To ask for help dealing with misophonia? Cannot stand noisy eating!!

[Wanderlust1984]

Anyone had any luck dealing with misophonia? This has plagued me most my life. The amount of people who can't eat with their find shut is IMO ridiculous (especially adults) but I do realise it's something that's not going to change. It's so bad that I leave the room if somebody's chomping, if I can't leave I have to sit there feeling stabby. I take earplugs to the cinema in case there's anyone chomping on popcorn loudly. And my heart sinks if I clock someone bringing an apple into a meeting or reaching for chewing gum. Any other sufferers dealt with this successfully? I so wish it didn't bother me!! Some folk act like I choose to let these sounds make my life hell :(

I suppose you'll have to see your GP if it's causing real anxiety.

Otherwise I agree with Pengggwn.

I have it but with breathing. No real advice but just letting you know I understand. It started for me when I was pregnant and hasn't gone away.

Hi wanderlust

At present there is little treatment available for Misophonia, DD is a severe sufferer, DS and myself more moderate ones

If you have an iPod/ phone etc try downloading white/pink / brown noise apps these have a soothing effect

You can also get in ear white noise generators, DD has hers provided by audiology who made her diagnosis

If you can find an appropriate practitioner of cbt this is also useful if it's affecting your ability to lead a happy life

Hopefully in the next 5 years further treatments will be available after a recent study carried out here in the uk identified where in the brain the response occurs

If like approximately 2/3rds of sufferers you're on the autistic spectrum and suffer from anxiety a chat with your gp about anti anxiety medication may be of use

Sorry I'm going to come at this from a different angle and say what you can do is be kind to other people.

I get that it's horrible and no I don't suffer but DH does and he makes eating an apple a bloody nuisance for me and DD. It's not our fault and he needs to take some responsibility and leave if our chewing offends him so much. We have perfect table manners, I'm strict about small bits, chewing slowly with mouth closed and so forth.

I'm not saying you are like this but other people can't help making noise in normal life.

I understand, I have it too. As does my mum (my dad has to eat his lunch in another room and we always had the tv on at dinner to drown out noises).

I feel like I'm getting worse with age. I thinks it's one of those things people can't understand if they don't have it. It's beyond a dislike. I start getting hotter and hotter and more and more stressed.

I don't want to make everyone's life a misery so I remove myself whoever possible rather than commenting. Also try to focus on something else. Other than that I have no help. It's miserable!

I suffer from this too. I walked out of Aldi this morning because a man was whistling, and it had brought me to the edge of tears.
I can't help, but when I was on antidepressants (for depression, not misophonia) I did find that it took the edge off my reaction to noises.

I suffer with this too. Mostly breathing with me. It's a bloody nightmare and very very misunderstood.

Maybe some anti-anxiety meds might help?

I have misophonia and the outrageous anger I can generate towards some poor person who is eating, breathing or making those smacking noises while they talk, or even tapping fingers is overwhelming!

I know it's my problem and try to remove myself from the situation but sometimes that's not possible. It's like the world goes silent and the offending noise is turned up to 11.

When I was younger I use to fly into rages at my family for breathing loudly or the absolute worst nose breathing while eating :) It was put down to my being moody but now I have a "condition"! I've noticed it gets worse the more stressed or anxious I am.

I leave the room. And I'm not above asking people to eat more quietly if I'm forced to share space with them. I wear earphones at work rather than listen to colleagues slurp and chomp their way through fruit and crisps (in particular).

I also tell myself not to react.

Glad to hear it's not just me!

See your GP. I'm much better since a course of CBT a few years ago.

@Rebecca's response shows how some don't have the first idea of how painful this can be. If you think it's a "bloody nuisance" then put yourself in the position of the person suffering. Imagine being constantly bombarded with the worst noise you can imagine, a very loud speaker or somebody running their nails down a board, and imagine that there is nothing you can do to stop it. It's not "horrible", it's hell. In extreme cases it can make people suicidal.

