Why do some noises bother you so much?

Are you the type to go crazy about the noise people make when they eat with their mouths open, suck on soup spoon, chew gum like ruminant goats or roll plastic containers? And when someone decides to wipe their teeth with their tongue - making those pops - make out in public or fill a glass of water, do those sounds annoy you?

If you get angry at the sounds like the ones listed above, then there is a chance that you will suffer from misophony, that is, you may have an abnormal aversion to sounds.

Miso ... what?

Misophonia was diagnosed relatively recently, so it is a disorder for which there are still many unanswered questions. However, it is known that certain sounds have the power to drive some people crazy. And we are not talking about noises that only cause some irritation or discomfort, but noises that can trigger feelings of panic, anxiety, anger and even sexual arousal!

According to how stuff works folks, to give you an idea of ​​the degree of discomfort, imagine a scale from 0 to 10. Normally, while most people would rate an annoying noise with a grade of 3, sufferers of misophony would rate their displeasure. with a grade of 12 - or 2 million! Therefore, what happens is that certain noises can really enrage those who suffer from this disorder.

Tsc, tsc, tsc ...

However, why are these people so angry at certain noises? The term misophony means “aversion to sound, ” and was coined by US neuroscientists Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff. Most experts believe that irritation is caused by a neurological problem rather than problems an individual may have with their hearing system.

However, experts cannot agree on exactly what causes the problem. The neuroscientists who coined the term misophony believe that no one is born with the problem. In this sense, some studies indicate that aversion to sounds begins to develop in late childhood and early adolescence, and that the condition gets worse over time.

On the other hand, a study last year, for example, suggests the disorder is likely to have its origin in the central nervous system and may be related to two specific areas of the brain, the insula lobe and the anterior cingulate cortex. Moreover, according to this line of research, misophony would be an inherent physiological anomaly for some people.

Psst!

There is also a third strand, in which researchers argue that the problem may arise due to a variety of factors. For this group, patients with other hearing disorders may develop the condition, and misophony may arise as a result of obsession with certain sounds. This means that psychological factors may also be involved.

However, regardless of the causes of the disorder, we can conclude a few things: People who suffer from misophony are not just grumpy complains! In fact, these individuals cannot control their emotions when exposed to certain noises. In addition, the condition seems to develop over time and may be caused by multiple factors.

There are organizations working to find a solution to the disorder, and they have even created a commemorative date to attract more attention to the problem. And ... bad news: There is still no recognized or effective treatment for misophony. So if you turn into a rabid monster every time you hear sounds like “tsc, tsc”, “shlurp”, “smack” or “crec-crec”, you are likely to stay that way.

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The information you read in this article was taken from a video produced by how stuff works folks, which you can check out below:

If you're wondering why we didn't mention sounds like fingernails scratching a blackboard, screaming or people throwing up, this is why, in such cases, it's not misophony, it's really dislike! By the way, dear reader, be sure to tell us in the comments if you get mad at some specific sound.