How do I know if I have misophonia?

A summary of the characteristics and symptoms of misophonia, to detect this disorder.

Chewing gum, coughing, eating... These and others are actions that make some noise, a little annoying but bearable. We would prefer that they were not there, but they are not excessively irritating either, or at least that is what most of us feel.

Some people, on the other hand, may perceive these sounds as extremely irritating, causing them such great psychological discomfort that they are able to react with typical fight or flight behaviors. They produce a lot of discomfort, so much so that they may even become extremely upset.

When this reaches pathological levels, one is said to suffer from misophonia. Maybe reading this far you have felt identified and you are wondering how to know if you have misophonia. This is what we are going to answer below.

How do I know if I suffer from misophonia?

The term "misophonia" literally means "hatred of sound" and was first used in 2001 by Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff, although it was not recognized as an actual disorder until 2010. Misophonia is described as an auditory disorder in which the sufferer feels great discomfort when faced with low volume and repetitive sounds.. It is believed to be a fairly common condition, affecting nearly 17% of the world's population and can generate negative reactions in the nervous system.

Sufferers experience strong emotional reactions to specific sounds such as chewing, clearing the throat, chewing gum, smacking the lips or even the sound of certain consonants such as /s/. These are sounds that, despite being harmless, people suffering from misophonia may experience them in such an extremely annoying way that they trigger feelings of panic, anxiety or anger.

It is believed that misophonia is a neurological disorder that causes an exaggeratedly intense response in the central nervous system, specifically in the limbicIt is thought to be a neurological disorder that causes an abnormally intense response in the central nervous system, specifically in the limbic, by an abnormal hyperactivation of the auditory system to sounds of relatively low intensity. The sounds that activate this discomfort can be lower than those of a normal conversation, between 40 and 50 dB.

It can occur at any age, although it usually appears in late childhood or early adolescence. At the beginning, the reaction is triggered by a specific sound, but as time goes by, more sounds are added to the repertoire of annoying acoustic stimuli that trigger it, making the individual's life more and more limited by this discomfort.

Levels of misophonia

To know if we have misophonia we must know what are the levels of this discomfort. As with other medical and psychological conditions, symptoms may vary from person to person, and in this case the sounds that trigger them may also be different. Below we have a comprehensive scale of what the levels of misophonia are and what symptoms accompany them.

Level 0

Perceives an unwanted noise, but it is not subjectively felt as a nuisance.

Level 1

You are aware of the presence of someone who is causing a particular noise, but you do not feel anxiety or anxiety is not felt or discomfort is manifested at minimal levels..

Level 2

The noise causes psychological discomfort in the form of irritation or minor annoyance. There are no symptoms of panic or fight or flight response.

Level 3

Increasing levels of psychological discomfort are felt, but no commensurate physical response is undertaken. However, the person with misophonia may be hypervigilant to audiovisual stimuli.

Level 4

Minimal physical response is made, but no confrontational response is made.. At most there will be some complaining to the person producing the noise, such as asking them to stop or discreetly covering an ear or quietly moving away from the noise. There are no clear symptoms of panic or flight.

Level 5

The individual performs more confrontational and conspicuous response mechanisms, such as openly covering the ears. Beginning to show overt irritation.

Level 6

The individual experiences considerable psychological distress. Panic symptoms begin to manifest and more noticeable fight or flight type behaviors are performed.

Level 7

Psychological distress is more than considerable. The person has been making an increasing, strong and frequent use of survival mechanisms as a confrontation to the sound. In some cases, there is unwanted sexual arousal. The patient feels such discomfort at the sound that he/she may remember it in a somewhat traumatic way for weeks, months or even years after its occurrence.

Level 8

The psychological discomfort provoked by the disturbing sound is so high that some ideas of violence may arise.

Level 9

There are panic behaviors and reactions in the form of anger.. The individual is at the crossroads of deciding whether or not to resort to violence with the person causing the disturbing sound. Most likely, he/she will try to move away from the noise and avoid the use of physical violence towards an inanimate object. The patient feels irritation, panic and anger.

Level 10

Physical violence is used against the person or animal emitting the disturbing noise. Self-injury may also occur to avoid harming others.

Differences with other hearing disorders

To know if we have misophonia, it is necessary to see what symptoms differentiate this hearing disorder with others such as hyperacusis and phonophobia.

Hyperacusis

Hyperacusis is a syndrome in which there is a lower tolerance to normal and natural sounds in the environment.. It is considered to be a loss of the dynamic range of hearing, i.e. the ability of the auditory system to handle rapid increases in sound volume is impaired. People suffering from hyperacusis may resort to the use of hearing protection (e.g., earplugs) in order to be able to do normal activities.

Phonophobia

Phonophobia is the irrational fear of loud noises. It is a particularly strange phobia, characterized by the fear to be listening to a sound to any volume and to think that at any moment it can suddenly increase of intensity, causing a great fright to him. People with phonophobia live with the anxiety that sooner or later they will have to face a deafening noise.

Sharing

Putting the three hearing disorders in common, we can give the following examples. A person with hyperacusis may feel Pain or frustration when listening to the radio at a normal volume, to such an extent that he or she may have to leave the room or use earplugs. A person with phonophobia may be afraid that, while listening to the same radio, the station will be altered and the volume will suddenly increase without warning, causing a big scare. On the other hand, the person with misophonia may be very irritated by the sound of interference, to such an extent that he or she may pick up the radio and slam it against the wall..

Is there a treatment for misophonia?

There is no specific treatment to completely eliminate misophonia, but there are certain therapeutic options that can improve the quality of life of those who suffer from this hearing disorder.. Psychotherapy and relaxation techniques help to minimize the effect of stress and anxiety caused by perceiving everyday sounds as very annoying, in addition to providing the patient with tools to assertively manage the situations in which they occur.

Cognitive-behavioral therapies help to improve tolerance to annoying noises, as well as providing the patient with tools to control the associated emotional reactions.. These therapies, combined with meditation or even practices such as yoga, help to combat the irritability associated with annoying sounds.

In situations where it is not possible to escape from the unpleasant sound or to control its volume, one of the best options for patients suffering from misophonia is to use simple earplugs. In any case, regardless of how controllable the sound is, it is not recommended to consume alcohol, caffeine or any other exciting substance as it may increase the likelihood of responding aggressively to the sound source.

Are you looking for psychological assistance with misophonia?

At this point, we can know if we have misophonia based on how we behave when we are near a source of sounds that cause us discomfort. This source of annoying sounds can be a person chewing gum or simply breathing and, although they are harmless sounds, we perceive them as emotionally disturbing. This can make us respond with a lot of irritation, rage and anger, to the point of confronting the person making the noise and even having an argument.

We can conclude that misophonia is an auditory disorder that causes negative reactions such as anxiety or anger to specific sounds. negative reactions such as anxiety or anger to specific sounds, which may vary from person to person.which may vary from person to person. The person becomes irritated by their presence and may even become physically and verbally violent. Whatever the response to the annoying sound stimulus, these will fall within the typical fight and flight behaviors of stress and anxiety, either by running away from the source of the annoying sound or by facing it.

If you are looking for psychological support for misophoniaI invite you to contact me. I offer face-to-face sessions in my office in Almeria and also online sessions by video call.