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Sunday Word: Misophonia
Mar. 22nd, 2015 12:05 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
theidolhands.livejournal.commi·so·pho·nia [mis-oh-foh-niă]:
origin: [2001] Pawel & Margaret Jastreboff, (Polish neuroscientists residing in NYC); + phonic= of or related to sound
noun (adj: misophonic)
Nails on a chalkboard. Clipping fingernails. Loud chewing or popping gum.
Crinkling a bag of potato chips in a movie theatre. Incessant tapping of fingers or feet.
If any of these things trigger a negative or angry response in your system, then you have a sense of what it's like to suffer from misophonia = the fear or hatred of sound.
Same idea if your pet is hearing fireworks or the vacuum and it instantly sends them under furniture. Humans who suffer badly from misophonic responses have a similar feeling of intense panic or a flight-or-fight response to what is normally considered normal stimuli. *See also: phonophobia & hyperacusis = a common symptom of migraine headaches, as one example.
This NYT article details the differences between extreme suffers vs. more commonplace annoyances, the lack of a cure for misophonia, and why a specific diagnosis is necessary instead of just the general classification of depression, anxiety, OCD, that suffers are often also placed into. Many people assume something is wrong with their hearing, but the response stems from the brain, and some find it is Pavlovian in origin; research continues. There are ways to diagnose and combat misophonia with coping mechanisms, so don't give up hope if you suspect you're a sufferer!
What's a sound that annoys you?
origin: [2001] Pawel & Margaret Jastreboff, (Polish neuroscientists residing in NYC); + phonic= of or related to sound
noun (adj: misophonic)
Crinkling a bag of potato chips in a movie theatre. Incessant tapping of fingers or feet.
If any of these things trigger a negative or angry response in your system, then you have a sense of what it's like to suffer from misophonia = the fear or hatred of sound.
Same idea if your pet is hearing fireworks or the vacuum and it instantly sends them under furniture. Humans who suffer badly from misophonic responses have a similar feeling of intense panic or a flight-or-fight response to what is normally considered normal stimuli. *See also: phonophobia & hyperacusis = a common symptom of migraine headaches, as one example.
This NYT article details the differences between extreme suffers vs. more commonplace annoyances, the lack of a cure for misophonia, and why a specific diagnosis is necessary instead of just the general classification of depression, anxiety, OCD, that suffers are often also placed into. Many people assume something is wrong with their hearing, but the response stems from the brain, and some find it is Pavlovian in origin; research continues. There are ways to diagnose and combat misophonia with coping mechanisms, so don't give up hope if you suspect you're a sufferer!
What's a sound that annoys you?
