# Misophonia - What is it?



## Tatiana Gordeeva (Aug 10, 2021)

https://www.brainpost.co/weekly-brainpost/2021/8/10/misophonia-a-hatred-of-specific-sounds


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## Living Fossil (Aug 10, 2021)

lol, witnessing people who chew with their mouth open drives me crazy.
I can't absolutely stand that.
The sound of pan flutes is really painful too.


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## cuttime (Aug 10, 2021)

Anyone who eats while wearing a microphone headset is guilty of a capital offence.


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## Ross Sampson (Aug 10, 2021)

I have misophonia! Chewing is certainly one of the main triggers and depending what the situation is something will have to give ha. Either I'll be out of there or depending who it is and how well a diplomatic approach would seem to fair. In fact, having it as a bonified 'thing' with a name recognised in the scientific world has made navigating that kind of thing a lot easier. It can come across as very personal when you have to leave the room because of what someone is doing when it's no-one's fault. Public transport I'll just get up and move instantly.

Other sounds too but they don't quite elicit the severity of response chewing does. Funny ol' thing, it becomes 100% consuming and simply impossible to endure.

Very interested to see what neurological studies conjure up, but spoke with a specialist in neurology who said we're likely 50 odd years away from being able to specifically quantify such stuff in the brain. It's just so disproportionately servere it's kind of funny, but in the moment not so fun. 

Thanks for sharing @Tatiana Gordeeva , very cool to hear it's gaining traction with researchers!


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## janila (Aug 10, 2021)

Living Fossil said:


> The sound of pan flutes is really painful too.


How about steel drums aka pans? I just realized that in addition to my hatred the two instruments also share a name.


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Aug 10, 2021)

How about slurping coffee or other liquids? Arggggh!


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## Living Fossil (Aug 10, 2021)

janila said:


> How about steel drums aka pans? I just realized that in addition to my hatred the two instruments also share a name.


No allergic reaction to steel drums here...There are even some contexts where i like them.
But i've heard once a recording of a real steel drum orchestra playing some symphonic music. it was a very strange experience...


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## Living Fossil (Aug 10, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> How about slurping coffee or other liquids? Arggggh!


I'm ok with slurping, specially when it's exaggerated. Soft mouth noises are painful.


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## Ross Sampson (Aug 10, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> How about slurping coffee or other liquids? Arggggh!


Ah no is that a trigger for you? Thankfully not here. Don't get me wrong it's very annoying and unpleasant, but doesn't trigger the misophonia response for me!

As far as I know there are no reported cases of musical or tonal triggers which is good. The artical writes some researchers suggest non-human created sounds are triggers though which I'd echo on an anecdotal basis, though for me not as severe.


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## rnb_2 (Aug 10, 2021)

My dad had an extreme sensitivity to the sound of metal utensils hitting porcelain/china bowls and plates - said it was like a bolt of lightning in his brain. We had to use plastic bowls or be very careful when we were eating.


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## Saxer (Aug 10, 2021)

After my sudden hearing loss 20 years ago I couldn't stand those porcelain hitting noises too! I couldn't empty the dish washer without ear plugs. It became better after a couple of month.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Aug 10, 2021)

I think I have that. I generally dislike noise, but some sounds make me just incredibly disproportionally angry. Really weird. Sometimes I really have to cointain myself and was close to punching somebody on a number of occasions.

Obviously any type of consumption related mouth noise is a big one. The sound of electronic bass in pop, electronic and "party" music makes me really really angry. Rustling with paper bags. The sound dishes make when you let them clank on each other. And some others.


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Aug 10, 2021)

rnb_2 said:


> My dad had an extreme sensitivity to the sound of metal utensils hitting porcelain/china bowls and plates - said it was like a bolt of lightning in his brain. We had to use plastic bowls or be very careful when we were eating.


I know a guy who abruptly left his own wedding dinner when people started hitting utensils on glassware and plates asking for a speech. No, it was not _my_ husband 

Or maybe the guy was glossophobic ?? 

About that Seinfeld famously said that


> According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that seem right? That means to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.


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## cuttime (Aug 10, 2021)

Living Fossil said:


> I'm ok with slurping, specially when it's exaggerated. Soft mouth noises are painful.


This is me and ASMR.


