Misophonia: Hatred of sound

[4:49]

Misophonia. Is it real? If so, what is it? Is it the Hatred of Sound? Why does it cause a fight or flight response?

Many of you have reached out about this and to be honest, I had just had a friend of mine ask me if I had treated anyone with it.
Misophonia is not a mental disorder and is not found in the DSM. Misophonia is defined as the hatred of sound. People who struggle with this find everyday annoying sounds (like smacking gum, dragging feet, clicking pens, etc) so upsetting that it can send them into a rage. They will hit people, scream, run away and lash out at those making the sound! What we know so far about this issue is that some noises (there is a list on misophonia.com) are so upsetting to people with misophonia that they go into “fight or flight” mode in their brain. They feel so scared/upset by these noises that they feel they must make them stop at any cost.

Since we don’t know that much about this yet, and there aren’t any tried and true treatment methods they talk mostly about behavioral techniques working. Such as bringing headphones or earplugs with you everywhere and avoiding situations with those noises as much as possible. They also talked about how helpful it can be to tell those close to us about it so that they can be more aware of themselves and the noises they make. If you have any other information or experience with this, please share below! Just because something isn’t that well known or isn’t in the DSM doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist or isn’t an issue. The more we share and learn from each other the better!

[Source: Kati Morton YouTube link]