Person working next to me smacks their lips

[Roosch]

The lovely young lady who works at the desk next to mine has an AWFUL habit of smacking her lips and eating with her mouth open, at her desk.

This is driving me up the wall.

What do I do without strangling an otherwise lovely person.

My stepdad is on meds that make him smack his lips constantly. Drives me nuts but then I'm really intolerant to noisy eating and lip smacking so I feel your pain

I’m hoping not to confront her about it, I want to be very kind and professional, but it is like nails against a blackboard to me!

Much better to say the lovely bit first.

There's no way you could change desks is there?

I will probably have to do this!
Wish I had my own office.

What is lip smacking?

I used to really struggle when I worked in the same team as a woman that wore a charm bracelet. It would bash against the desk repeatedly all day and I'd barely be able to concentrate. By lunchtime some days I'd be on the verge of tears/quitting my job.

I still can't work out if it's misophonia, or I'm a grumpy twat, or something else. I am very grateful I work remotely now.

I used to work with someone who ate a kiwi fruit with a spoon every day. Slurp suck smack and repeat. I wanted to commit murder. She ate everything like a pig, but normally, I could ignore it. Just the kiwi bothered me. I'm not sure why! When she finished, she used to sit picking the skin around her fingernails until she had a little pile of skin, and then she'd wipe it onto the floor. She was disgusting.

When someone’s lips stick together with an audible sound as they open and closes their mouth, kind of a wet sound. Basically making noise with their mouth.

Oooh the rattling charm bracelet sounds awful too.

It sounds like you have misophonia, definitely. I have it and the rattling would annoy me. Any repetitive movements can set me off.

I have misophonia too, it is awful. I can't even eat with my family anymore.

I once nearly resigned because a woman was eating a yogurt next to me at work every day and scrapping the metal spoon around the pot to get every last bit out. I had to leave the room rather than snatching the empty pot off her and screaming that it's GONE!! EMPTY!

Yes she is!! She's eating like a warthog!!!!

@Miraclesforme That made me laugh, such a recognisable feeling but the brain/nervous system is so dramatic about it. I would get so worked up! I can imagine grabbing the empty yoghurt pot and shouting,

'THE YOGHURT IS OVER! LET IT GO!'

annoying yes, but it's hardly a crime! 😂

😆

Oh god one of the very senior managers at our place used to pick his head. Absolutely revolting.

I used to have a colleague like this, what made it worse was she was a ‘grazer’ so would eat her breakfast at her desk, not all at once so the torture was over after a few minutes, but breakfast would last until about eleven, then it was mid morning snack time, then lunch which lasted until three, then snack time again, it was relentless, I feel your pain.

Not yet, but when I take over the world it will be punishable by 25 lashes of the cat o' nine tails.

God I'm feeling this. Hoola Hoops should also have a warning on the bag, that they are only to be consumed in private.

I have a colleague that breathe holds then makes a guttural sigh. She also eats like an animal from a trough, I can hear cobbling, lio smacking.

I have to pace the corridors at lunch.

Ugh that's horrible.
Someone else at work used to sit picking his spots then he would sniff the pus and lick it. I refused to let him work in my office. There are some dirty buggers.

What does it sound like ‘lip smacking’ I’m nit sure I know what it means

I'd be like you. I get ragey just thinking about it. No advice but know you're not alone.

Ugh, I'd want to throw up. How do people get to adulthood and behave like this in public, it boggles my mind!?

I have a colleague a bit like this, she seems to eat all day and always something from a rustly packet. She stirs her tea going bang bang bang with the spoon then has a mouthful and then sighs, as though she is advertising tea. She also has a nervous sniff. However she does all this in a ladylike sort of way, so it’s not too bad! I do have to have Loop earplugs to cope. I am changing jobs soon and dreading what may await me there

Sounds like a big sloppy kiss

I have no suggestions but I feel for you. In a previous job I sat opposite someone who always ate with his mouth open, smacking his lips noisily all the time.

If that wasn't bad enough, he then burped all afternoon. I assume he took in lot of air because of how he ate.

Awful.