we do for treatment! I think exposing yourself to these horrible noises for a pro-longed period of time and getting used to it would work. I have experimented with this but somehow it doesnt affect me so much when someone does somethingn on purpose for me! involuntary noises by people just make me NUTS!! Oh man . either way more research needs to be done, us misophoniers outta round eachother up and have some kind of big table dinner ! haha

I HATE PEOPLE SUCKING ON SUCKERS AND SMACKING THEIR LIPS, TO JON FROM BROOKLYN DON'T JUDGE TRY WALKING IN OUR SHOES FOR YEARS OF THINKING AM I THE ONLY PERSON I DID NOT CHOOSE FOR THIS JUST LIKE NO BODY ASKS FOR OCCD OR BIPOLAR OR A HEART ATTACK THANKS FOR SHARING

I too have this issue. Started as a child. I have to eat dinner while in front of the TV in order to eat with anyone else in the room.
I also have a very acute ability to hear a persons voice and be able to identify who that person is by voice only.
Also music is very easy for me to memorize by sound only.
wondering if anyone else has this ability as well.

Having had some bad temper over years, I've always thought it was due to my mood swings and just having bad days. after decided to get over this problem and searching for the root causes, I came to realize that I am triggered to bad moods by noise (and some movement). tapping, people laughing, chewing gum, slurping, even the people who drag their feet while walking! I am glad to know I am not alone and that, although on early stages, the disease is being recognized and such and hopefully treatment will come along. Meanwhile I am finding helpful and therapeutic to read stories how many have overcame this issue. Not sure if I am ready to talk to my boss about it but hopefully one day I will!

The problems arising from the nervous system due to different reasons must be treated with sufficient care.

Hello Emily. I want you to know that I have the same problems as you (s, t, c, k, p)dishes clicking and all. The problem that started mine was the fact that I concentrated on the way people spoke, which became a physiological problem for me. I hope that we can contact each other in the future. my email is penn.jermaine@yahoo.com. We can definitely help each other out. It has been a really terrible experience for me and i dont want to live like this alone. Lets share our pain on this

I am so glad this is getting more known out there. At least we have hope for some form of help. I feel I have a really bad case of this. It started when I was 8 years old and was only breathing and chewing noises nothing else. But as I grew it got rapidly worse. I am now 17 years old and I have to say my teenage life has been nothing but torture. My absolute worse triggers are; chewing, breathing, fans, muffled conversations, lip smacking, flip-flops, dishes clicking together, the letters; s, p, q, k , c and t are so terrible to hear in words when someone speaks. That's just a few that are my top worst ones. This is very terrible. I feel so trapped I didn't ask for this, why me is what I keep asking myself?! I can't bare to talk to my mom because when she talks the saliva and lip smacking she makes makes my blood boil and my heart literally palpitates. I feel like when I hear a trigger noise I get this flash of shock, fear anxiety and heat from anger. It gets so powerful and those emotions build up so hard that I feel my whole body shaking from rage and then I lose it it my room I have to cry it out for hours. I actually cried all night and I could not stop I was so distressed over having to hear these noises everyday. I keep wishing 5 would just die so I don't have to live with this anymore because I honestly can't take it anymore I tried everything. I tried earplugs but when I put them they help with the chewing/ breathing noises but they increase the muffled noises and conversations trigger that I have, since the plugs are making everything muffled which is why I seriously can't use ear plugs anymore its just too terrible to do. They only cause another trigger. The only thing that helped somewhat is my mp3 player but its not the best way to cope because I get really bad reactions between songs when there is that little pause where I can hear all the noises. I have no one near me who can understand at all. They just don't and will not get it. I've been told countless times to stop my nonsense but its just not like that. If I could stop this from continuing believe me I would pay anything to get it fixed I would never make this up! I'm not sure how to live I can't stop crying. I feel impulses to bawl me eyes out when I hear a trigger. I go downstairs and get a drink.. seems normal I am feeling somewhat positive and gonna give it my all to cope. As soon as my mom comes near me and talks or eats it all becomes too much and I have to flee away and hate myself. But as I flee and get to my room (which is where I go to escape) I hear 3 more trigger noises. So I feel so trapped and overwhelmed that these noise shave to be the most common noises ever! I can't escape them I wish I was deaf or dead. But I'm really confusing myself because I am so upset about the thought of dying. I truly wish I could of had a normal life.

I have long been bothered by many sounds but as I'm getting older (now 54) and going through menopause/stress, it is much more pronounced. I have many triggers but notice that I have 2 main trigger people in my life. Gum chewing/smacking, eating with the mouth open, the sound of an animal licking itself, breathing, the bathroom exhaust fan, finger tapping or nail clicking, whistling, etc. I have tried to control my reactions to these things but often times finding myself hating the offenders. I'm an otherwise healthy, loving individual having a very hard time keeping inner peace. My own Mother mocks me and intentionally chews and smacks her gum around me, gets a kick out of it and tells me I need to get over it and get some help. This is especially horrible for me when I am stuck in a car with her for any long distance of time, which I will no long do. I did it this past weekend and am still suffering from it.

