“High frequency sounds like that of a pick sliding on a guitar string or even the sound of nylon rubbing against itself makes me feel like my brain would shut down,” says Shaikh Hussain, a 31-year-old marketing professional from Mumbai.
“In fact, long time ago when a friend tried to irritate me by making such sounds, I ended up slapping him,” he added.
Does the sound of clanking metal drive you mad with rage? Does the sound of chewing make you want to punch or murder the person making it? Does any distracting sound in your environment make you feel anxious or angry? This condition of unexplained negative emotions triggered by sounds could well be misophonia (liteal meaning - hatred of sounds), a sound sensitivity syndrome.
Among well-known people who have experienced misophonia are Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust, Anton Chekhov, actor Melanie Lynskey and singer-songwriter Kelly Osbourne.
But, What Exactly is Misophonia?
Misophonia is a neuropsychiatric disorder that manifests itself as a disproportionate reaction characterised by anger and anxiety to the trigger sounds.
And while a lot of others also feel negatively affected by unpleasant sounds, even simpler, everyday sounds such as that of another person breathing, coughing or yawning could have debilitating affects on the functioning abilities of misophonics.
Among Indians, it is considered to be a rare condition with fewer than 1 million cases reported per year. Dr Sheikh Abdul Basir, a leading psychiatrist in Delhi, says, “I have only seen 1 or two cases of misophonia in 26 years of my practice.”
Dr Basir explains that:
The diagnosis of misophonia is a complex procedure, since there are other physiological and neurological conditions that may display the same symptomatic conditions or their sensitivity to sounds could be associated with other psychiatric dis-orders.
For instance hyperacusis is a hearing disorder characterised by an increased sensitivity to certain frequencies. Yet other people with the same complaints could also be experiencing simple auditory hallucinations or experiencing the presence of sounds that might actually not be present.
Trigger Sounds Leading to Fight or Flight?
Misophonics are compelled to give a fight or flight response in the presence of trigger sounds. This means that a misophonic will either completely try to avoid such a situation or will express their aggression verbally or physically to the situation in order to put an end to the sound.
The flight response to (alternatively complete avoidance of) trigger sounds could lead to social alienation of the affected person and act as impediments to their learning processes, whereas the fight response could have consequences in the affected persons’ relationships with other people.Dr Basir
“Like in all other neuro-psychiatric disorders, including misophonia, lifestyle habits play an important role,” says Dr Basir. An improved sleep cycle, reduced stress levels, regular exercise and healthy eating habits can make the body calmer and improve the conditions of a misophnic.
Misophonia can either be treated through cognitive behavioural therapy and tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears) training or with medicines (such as mild anti-depressants and anti-epileptics) in very rare cases, where the condition is also accompanied by other serious psychiatric disorders. It’s important to note that no medication should be taken without consulting your doctor.
While therapy involves graded exposure to the trigger sounds to train the brain to not react impulsively, another treatment process could be the introduction of a neutral background noise with the help of a noisebox to nullify the effect of the trigger sound.
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