What is misophonia and why some people are annoyed by sounds

What is misophonia

This is when the sounds that other people make causeA. Schröder, G. van Wingen, N. Eijsker et al. Misophonia is associated with altered brain activity in the auditory cortex and salience network / Scientific Reports a strong negative reaction in a person. If someone, for example, chews loudly, clicks a pen, smack his lips, crunches his fingers or breathes, misophones are not just irritated: they feel real disgust and can even get angry.

From Greek "misophony" is translated as "hatred of sound."

At the same time, you need to understand that misophonia is not a sign of a bad character, but a real problem. People who experience it are aware that their reaction is over-reacting, but there is nothing they can do about it when they lose control.

According to the most common versionA. Schröder, G. van Wingen, N. Eijsker et al. Misophonia is associated with altered brain activity in the auditory cortex and salience network / Scientific Reports

This is due to excessive activity in the auditory cortex and the significance-eliciting network. The first is responsible for processing sound, the second - for the selection of stimuli coming from the senses. If these areas of the brain are overly receptive, sounds can trigger very violent reactions.

Scientists have paid attention to misophonia relatively recently, now it is not yet completelyA. Schröder, G. van Wingen, N. Eijsker et al. Misophonia is associated with altered brain activity in the auditory cortex and salience network / Scientific Reports studied. The term itself first becameD. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychology used in the late 1990s - early 2000s by American scientists Margaret and Powell Yastreboff.

Misophonia cannot be called a disease or disorder, there is no such diagnosis. It is not included5 Ways to Cope with Sensitivity to Sound / Cleveland Clinic neither the International Classifier of Diseases (ICD-10) nor the authoritative American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

Where does misophonia come from?

Usually misophonia manifests itselfD. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychology in adolescence. Also, scientists have found that it may be associated with other disorders of sound perception. For example, it is known that about 60% of patients with tinnitus or ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and a significant proportion of people with hypersensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis) also suffer from misophonia.

The exact reasons for its occurrence are unknown, but there are several versions.

1. Violation 1. S. Kumar, O. Tansley-Hancock, W. Sedley et al. The Brain Basis for Misophonia / Current Biology
   2. A. Schröder, G. van Wingen, N. Eijsker et al. Misophonia is associated with altered brain activity in the auditory cortex and salience network / Scientific Reports the work of the parts of the brain responsible for the emotional processing of sound. Because of this, fairly neutral sounds are perceived as meaningful stimuli and trigger a fight-or-flight response.
2. Mental disorders. There isD. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychology studies that show that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, or anxiety are more likely to develop misophonia. In these diseases, the standard mechanism of reaction to sounds can be disrupted: the brain unconsciously takes them for danger signals.
3. Excessive reactionsS. Kumar, O. Tansley-Hancock, W. Sedley et al. The Brain Basis for Misophonia / Current Biology in the areas of the brain responsible for the perception of movements. The sound provokes memories of an action and the negative emotions associated with it.

How to understand that a person has misophonia

There are no generally accepted methods for detecting misophonia: experts are still developingD. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychology specialized questionnaires and audio tests. Therefore, its presence can be assumed only by sensations.

Every person with misophonia has a unique response to annoying sounds - they are called "triggers"D. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychology. He can experience a wide range of emotions: disgust, anger, anxiety, panic, fear, stress, anxiety, impatience. In this case, unpleasant sensations may arise even before a person realizes their cause.

Also, misophonia is sometimes accompanied by pressing chest pains, increased heart rate and sweating, and even unpleasant tactile Feel. For example, a tingling sensation under the skin. Some people may even feel as if their blood is boiling when they hear a trigger sound.M. S. Lener, J. R. Evans. Understanding Misophonia: When Everyday Sounds Cause Distress / Healthline.

Such a violent reaction is most often provoked by sounds:

• chewing;
• breathing;
• champing;
• swallowing;
• cough;
• clearing the throat;
• smacking lips;
• sniffing;
• puffing;
• snoring;
• tapping;
• typing;
• letters;
• and many others, such as the knocking of a spoon on a plate while eating.

How to deal with misophonia

There are no generally accepted methods of getting rid of misophoniaD. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychology, however, you can try to alleviate your condition. Here's what it recommends5 Ways to Cope with Sensitivity to Sound / Cleveland Clinic Dr. Scott B, who treats psychological problems related to sound perception.

1. Don't isolate yourself from unpleasant sounds

As practice shows, the avoidance strategy only aggravates intolerance to sounds, and does not help to fight misophonia. The more you try to isolate yourself from triggers, the more suffering, fear, or irritation they then cause.

In general, try not to worry about things you can't control and think of unpleasant sounds as something that doesn't matter to you.

2. Listen to unpleasant sounds on purpose

Instead of avoiding sound, it is best to systematically expose yourself to it. This strategy works well in conjunction with relaxation and awareness. Here is one of them.

Sit in a comfortable position and concentrate on your breathing. If you find that you are not following your in-and-out breaths, let the distractions pass through you and focus on your breathing again. The essence of this method is to allow things to be as they are, to observe them, and not to try to fix them.

Find YouTube videos of people chewing, yawning, or breathing - in general, doing things that provoke you. Turn on the roller and continue to monitor your breathing. Listen until your patience runs out at least half. Try to concentrate on the sound is not dangerous. Then try to perceive it as unimportant.

Yes, it will not become pleasant anyway, but at least you will understand that this is just a sound and there is nothing wrong with it.

3. Try to be less nervous.

The less aroused or anxious you are, the less misophonia will affect you. Before you fight her, try get rid of from stress, anxiety and depression. Do everything in your power: see a specialist or build relationships with those with whom you are at odds.

4. Find support

You can, for example, talk to loved ones, ask them to support you. And you can find people with the same or similar violations. It will be easier to deal with the problem together.

5. Contact a specialist

If all of the above does not help, you should find a good psychiatrist or psychotherapist. He will more accurately determine the cause of the discomfort, because misophonia can easily be confused with other disorders, for example, with hyperacusis.

You can also go to a regular therapist. If he himself does not understand your problem, he will send you to a narrower specialist in audiology, psychology or neurology, who will recommend how to alleviate the condition.

Today there are two known ways to help people with misophonia. First - cognitive behavioral therapy. This method was first triedA. E. Schröder, N. C. Vulink, A. J. van Loon et al. Cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in misophonia: An open trial / Journal of Affective Disorders Dutch researchers in 2017. 48% of patients felt better after eight sessions.

Together with the therapist, they tried to understand what exactly provokes their intolerance to sounds? and learned to control it. For example, they worked through their anger and tried to control it. Other methods of similar treatment suggestD. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychology develop tolerance and acceptance.

The second is Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), a special therapy designed for patients with tinnitus (tinnitus or ringing in the ears). Scientists believeD. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychologythat it can help with misophonia too. TRT aims to get people used to annoying sounds.

During the consultation, the doctor and the patient determine the triggers, and on the basis of this, individualized audio therapy is developed. Its goal is to "accustom" a person to unpleasant sounds at the level of subconsciousness and reflexes. For example, turn them on at the same time as background noise. The treatment lasts from 9 to 18 months. With TRT, 83–86% of patients report improvement.

Some experts prescribeD. B. Palumbo, O. Alsalman, D. De Ridder et al. Misophonia and Potential Underlying Mechanisms: A Perspective / Frontiers in Psychology with misophonia antidepressants and tranquilizers, which are used for depression and anxiety. But there is no scientific evidence base for this type of treatment.