WOW. Been dealing with this for years - for me it's repetitive coughing and sneezing that drives me mad - and I had no idea there were others with the same issues or even a name for it. Now I don't feel like quite so much a jerk for feeling that way.

My 31 yr.old daughter has this problem with chewing, especially gum and popcorn. During adolescence the dinner table became a disaster watching her become nauseated and irate with me. We thought it was bad behavior. We have since apologized to her and she is beginning the "pink noise" treatment.

Nancy G.

It feels so good to know that I'm not crazy. I get an uncontrollable rage when someone sneezes more than once. It is the worst anger and rage I have ever felt. My parents are the only ones I have mentioned this to and now they apologize to me every time they sneeze. Other sounds annoy me, but the only sound I have had a severe rage reaction to so far is sneezing, although sometimes I think it's going to come on when I hear prolonged coughing too. I hope this doesn't get worse, although I do feel better about it knowing that I'm not crazy. It's a very strange feeling to have such an uncontrollable feeling to a sound made by another person that they can't control. My own sneezing doesn't seem to have the same effect on me.

OMG! have I got this! for over 50 yrs! I am shocked to know it is something that other people have too! I thought it was just ME, as did my husband who has found it extremely difficult to put up with. He thought I was just doing it on purpose to be mean to him, and has cause arguments almost daily in our 30 years of marriage. Just knowing makes such a difference, my husband heard this on news and directed me to look it up, BUT now what??

Gum is my trigger. If someone is chewing their gum without closing their mouths, I flip

My triggers are high-pitched female voices, especially those in big stores over the PA system, soprano singing, and anything resembling Carol Burnett's "Tarzan yell." Also absolutely debilitating are barking dogs and my early morning bouts with tinnitis. Unfortunately, my ultra-sensitivity extends to flashing or flickering lights and rapid-fire imagery on TV or in certain movies. I often wish I were deaf.

I've suffered from this condition for years, and most of the people who knew about it, mainly my family and friends, had no idea, for lack of a better way of putting it, what my problem was. While my misophonia has becoming less acute over the years, I often have feelings of distress and anger upon hearing certain noises, such as sniffling, typing, coughing, etc.

This is not an issue that can be treated by audiologists. Of course an audiologist may be able to offer coping mechanisms but it is important that we get research funding to find a cure. Please make sure to log into the websites noted in the article to get more info and support (and be counted for research funding purposes).
I believe this is more widespread than we know and it's been kept secret out of shame. No more shame: let's get medical!

Even though there are many, many Misophonia sufferers, there are more who say to us, "Just get over it". We only wish we could.

I am 54 (actually today is my 54th birthday). I have suffered from this since the age of 7 or 8. There is never a day I don't encounter a trigger noise of some sort. Typing and eating sounds are the worst for me. I work in a cubicle environment, and must wear headphones 8 hours a day. This often causes me to get tension headaches, from the headphones pressing on my temple and ear area, but there is no way I can go without them. I have seen several family doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists, with no help. I have taken several different anti-depression medications and anti-anxiety medications. I have found nothing to help. It is so good to see someone recognizing this as a real condition.

I've been living in fear of getting a summons for jury duty as I know there's no way I could tolerate being forced to be in a room of other people who might be chewing or sniffling. I've often thought I'd offer to the court to do a couple of days of manual labor for the district rather than to be forced to be in a room with other people who were likely to be making noises I would find INTOLERABLE...

I'm so glad you revisited this topic today - I missed the original piece yesterday while on a plane, also known as a prison for me if trapped beside someone that's a gum-chewer or compulsive crunchy food eater (truth be told, I always try to sneak my ipod during the takeoff and landing). I distinctly remember the onset at about age 12 when I tried to fall asleep as my dad crunched potato chips in the living room, and I'd lay there wanting to throw him and his never-ending can of Pringles through a window (sorry Dad). It does sound so petty and I do my best keeping it in check to minimize shooting daggers with my eyes at offending mouth-breathers and food-smackers, but it's the constant distraction and chest-tightening anxiety that worry me most and cause such a sense of relief that this has a name, I'm not nuts, and maybe there are decent strategies to combat it.

50 years of this annoying me and Jon from Manhattan provides the answer. Now we all know all we have to do is cure ourselves. ;)

Great to know it's a real phenomenon.

Anybody particularly hate the sticky sound of banana eating?

And it's definitely worse with one's mate.

Regardless of the term this is a neurosis and therefore treatable. Stop complaining and heal thyself... or get some help.

The popcorn in the movie theater. Can't do it. Simply can NOT sit in a theater without wanting to kill!

For me, one of the most unbearable noises is the soft, whistle-like sound that is sometimes created when people breathe through their noses. I prefer sleeping next to someone who is snoring!