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Aug 11, 2021)

cuttime said:


> This is me and ASMR.


Aren't ASMR sounds supposed to relax people?


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## Living Fossil (Aug 11, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> Aren't ASMR sounds supposed to relax people?


They absolutely are...there are plenty of YT channels full of it. But i guess the relaxation doesn't work for everyone with every source.
(i like e.g. the sound when someone sweeps leaves or similar)


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Aug 11, 2021)

Apparently, a woman softly whispering in Russian is a very soothing ASMR sound for many people! I know at least one such case! 

The article continues:


> The importance of newer academic intentions behind ASMR and misophonia studies is that they could possibly be linked in their levels of synaesthesia, which is the neurological phenomenon of having a physiological connection and predisposition toward certain sounds that should otherwise not produce this response organically.


Interesting!


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Aug 11, 2021)

"ASMR" is ridiculous. It's just one of those stupid fads. Generally most things labeled ASMR I find highly irritating and/or disgusting.


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## b_elliott (Aug 11, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> Apparently, a woman softly whispering in Russian is a very soothing ASMR sound for many people! I know at least one such case!
> 
> The article continues:
> 
> Interesting!


Thanks for reminding me of this masterpiece: John Cleese speaking Russian in The Fish Called Wanda. The theatre I watched this movie completely ROTF-lost it. Link = NSFW, just sayin'....


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Aug 11, 2021)

Jimmy Hellfire said:


> "ASMR" is ridiculous. It's just one of those stupid fads. Generally most things labeled ASMR I find highly irritating and/or disgusting.


My guess is that most so-called ASMR channels on YT are just viewers collectors aiming for quick and easy YT money but to the question "Is ASMR even real?" the respected _Scientific American_ magazine responds that the short answer is "Yes":









Is ASMR Real or Just a Pseudoscience?


Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is all the rage lately. Is it real? Is there something special about people who have it?




www.scientificamerican.com





There seems to be an observable neurological response. I cannot argue either way but I keep my mind open


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Sep 2, 2021)

UPDATE: According to recent research, _misophonia _seems to come from a neural misconnection between the auditory cortex and the facial motor cortex via mirror neurons.

_The researchers suggest that misophonia is so uncomfortable because it feels like an intrusion into the brain when this mirroring happens._

It can also be cured/helped the same way: using mimicry. This might explain why I've seen many people (mostly old people) mimicking chewing while watching somebody else chewing next to them, maybe to minimize their discomfort... or just because they're hungry! 

Similar research into _misokinesia_, the hatred of other people's movements, like repeatedly moving a foot, seems to indicate a similar origin, a defective pathway between the _visual _cortex and motor system. 6-20% of the population suffers from misophonia and up to 33% from misokinesia.


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## kgdrum (Sep 2, 2021)

For me the sound of a teacher writing with chalk on the chalkboard when I was a kid drove me right up the effin wall!
My hatred for the school environment I’m sure was a contributing factor but I suspect today if I came up with that sound programming a synth I’d be thrilled! 😂


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## MaxOctane (Sep 3, 2021)

If you are writing with a crappy graphite pencil on a single piece of paper with nothing padding underneath to cushion the pfff-pfff-pfff-pfff sound of the pencil, I will punch you.


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## Pincel (Sep 3, 2021)

ASMR stuff, I can't stand that crap. Good lord, I don't understand how people find that soothing... For me it fills my mind with anger and disgust xD


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## osterdamus (Sep 3, 2021)

Haha, wasn't really convinced much myself. The cashgrab feel on YT is strong. Nevertheless I hired someone to make a few ASMR oriented phrases (essentially just speaking close to a mic) to a track with a coffee theme (yep, coffee is so hot right now (see what I did?)). Mixed it yesterday and listened with fresh ears this morning... 😄🤷🏼‍♂️


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## Wirebird (Sep 3, 2021)

Sitting on a bus or a train being forced to hear people’s Messenger pling sound every other minute can make me want to murder. So I use in-ear headphones to block it out.
Equally annoying is people watching Youtube videos or listening to music on their phone speakers, primarily because of its distorted “broken speaker”-sound.

The use of smartphones have created an intolerable world for me, and although a lot of people are considerate, putting their phone on mute or using headphones, equally many seem to lack a brain.
Imagine being on a train with ten people dinging a triangle every minute. 😄 They would have been thrown off the train. But smartphones have slowly made us accept lots of stuff that we otherwise wouldn’t have tolerated.

