Everyone has been annoyed by the click of a college pen or repeated throat clearing. However, for some people, the discomfort can be much more pronounced and derive from a neurological disorder: misophonia, etymologically the hatred of sound.
According to a study by researchers from King’s College London published on March 22 in PLOS One, one in five British adults suffers from this still little-known pathology. In fact, only 14% of those affected had heard this term before, according to reports. The Guardian.
However, misophonia should not be confused with hyperacusis, linked to hearing dysfunction that causes hearing hypersensitivity.
Anger, panic, obsession
The study was carried out among 772 representative people of the population. They answered questionnaires and a series of interviews to determine the frequency of misophonia and how it is manifested and characterized.
Thus, a list of 37 sounds that trigger the disorder was presented: chewing, agitated breathing, keyboard keys, whining… In short, repetitive everyday noises, often of human origin.
Participants were asked about their reactions to these different sounds and the effect they have on them. It is the nature of this reaction that determines whether a person suffers from misophonia. While the average person may feel irritated or disgusted by some of the sounds, people with misophonia react with anger or panic and may become obsessed with that sound.
Social isolation
Misophonia is a disproportionate emotional response to these noises, to the point of weighing heavily on these people’s daily lives. The British study shows that this can lead to outbursts of anger, panic or hostility towards the people making the noise.
In addition, the researchers note that people with misophonia also feel guilty about their reactions and may sometimes isolate themselves to escape them.
This is particularly accentuated by the fact that the vast majority of them do not know their pathology and, therefore, suffer from a misunderstanding of their behavior. Therefore, scientists expect further research on the subject to identify the causes and mechanisms of this disease, to find solutions.
Source: BFM TV
