Misophonia: the hatred of certain irritating sounds.

A strange discomfort that floods our mind when we hear unpleasant noises or sounds.

The list of mental disorders that can impair our quality of life grows as more and more cases of patients suffering from problems that were difficult to conceive of some time ago become known.

The misophonia, or selective sensitivity to low intensity soundscould be one of the new mental disorders to be added to diagnostic manuals such as the DSM.

What is misophonia?

Misophonia, which means "hatred of sound," is described as a mental disturbance that occurs when sounds of low intensity are heard in the ear. a mental disorder that occurs when low-intensity everyday sounds produce too much discomfort.. Hearing someone chewing, the sound of a pen sliding on paper or the sound of certain people wearing rubber soles walking on a smooth surface can be torture for people with some form of misophonia, as they have very low tolerance to certain types of auditory stimuli.

Thus, where there is misophonia, there is too low a tolerance threshold for certain low-intensity noises, which causes them to trigger a state of stress, anger and strong discomfort in the person experiencing it, depending on the type of noise they are averse to: the noise of chewing, the throat clearing of a person clearing their throat, and so on.

The consequences of "sound hatred

People with misophonia differ from the rest of the population in the degree to which they feel discomfort from everyday sounds that are not loud enough to damage the auditory system and cause pain. Many people may find that it "makes them angry" to hear their companion chew, but people with misophonia become so upset by certain types of sounds that they are able to modify their habits so that they do not have to listen to them, which often leads them to isolate themselves in an area they consider safe, or to use earplugs in certain contexts.

In addition, because the connection between auditory stimuli and the onset of the state of discomfort is so direct, they often become moody, they often become suddenly in a bad mood, which can lead to arguments in theThis can lead to arguments in the family or in the circle of friends.

Possible new mental disorder

The first time someone used the term "misophonia" was in 2000, when neuroscientists Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff described a psychological disorder characterized by a low tolerance to specific sounds. Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff described a psychological disorder characterized by a low tolerance to specific sounds.. Due to the recentness of this concept, its causes and level of incidence in the population are currently unknown. However, it is believed that its cause lies in the brain, where the activation of neurons associated with an auditory stimulus would be associated, in turn, with a stressful or irritating experience. At the moment it has already been experimentally demonstrated that people with misophonia show an increased electrical conductivity in their skin when exposed to sounds they find stressful, something that does not occur with other individuals. This is an immediate physiological reaction.

In addition, the seriousness of certain cases of misophonia has led several researchers in recent years to advocate the idea that this phenomenon should be included in the diagnostic manuals of mental disorders, so that this disorder can be easily identified and research and treatment programs can be developed on a consensual basis.

For the time being, a tool has already been developed to help identify cases of patients with misophonia, the Misophonia Activation Scalewith 11 degrees of symptom intensity: from the absence of discomfort when listening to a sound to the use of violence triggered by the strong discomfort produced by a noise.

Treatment for misophonia

As is the case with tinnitus, treatment proposals for cases of misophonia are based on strategies for living with this disorder, either through cognitive-behavioral therapy or by teaching specific strategies to protect oneself from the aversive sound without greatly impairing emotional and family life.

Until a solution is discovered to make the symptoms go away, intervention focuses on teaching coping strategies and ensuring that the family, friends and coworkers of the person with misophonia are aware of their needs and know what to do in each case.