Because of my ADHD, I am sensitive to certain sounds as well as blinking lights. It’s actually very common.

Replying to topics on this forum on my iphone is very annoying, because of the blinking ad banners that are just below. They even blink through the keyboard, since it’s a bit translucent. I have searched high and low for a way to turn the blinking ads off on this forum.


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## Gerbil (Sep 3, 2021)

I don't watch a number of TV shows like Masterchef because of the diabolical background music. Let's ramp up the tension with some action music while someone bastes a spatchcock chicken. It drives me nuts!

Also, Masterchef is crap.


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Sep 3, 2021)

Wirebird said:


> Replying to topics on this forum on my iphone is very annoying, because of the blinking ad banners that are just below. They even blink through the keyboard, since it’s a bit translucent. I have searched high and low for a way to turn the blinking ads off on this forum.


I even forgot that there were ads on this forum. I use Brave as my browser on all my platforms (Android, iOS, Windows). I never see ads and it's based on Chromium, like Chrome, but faster since it doesn't load all the ad crap. It's also recognized as the safest and most private of all browsers.

Note: this is NOT an ad for Brave. I really use and love it.  I hesitated at first but now, after several years of using it, I will not go back to any other browsers including Chrome or  Microsoft Edge, the worst of all of them!



​


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## Wirebird (Sep 3, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> I even forgot that there were ads on this forum. I use Brave as my browser on all my platforms (Android, iOS, Windows). I never see ads and it's based on Chromium, like Chrome, but faster since it doesn't load all the ad crap. It's also recognized as the safest and most private of all browsers.
> 
> Note: this is NOT an ad for Brave. I really use and love it.  I hesitated at first but now, after several years of using it, I will not go back to any other browsers including Chrome or  Microsoft Edge, the worst of all of them!
> 
> ...


Thanks, 🙏 just tried it and the only way I could make it stop showing blinking ads on this forum (iOS), was by disabling scripts. Unfortunately this also disabled being able to reply to posts. Maybe I missed some setting?


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Sep 3, 2021)

Wirebird said:


> Thanks, 🙏 just tried it and the only way I could make it stop showing blinking ads on this forum (iOS), was by disabling scripts. Unfortunately this also disabled being able to reply to posts. Maybe I missed some setting?


I sent you my settings but I didn't do anything special and, obviously, still can post  (now from my Android tablet)


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## tressie5 (Jul 13, 2022)

People have often asked me what's the difference between misophonia vs simply not tolerating sounds since the latter is fairly common. Depending on the person, I usually say something like, "With misophonia, you want to unsheathe a broadsword and decapitate the noisy offender." A little extreme, yes, but misophonia sufferers understand it.


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## Soundhound (Jul 13, 2022)

i fear i may be a misophone. drives me nuts, and that’s a short drive…


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## Elrik Settee (Jul 13, 2022)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> https://www.brainpost.co/weekly-brainpost/2021/8/10/misophonia-a-hatred-of-specific-sounds


I'm misophonic and edamamephonic and tamariphonic


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## Elrik Settee (Jul 13, 2022)

tressie5 said:


> People have often asked me what's the difference between misophonia vs simply not tolerating sounds since the latter is fairly common. Depending on the person, I usually say something like, "With misophonia, you want to unsheathe a broadsword and decapitate the noisy offender." A little extreme, yes, but misophonia sufferers understand it.


heavy metal vocals. 

pass me the big sword,


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## NekujaK (Jul 13, 2022)

There are some TV channels that only run old TV shows, and they ridiculously over-compress all audio on everything they broadcast. I can't listen for more than a minute.

Fortunately, you don't hear this much anymore, but the buzzing of flourescent lights used to permeate most public buildings, and would drive me crazy.

Any out of phase stereo audio has the potential to induce nausea in me.


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## Tommy Maldonado (Aug 16, 2022)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> UPDATE: According to recent research, _misophonia _seems to come from a neural misconnection between the auditory cortex and the facial motor cortex via mirror neurons.
> 
> _The researchers suggest that misophonia is so uncomfortable because it feels like an intrusion into the brain when this mirroring happens._
> 
> ...


Never knew how is it called


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