Misophonia help and advice

By:Liesbeth Keuninckx

If you ever find yourself getting angry at the sound of someone else chewing loudly, or your blood pressure rises when you’re stuck in a room with a mouth breather, then you might have misophonia.

Misophonia is an intense hatred of sounds, like chewing, tapping, lip smacking, and loud breathing, which cause people with misophonia to feel irritable, anxious or angry when they hear them. While some people with misophonia can go around their daily business (albeit with gritted teeth when they hear a triggering noise), for some people, misophonia can have a significant impact on their day-to-day life. It may cause them to avoid situations where they might encounter triggering noises, leading them to feel isolated and socially withdrawn.

But luckily, this doesn’t need to be the way. There are techniques to manage misophonia, and improve your overall quality of life – and we’ve gathered together all the misophonia tips you need in one place.

What is misophonia?

Misophonia is a type of noise sensitivity that’s characterized by an intense emotional reaction to specific sounds, which can lead to feelings of anger, anxiety and disgust. It’s different from other conditions like phonophobia, which is a fear of loud sounds – and it’s also different from hyperacusis, which is noise sensitivity that results in physical pain in the ears.

Understanding misophonia

Misophonia isn’t widely understood – but it’s generally thought that it’s a psychological condition rather than a problem with your ears. One study found that the parts of the brain responsible for long-term memories and fear are activated when people with misophonia hear trigger sounds.

Another study found that the condition is linked to irregular brain connectivity and a larger amygdala – the part of the brain that’s responsible for processing emotions, emotional behavior and motivation.

That means that, if you have misophonia, you probably don’t need to get your hearing checked – it’s more likely that it comes down to the way your brain processes sounds, and your emotional reactions to them.

Dealing with misophonia

If you want to know how to treat misophonia, there are several recommended treatments:

Tinnitus retraining therapy: this helps people to cope better with their trigger sounds, so they have a less extreme reaction
Cognitive behavioral therapy and talking therapies: to change your mindset when it comes to dealing with annoying sounds
Counterconditioning therapy, which focuses on changing someone’s response to a stimulus

And if you want to know how to deal with misophonia in the moment, you can try relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercises and mindfulness. You may also want to try using noise-reducing earplugs to take the edge off sounds. It’s not recommended that you wear earplugs all the time, as it could make things worse in the long run. But they can be extremely effective in building up your tolerance to trigger noises.