Thank you SO MUCH for airing this interview -- looks like a LOT of us have been suffering not so silently for too long.

Only wish you hadn't played those awfully annoying clips......

T

I think my wife has misophonia. When you played the loud chewing clip, she jumped up and turned off the radio. When I exclaimed, "You have misophonia!" She denied it and said, these were sounds that everyone finds annoying. She then referenced Steve Reich's WTC 9/11 as another source of unbearable noise.

I definitely have this and it even started at 12 years old, like the article predicts. Chewing, lip smacking, breathing through the nose, slurping, and other noises like stomping on floors, dogs barking, loose manhole covers, etc. It is more than an annoying glitch, it has cost me jobs, friendships, vacations and the ability to work well with people a large part of the time.

When I started in a 12 step program for another issue, I did a 4th and 5th step and realized through that process that the vast majority of time my annoyance at noises were a way of separating myself from people. Proving what I maybe subconsciously thought-that I was better than certain people, or what I even more often though-that I was less than (I would get so angry with myself for being bothered sometimes). Its like my ego had decided that I am different, and I used the eating noises to prove that true. I felt like these noises were happening to me, like I was a victim of it. Every noise that bothered me was something that could conceivably have been controlled by someone. I used to go bananas at the loose manhole covers by my apartment in NYC. So much so that I ended up with the foreman of the gas company's private number to report it. But I would also walk around thinking "why isn't this bothering anyone else!?"With dogs barking I immediately get mad at their human thinking that the dogs needs aren't being met (and I have two dogs-who bark). The worst part of it is that I know enough not to ask people to please stop eating or breathing :), but inside I feel like a crazy person and define myself that way. The only people I ever tell that I am annoyed are my family members (they can tell you all about the family dinners from the time I was 12 years old on), because I take my frustrations out on them knowing they will still love me. But I fear what people will think of me if I ever confront them about their actions that don't have anything to do with me.

Today, I can be around loud gum chewers and breathers and apple eaters, only when I am in a fit spiritual condition. If I feel good about the world and my place in it, I don't think I even notice the noises, and when I do, I can use them as a chance to practice being a part of. If I feel like I am important, like I'm being heard in other areas of my life, then I am pretty fine. But if I'm off kilter, or feeling sorry for myself or lonely or invisible-watch out.

I do believe that there is treatment. For me it was a thorough practice of the 12 steps. My sensitivity to noise las lessened by at least 50% since then. Thank you for this story. I have suffered with this for 28 years and always thought I was unique.

OMG YES! The sound of food smacking while eating, of someone running their hands over fabrics, the sound of metal utensils scraping, and even the way some people say certain words all make me want to scream bloody murder. My ears almost itch and hurt and I find myself irrationally raging. I thought I was alone and weirdly sensitive. Glad there is a term!

How about the prospect of windfarms? Apparently there is a whoosh that, for those of us who are sensitive, can drive you mad. Is there such a thing as surgical deafening? I'd like to be able to turn down my Beltone to drown certain things out.

O! M! G!
My whole family in South Carolina has this problem.

Mind you, people in South Carolina tend to chew quietly. When we travel up north we are in a state of shock and horror because it's not always the norm here.

Anyway, for me, I have a list of people I can only have drinks with. A food smacker will completely ruin a meal for me.

I never go to movies because of the popcorn.

It's really very limiting to have this problem.

I had no idea about this, I just thought I was beyond weird! The sound of raking leaves on the pavement, sweeping with a dry broom, brushing teeth, a nail brush, touching Styrofoam - all literally make my hair stand on end. Even merely thinking of this sound will trigger the hair-on-end response. I can't brush my teeth without an electric toothbrush or the water on full blast to help drown out that unbearable sound.

I'm also a dj/musician and have a similar response to many high-frequency sounds - when I mix, I often eliminate them.

I have always had a problem listening to people brush their teeth. Also, I hate the sound of someone taking a shower.

I thought I was the only one! I hate the sounds of a person eating a crunchy apple, chewing gum, eating with their mouths full. But I do not mind it at all if my dog is eating his meal, chewing his bone.

This is a huge problem for me at work where my next door office mate eats his lunch with his mouth open. I guess it is my problem.

Sam

Wow! I have had this problem since childhood (in early 30s now), and this is the first I am hearing of a term. I have even gotten into fights with people for snapping gum- it makes my blood boil!

How do misophonia and hyperacusis differ, and how can they be treated?

This is wild!
when I was about 12 the sound of my mother swallowing drove me insane. I was horrible to my mom because of it, I can remember at the time thinking I must be going crazy, and that it was abnormal, but I just couldn't STAND it.

WOW. My ex suffered from this. Crunchy foods, dogs barking way way way out of anyone else's range of hearing, and (god forbid) gum snapping on the subway would set his pulse racing and send his blood pressure sky high. I can't wait to listen to this segment!