Hatred of sound: Misophonia.

Have you ever thought that hearing other people’s chewing can be disturbing to the level of a disease? … When I learned from Mercede that there are barely 40 scientific articles published on misophonia the world (her opinion) on this topic, I thought, this simply can not be. How is it possible that in all this detailed investigation of human body to which research progressed until now, only few studies have been made? This is Research on Brain (and its related parts) month on Researchista. Let’s get to learn about something one day, one of us or someone we know could experience. At least we will know what’s it called.

Misophonia is a relatively new neurobehavioral syndrome or disease. It is characterized by high hearing sensitivity that research shows it can result from exposure to specific sounds like gum chewing, lip smacking, crunching, etc.

Originally, it was described by Pawel and Margarette Jastreboff (2001) . They say that individuals with misophonia show increased physical excitement like sweating, heart racing, high body temprature, which are along with emotional distress. It seems majority of these sounds are repetitive and pattern-based, irrespective of sound strength (decibel level).

The potential triggers that can cause misophonia can be:other people’s chewing, throat clearing, slurping, finger tapping, foot shuffling, keyboard tapping, and pen clicking. These sound triggers vary across individuals, and suggesting that learning history, individual differences, and context may play a role in aversive responding.

When facing with misophonic triggers individuals also show behavioral responses that often include anger (ranging from irritation to rage), anxiety, and disgust, avoidance, and escape behavior. (called “misophonic responses”).

It is important to know that some individuals can have impairments in daily functioning (e.g., occupationally, interpersonally, academically) and the can develop other behavioral health problems due to misophonia. A group of investigated individuals that have misophonia have developed ways to cope with it, but still report that the condition is very difficult to manage and negatively affects various aspects of their lives.

Misophonia has not been formally recognized (yet?) as a specific type of neurological, audiological, or psychiatric disorder. However, it has shown high co-occurring appearances? with-non-psychiatric and psychiatric disorders (e.g., tinnitus, hyperacusis, migraine headaches, autism spectrum disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder).

Here at .. Amsterdam… we would like to raise awareness and lead more research in this area. Although, the Netherlands has been very active, the country where this topic has been discussed much more widely than in other parts of the world, we realise that not many know about and would like to carry more research in this area. If it happens that you know neuroscientists or .. or simply wish to learn more about and support our raising awareness campaign, do that here (link gogo)

To be continued…

Post written by Mercede Erfanian, Research Fellow

International Misophonia Research Network (Amsterdam).

With love for Research,