The Misofonía Is one of the conditions that imply low tolerance to sound, in conjunction with hyperacusis and The phonophobia .
In people with misoponia, the body reacts in certain ways when it is exposed to certain sound stimuli.
It increases the frequency of the heartbeat, a cold sweat appears, and the person feels very irritated to hear those sounds that alter him so much: He really wants to run away so he does not have to hear any more.
This physical reaction is due to an association of Negative emotions With these sounds, which have no special physical characteristics (they do not have to Be very sharp, very serious or very strong), unlike what happens in hyperacusis, for example.
People with hyperacusis do not tolerate loud noises, because their auditory pathways are more sensitive than those of the general population.
But in the case of the misophony, as we said, the sounds have been associated with negative emotions and that is why this unpleasant reaction in the organism.
People who do not suffer from misoponia often find it difficult to understand how someone who is suffering from this disorder feels.
If it is your case, look at the following:
Think about what you feel when someone spreads a chalkboard. That unpleasant and sharp noise surely gives you goosebumps, like most People, and you want with all your might to end soon.
For people with misofonía have a sensation much more intense than that when hearing certain daily noises, so that they really feel Very bad several times in the day.
How does the misophone work?
You're probably wondering why some people react that way by listening to common sounds while others do not even pay attention to them.
Or why in a person with misophony a great negative reaction is triggered in their body when they hear certain habitual sounds, but it does not happen to them Nothing to hear other noises, even if they are very sharp, serious or strong.
Well look at the following:
The process of hearing basically includes two stages: in the first the ear receives the sounds, transforms them into an electric impulse and the same travels until The brain through the neurons that form the nerves.
In the second stage this impulse is interpreted by the brain in different ways, giving importance to that sound or not. If the brain decides not to Is an important sound, then it will be as if we did not listen to it.
That is why the mother of a small baby is able to sleep soundly during a great storm with thunder, but she wakes up when she hears a weak moan of her son.
Brain Begins to give importance to some sounds and not to pay too much attention to others throughout an apprenticeship.
Some sounds, such as the sound of a shot or a loud rumble, are interpreted by the brain as a reason for alarm, and the body prepares itself for "Fight or flight": it raises the adrenaline, increase the heartbeat, the anxiety increases, etc.
What happens in cases of misofonía is that for some reason, sounds as common as those of chewing or talking trigger in people this Unpleasant"fight or flight"reaction.
The brain mistakenly interprets these sounds as threatening and that is why symptoms of irritability, aggression and anxiety appear in people Who suffer from this condition.
The misofonía can alter your life
In severe cases, the misofonía can interfere with a person's daily activities and prevent him from leading a normal life.
Imagine the following:
You sit at the table to have breakfast with your family. But soon after starting, the noise that makes your partner chewing the toast is so irritating that you have to Get up and get out of there.
Or you're at work, the boss calls you to his office to talk about a major issue, but he bangs his pen repeatedly over a pile of papers And makes a repetitive noise,"tic, tic, tic"that, directly, makes you crazy.
These are just two examples of how misofonia can interfere with a person's life and bitter the day.
But there are many more.
That is why it is important that all cases of misofonía are properly diagnosed and treated. And for this to happen, it is essential that there be more Information available, let people know more about this condition.
If you think you have misofonía or you know someone who could be suffering from this condition, then continue reading, in this article you will find important information.
Symptoms of misophonia
When you hear the sounds that irritate you, you feel disgust, irritability, discomfort.
Tachycardia, cold sweat, restlessness.
Panic attacks .
Unwilling to move away from the source of sound.
Aggressive behaviors towards the person who produces it, anger, anger.
No one seems to notice how bad you feel when you hear those sounds.
There may also be visual stimuli that trigger these symptoms.
Almost any sound can be the one that provokes these responses in a person with misofonía, even some sounds can be added or (not so Frequently) to leave the list at the end of the time.
In many cases, the sounds produced by people very close to the affected are the main triggers. For this reason, the misof Can complicate the family and social life of those who suffer from this condition.
Another peculiar aspect of the misofonía is that some people feel the need to imitate with mime what they hear, when hearing the sound that triggers Their symptoms. Mime in this case is an automatic phenomenon, not conscious, that helps the person to decrease the intensity of their symptoms.
