I suffer with misophonia - ask me anything

[AlwaysBloodyWorrying]

Fire away... but do it quietly 🤫

Hello @AlwaysBloodyWorrying at what age were you diagnosed? More of a how did you realize, in a sense. If you were young, or as an adult. If the latter, how did you go about a diagnosis and why?

There is no diagnosis, I wish there was. I started to notice around a decade ago when a colleague started eating fruit and he would literally slurp the juices. I had to start leaving the room as I felt uncomfortable... it spiralled from there

How do you feel when fire/intruder/car alarms go off? I know they're useful and/or a legal requirement, I hate them but don't have your diagnosis.

Do some singers bother you. I can't bare to listen to some of Beyonce and Mariah Carey's songs?

Funnily enough - they don't really trigger me, probably because I know they are very short term. But thinking of vehicles I have to slam my hands over my ears when motorbikes go past me

No, not that I can think of

Are you noise sensitive to lots of things or just when people eat?
I've become increasingly intolerant of certain sounds but not sure if it's hormone related, but at certain times of the month I feel irrational anger at the bloody awful slurping, chewing and sucking dh and dd make when eating and have to remove myself from their presents.

I have this too. I find it really stressful if there are two types of similar sound fighting for my attention - ie if the tv is on and someone watching tv on their phone i can actually feel my heart pounding.

also very sensitive to noises like people eating bananas, slurping tea, chomping on crisps. Especially in a confined environment like on public transport

What are your coping mechanisms? I similarly have to leave the room if someone is eating fruit or generally chomping or slurping. Nail biting adults drive me to distraction

It's mainly eating or various things involving mouths... I could go on forever.

Other things are people slamming things like drawers, doors etc. I find it SO fucking inconsiderate and totally unnecessary.

I have to leave the room... for everyone's sake. I also won't set foot on a train without earphones and a fully charged phone.

@AlwaysBloodyWorrying
What sounds do you actually like?

Waves crashing against rocks
Birds tweeting
Michael Jackson's voice
Loads of different songs
Really heavy rain

Do you have problems with phone calls? I always have to stick my finger in my ‘free’ ear to block out the sound and close my eyes to try and concentrate on what the person on the other end is saying. I can’t have the radio on, or be around other people talking or making any sound when making a call, either. Unfortunately, my husband seems to be unable to do anything quietly and finds comfort in doing things like tapping things against the table or repeatedly clicking the top of a pen etc. I nearly divorced him when he decided to eat a bowl of nuts while sitting beside me in bed.

I absolutely HATE phone calls with a passion. Hate them. The only person who really phones me is my Mum who I don't mind because she's my Mum. But my phone is constantly on silent and non vibrate. I'm a big time texter but I would happily avoid ringing phones for the rest of my life.

My ex was the total opposite of me, very extroverted. Loves chatting bullshit on the phone. I compromised and gave him a phone call around once per week but my eye would be on the clock the whole time and it was a relief when it was over. We didn't last one year.

Did you know hypnosis can help?

Nope. But hypnosis kind of freaks me out.

DD has this. When she was a child I thought she was being rude bolting her food & wanting to leave the table. Hearing other people eat gives her the absolute rage. She also can't bear people talking while the TV is on.
Do you have ADHD?

Have you tried Loop or Flare Calmer earplugs?

I wear Flare and they are life changing.

I have this. I can get the rage in an absolute millisecond when someone eats.

We always play music at the dinner table because that helps to mask the sound.

I also suffer. My worst trigger is a "clicky " pen. I changed all the bic clicky pens at work for ordinary ones just so that I didn't spend hours anticipating people clicking, let alone listening to it.

Do you find that anticipating a noise can be as stressful as actually hearing it ?

No but I am convinced I'm autistic. I hide a lot of my true feelings around people but I think if I was to be assessed I would definitely be diagnosed. I've never bothered looking into it professionally, don't really see the point. I'm very much the "just get on with it" type.

I have it, my DS has it and so does my sister.

Mouth noises, moist noises, mouth breathing....... makes me want to cry or punch the offender.

It's bloody awful because once you pick up on the sound it's all you can focus on and it takes over everything.

Tried noise cancelling headphones and ear plugs. Made fuck all difference.