Misophonia

[Daisy Dukes]

Do you get a fight or flight response to certain sounds or actions?
Do normal everyday sounds or actions that you know to be normal, but make you crazy with anger?
Do you find yourself isolating yourself from the people you love when they eat or breathe or move?

If you relate to any of these questions, you may be suffering from, and I do mean Suffering from...a condition called Misophonia.

I have been living with this for more than 30 years, and I can assure all those those people that do not relate, that it is a serious condition that has yet to be recognised by the masses. Although I am not an expert in this condition,I am a victim of it and have always known it wasn't normal. So I have been researching it for several years now, and feel that I am at a point where I am able to offer advice and much needed sympathy and understanding.

Due to the fact that I I know first hand how debilitating Misophonia is, and how totally isolating it can be I have decided to open myself up to questions and discussion on all things that relate to Misophonia.

Misophonia (A Hatred Of Sounds) can be a debilitating condition and can result in a very miserable existence for more people than you can imagine, it not only affects the victim, but also the people in their lives.

If writing about this on an open forum makes you uncomfortable, then please do call me for a chat, even just to know you are not alone. You are not alone.

Sam: 05338331292

For the jokers out there, I know and appreciate the funny side of this, and to be honest, I have made more than my fair share of jokes, but I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to be mindful of the people that do actually suffer from this and try to understand how difficult is to sit next to the person you love with all your heart listening to them eat....

[jofra]

Do you get a fight or flight response to certain sounds or actions?
Do normal everyday sounds or actions that you know to be normal, but make you crazy with anger?....

While not quite such an 'extreme'(?) reaction, I can certainly accept - and personally confirm - that various sounds can cause (at the least) distress and/or discomfort - in my case, when my OH or I used a certain vacuum cleaner, usually no problems - but if/when I was in a particular room, and my OH was using that particular vacuum - the sound/noise was (to me) intolerable (resulting in arguments!) - other vacuums, no problem - explain that!
Anyone who has not experienced this will probably not understand and/or find it amusing - it is, to some degree, but not completely.... (a bit like fingernails on a blackboard...)

[Kath899]

I also suffer with this condition it causes arguements around my family saying omg why can’t you just block it out or stop being ridiculous when I resort to headphones during mealtimes when my family comes to stay.

[Daisy Dukes]

Kath. Unfortunately arguments around the dinner table are the number one problem.

Normally Misophonia kicks in around the age of 13, and is therefore dismissed as a kid acting up. An interesting thing to note is that the first person to do the triggering, is quite often a loved one, like a mother or a father or a sibling. For me it was my mother, and although I was enormously careful not to upset her as I really did love her, I would find myself absolutely loathing the way she ate...but she didn't do anything wrong, it was all me. sadly she passed away before I could tell her why I was like this, and it will forever haunt me.

Jofra. Your case sounds more like a sound sensitivity problem, For example. Most people hate consistent sounds, like cars driving past, dogs barking in the background, or nails scratching a blackboard. For most misophonics, these sounds although maybe irritating, they wont necessarily trigger the fight or flight response.

There is a chap on YouTube called Tom Dozier, who explains this condition wonderfully, and I would recommend for everyone to have a browse through his clips. For those that have Misophonia, you will find tips on how to explain this condition to your loved ones without hurting their feelings. And for those that have never heard of it...it maybe rather eye opening and could explain someones reactions to you.

Even if you have no idea what this condition is about, I urge you to take a look at his channel...start at the beginning...What Is Misophonia.

And do please let me know what you think.