to ask about your misophonia struggles?

[awesomeauntie]

After seeing the feature on This Morning today about misophonia I just wanted to start a thread to hear other people's experiences and what they struggle with as it makes me feel better to know I'm not alone

The sound of feet tapping or nail biting sets me off, but my absolute biggest trigger is neighbour noise and specifically music. My ears tune into bass and low sounds and I can't hear anything else.

If my neighbour plays music with bass I honestly sometimes feel like I could smash up the house. I can't stop myself from going and standing in the room next to it to listen to it, it's like self torture and only makes me more age filled but I can't stop myself! Last summer someone at the other side of our estate was playing loud music with thumping bass for days on end. You could only hear it if you tuned into it but my ears automatically tuned into it and I couldn't stop, I was on edge every day waiting for it. I honestly nearly had a break down, the stress I felt in my head from it brought me to tears. It was awful and my partner just didn't understand, but I do understand why as even writing this out here I can see how odd it all sounds to people who don't have it.

After the feature today I've made a GP appointment to see if I can get referred for some kind of therapy - I need to try something as it's starting to control my life.

I never knew this condition could encompass so much. I see so many of my triggers on your posts.
Did This Morning mention why this happens and is there anything I can do to stop it? I hate shouting when people are being noisy and I know it's irrational but I just can't help it. Give me the tv on, my son laughing and running around and the dog barking while he plays with him and I have a bit of a meltdown.

Neighbour noise, especially bass
Pen tapping
Whistling
Humming
Young children's voices ie squealing and shouting

Stabby rage-inducing for me

Eating noises
Plate scraping
Scraping noises generally
Finger licking
Sound of someone scratching (looking at you DH)
The very specific noise DH makes when eating a biscuit, where he will inhale while biting so he sucks up the crumbs

Eating, slurping, anything food related get right on my tits.

I've also realised that the Head & Shoulders ad with Claudia Winkleman makes me want to rip off my own ears.

And I cannot bear any Nigella Lawson programme. I don't mind her, I just cannot bear the slurping, chopping, mixing, whisking, beating, whipping or general food prep noises.

Sniffing and chewing are my worst
Nail biting
Continuous coughing
Doors that are closed over but bang against the frame when the window is open. It's not even a bang more like a loud knock.
Slurping
Gulping
Mouth noises
People licking and sucking their fingers after every bite of food when eating out. I always seem to end up at a table next to someone doing this.

I also get angry seeing someone bite their nails even if I can't hear it. If there was such a thing is visual misophonia I would have that too .

It really annoys me that I'm like this I remember as a child sniffing and loud eating annoying me I think that's because my mum would get annoyed. As I got older lots of other noises started to annoy me and I've been on the verge of tears at times with the noises especially sniffing.

I am set off by my husband munching apples or crisps while watching TV. I could get up and throw him or the TV at the wall, but obviously, I don't.

Oh God yes to screaming, any high pitched noises like cutlery on plates (DH), whistling, people who make high pitched screams when they yawn, people who shout when they sneeze i could go on! it makes me want to actually cry and stick something sharp in my ears! I also can't bear wind blowing in my ears so wear ear muffs from sept till March much to my kids embarrassment.

I take those squishy little ear plugs with me when out and about (pre covid and hopefully soon) and they have made a huge difference. Someone eating crisps on a train could make me feel vomitous, repulsed and furious, I'd have to move away. Now, silence. At first I felt a bit embarrassed to use them but they save my sanity

My dh sneezing. It's so loud and he does it 2 or 3 times in a row several times a day. Then he sniffs. A little sniff followed by 2 big sniffs. Then I scream at him to blow his nose.

And I totally understand what you mean with your eats tuning into the sounds. I can hear all of my triggers even if they are quiet. No one else seems to hear them though and have been told I'm just "hearing things". Yes very fucking annoying thing

Forgot about spoons banging off of bowls and forks hitting off of teeth. My children have plastic plates and cutlery for this very reason.

Dh's breathing.
Ddogs barking from outside - once was bedridden for 3 days with a migraine from being woken up by a crazed woman who's crazed ddog barked for 40 mins outside my window.. I now shout at it to stfu every Saturday about 10 am.
The sound of Nerf guns popping.
Ddogs cleaning themselves.
Only realised what the condition was about a year ago. Mind blowing.