Misfonía triggers
Here are some of the most frequent triggers of misopause symptoms:
Sounds when eating or chewing, sounds of the mouth . The noises that people sometimes make when they chew something crisp, when they have chewing gum in their mouths and talk at the same time, when The soup, the noises of the cutlery when they collide with each other or with the plate, the sounds that are produced when kissing, when clearing or yawning, are Frequent stimuli in people with misof.
Sounds of the nose . When sneezing, wiping the nose with a tissue, the sound of the air passing through a congested nose, hiccups, are also sounds that Usually irritate the people who suffer from this problem.
Voices . Some people produce some buzzing or wheezing when talking, and this can be very annoying for someone with misof. Other possible Triggers of this type include nasal voices, people who speak as in a whisper, very serious voices, whistles, etc.
Environmental sounds. The one that occurs when typing on the PC keyboard or the mouse click, the sound of newspaper paper when turning pages, sounds of bags Supermarket, car alarms, ticking a clock, noise from the refrigerator, vacuum or air conditioned.
Radio or TV at high volume, the sound of a basketball bouncing, a baby crying, the screams of children playing, anyway, the list is
Really very long.
Visual stimuli. Some people with misofonía also react to certain visual stimuli, when they observe someone chewing gum, Twisting a strand of hair, or performing any other repetitive motion.
Causes of misofonía
It is unclear exactly what the causes of misoponia are, but it is believed that certain experiences in childhood could predispose people to To suffer misofonía, because in those experiences would associate negative emotions to certain sounds.
For example, some patients report that their disorder probably began to settle as children and listened to the sounds their children made. Relatives in the meal, which caused them a deep dislike.
It is easy to imagine that as these stimuli continued to appear, the person was internalizing a negative emotional response, which in the end Of a few years is transformed into misofonía.
Another theory indicates that misophony could be part of another Hyperactivity To certain sensory stimuli.
This may explain why some people also react to visual stimuli.
There are researchers who think that the misofonía can be provoked, in some cases, by a certain personality disorder Which decreases Tolerance to the"little educated"noises that people usually do.
People with this disorder may be aggressive towards the person who produces the sounds, as they also lack inhibition in certain Behaviors.
In general, what is observed is a preoccupation or obsession focused on certain sounds, with an aggressive impulsive component or evasive behaviors. These Aspects have not yet been explained with a single causal model, as experts say.
In short, it is not yet clear why people with misofia react so poorly to such everyday sounds.
Treatments for the misofonía
Some people simply try to avoid the sounds that cause their symptoms, or listen to music with headphones when sitting at the table for example, or At work, not to listen to others chewing or the voices of their co-workers.
But on many occasions this is not enough. Not everyone has the ability to use headphones and listen to music at work.
So you have to look for A solution to the problem . Although many people suffer from this condition, the misophony is not yet a very serious disease. Known and undoubtedly it is necessary to carry out more investigations to know its causes and to find effective treatments.
However, people with misoponia usually undergo one or more of the treatments listed below, with greater or lesser Degree of success:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
In this type of treatment the therapist looks for two things. First, that you can little by little To control anxiety That you get those sounds. Will teach you Tools you can use the moment a sound is driving you crazy.
This can be achieved, for example, by exposing yourself gradually to these sounds (gradual exposure therapy) until your body no longer reacts to them.
Secondly, Cognitive behavioral therapy Try to get you to eliminate the association of negative emotions with those sounds.
Tinnitus re-training (tinnitus)
It is a therapy that is generally used in people with tinnitus (sounds of whistles or jingles that listen even if they are in a complete environment silence).
Getting good results with this type of therapy (as with other treatments) can take some time.
Hypnotherapy
During hypnotherapy sessions you will work directly on your subconscious mind, trying to make those sounds that annoy you no longer be perceived As a threat, as something troubling or intolerable, and in this way, the symptoms of misofonía would be reduced.
Techniques to control stress
Any technique that helps To control stress , Such as yoga, the meditation Or the breathing exercises Y Progressive relaxation Can be useful for Try to relieve the symptoms.
While it is possible that these techniques do not completely cure the mision, at least in the short or medium term, they are likely to help make your life more Bearable