I'm under an ENT consultant currently for it ("extreme noise sensitivity", they don't like to label it as monophonia), but he's pretty old school and focuses more on the tinnitus and balance issues. I've tried to explain that I can live with them and it's the sensitivity I can't tolerate, but am not getting very far. The only route I have left to explore is a special type of hearing aid, but they are difficult to get on the NHS.

It's becoming far more prevalent, I'm not sure whether it is that more people are struggling or just that it wasn't talked about before. There is definitely more research being done on it, so hopefully something positive will come from that.

I have earplugs at my desk for the constant grazer on my right and the coffee slurper/ sandwich mulcher on my left absolutely hate it OP. It's unbearable sitting there in the middle of them chewing chomping and slurping all day everyday, I start to have evil thoughts

The people commenting saying be kind to others or everyone feels like this have no idea.

The burning rage that this generates is immense. I've had to hold myself back from physically launching at even family members, it isn't anxiety or irritation, it's absolute fury. I can genuinely feel my blood pressure increase.

Outside of this I'm the calmest person you'd ever meet. Genuinely.

No real advice for the OP I'm afraid - only that I've found it's magnified by tiredness, getting good sleep helps me fight it off but doesn't erase it.

My DD who is 11 has it. She also dislike the sight of eating. She seems to be much worse if it's me. I guess as I'm her mum, it affects her more. I find she copes better if we're at a formal occasion like a meal out or at the dinner table. If it's breakfast, it's silent and there's just me and her, we sit in separate rooms. I can't face her stress and it would set her up for the day badly. At her worst, she almost has a Tourette's like response to it. Then as soon as I've finished eating, her tension will subside and she'll say, 'sorry I was rude mum'.
I'm hoping she'll be less stressed by it with age.

I didn't say he (or any sufferer) was a bloody nuisance, I said he made it a bloody nuisance for us to eat apples.

I'm sorry for him, I'm sorry for you and everyone else but other people have to live their lives and can't help producing the noise.

The OP asked what she could do and I feel she and others can be kinder to the rest of us who genuinely can't do anything. Throughout this thread there have been references to slurpers and chompers which is pretty offensive to the rest of the population.

My DS (12) has this. He is also on the spectrum. I know where Rebeccawiththenicehair is coming from** too as we have a whole set of rules centred around eating which the whole family has to abide by. If we want to eat, even something quiet like a strawberry, banana or a chocolate, we have to tell him so he can leave the room and put on his ear defenders. If he's out of the room, we have to close the kitchen door and turn a sign on the door. All windows have to be shut as well as sound can carry outside. Sometimes I end up not eating something I would otherwise have had as it's too much of a palaver to go through all the motions just for a handful of blueberries. Often after school when the other DCs are having a snack, he hammers on the door and tells them to hurry up. It's difficult for everyone. I think this was Rebeccawiththenicehair's point rather than intending to belittle the sufferer.

Cross posted and got your username wrong!

I cannot stand the sounds of eating. This afternoon, for some reason, I gave the boys crisps and salsa for their afternoon snack. I wondered if it would be possible to leave fingerprints in my mug of tea I was gripping it so tightly. If I see them picking up an apple I leave the room!

Surely everyone hates eating sounds though? I doubt when asked, what attracted you to your partner anyone has ever answered...I love the way they slurp soup/rattle a boiled sweet round their teeth/crunch through an apple like a horse.

I have this. Not with eating or breathing though. The pure rage / anger / blood boiling I feel is indescribable! Nothing to add other than I feel your pain! It's awful and not many people take it seriously

"Throughout this thread there have been references to slurpers and chompers which is pretty offensive to the rest of the population."

It's really not 'offensive'

There are some supporter groups on Facebook with ideas for coping and people who understand. It is a horrible thing to have.

Oh, this sounds horrible because it's something that sounds hard to avoid. I don't have this or even heard of this until this thread. I do get annoyed by sloppy eating because I just find the action and the noises disgusting. to all suffering.