Sorry I keep posting but I'm finding this thread great to vent on . Can't believe I missed out crunching. My eldest is the worst I swear her teeth must be made of metal. And the click click click of the xbox controller. Sam from Sam and Cat

Ok that last one was just an annoying noise but it does put me on edge when my daughter watches it and has the tv volume up loud. Then again loud TVs set me off as well especially if someone is trying to talk to me.

Yes, a distracting sound on during meals where possible. I was so relieved to discover there is a name for this problem, it has helped my partner understand. He was not unkind before but now saves v crunchy snacks for when I'm not around!

Mine was people eating. After 10 years of real distressing suffering I decided to take the opposite route to avoidance and started watching ASMR eating videos on YouTube. Loud. On repeat.
The first week was hellish, and I cried and kind of screamed a lot. But I persevered and now 8 months later DH can chew next to me and it doesn't bother me one bit

I’ve got some of those soft, shishy ear plugs but the only problem is that then I can hear my own breathing!

Any and all neighbour noise. It can be anything. Window cleaners, workmen, kids in garden, dogs barking etc. All perfectly normal noise but because of a couple of periods of very problematic noise in the past it makes me feel like hurling myself off a bridge. I can and do have total meltdowns over it. I have to leave and walk the dog or go for a drive. This past summer with everyone at home all the time was hellish.

Will probably be shot down for this: I realise misophonia is a thing because I suffer from it to a degree. But I've been on the receiving end of a constant barrage of harassment from a neighbour who clearly struggles with misophonia and complains about everything. The sound of me closing (not slamming) my front door. The sound of my hairdryer at 6.30pm. My daughter laughing. The sound of me moving my wheelie bin outside her house. You name it.

I never make antisocial noise, I'm incredibly considerate about my TV, never play loud music etc. I'm in bed by 11pm. I'm absolutely sick of it: it feels like I have to clear everything with her for approval.

I do understand that this can be a real struggle for people but I do also think that there comes a point with this where you have to accept that the onus is on you to deal with it and not to expect other people to constantly adapt very normal behaviour in order not to trigger some neurosis.

Its become so accepted that people feel they can leave the room over the sound someone makes eating a yoghurt or moving a chair or whatever. I get it it can be excruciating but I do think the balance has tipped so far in the direction of accommodating this sort of neurosis that it may be time to reset things a bit. If you find this sort of thing so problematic that it interferes with your day to day life, get it sorted. Don't expect other people to live like Trappist monks because of it.

I may be being unfair and I'm sure there are some people who suffer in silence but I have noticed people now feel some degree of entitlement about imposing this behaviour on others and I think its a bit much.

@PaperMonster OMG I was in a University dorm room visiting as a prospective student overnight and tried to sleep in bunk beds while an older student ate an apple in the dark-it was so damn loud and noisily eaten (I had ear plugs and my pillow over my head to muffle the noise) and a roommate said "Please excuse my roommate,ladies she's not usually this noisy or rude" I wanted to grab that apple and throw it out the window (along with her)

Noisy eating really gets to me. People humming/tapping absolutely gives me the rage and it's something my DH does a lot

Pen clicking/keyboard tapping.

The radio irritates me too -DH often has radio 4 on and the endless chattering drives me up the wall I suppose if you have the time and patience to sit and properly listen then it may be interesting but I don't so it's just annoying.

When I was pregnant, we went to a garage to buy a car. We nearly didn't end up buying it because the salesman's breathing was noisy and I literally couldn't stand to be in the same room

I need to live in a bubble of silence

Anything that beeps so kitchen timers, alarm clocks, microwave, oven timers. It makes me want to curl into a ball

Has anyone tried the quieton ear buds? They are very expensive and would like to know if they work for misoponia

@AliceAbsolum

Mine was people eating. After 10 years of real distressing suffering I decided to take the opposite route to avoidance and started watching ASMR eating videos on YouTube. Loud. On repeat. The first week was hellish, and I cried and kind of screamed a lot. But I persevered and now 8 months later DH can chew next to me and it doesn't bother me one bit

This sounds ideal torture! Just the thought of it is tensing me up!

My worst ones are

Music that isn't mine
Chewing slapping while eating
Breathing noises (dh)
Snoring
Loud Toddler noise

I'm fine with background chatting
DIY or building noise
Kids on gaming consoles
Road noise
Even tapping I can cope with on the whole

Whispering. Doesn’t matter if it’s not to me, just hearing it makes me want to scream, I have to block my ears