- How to identify the syndrome
- Main sounds that cause misophony
- How the treatment is done
- 1. Training therapy for misophonia
- 2. Psychological therapy
- 3. Use of hearing protection devices
- 4. Other therapies
Misophonia is a condition in which the person reacts strongly and negatively to small sounds that most people do not notice or give meaning, such as the sound of chewing, coughing or simply clearing their throat, for example.
These sounds can leave the person feeling very uncomfortable, anxious and willing to abandon whoever is making the sound, even if it is during normal day-to-day activities. Although a person can recognize that he has some kind of disgust at these sounds, he usually cannot help feeling that way, which makes the syndrome resemble a phobia.
These symptoms usually start to appear in childhood, around 9 to 13 years and are maintained through adulthood, however, psychological therapy can be a technique capable of helping the person to tolerate some sounds better.
How to identify the syndrome
Although there is still no test capable of diagnosing misophonia, some of the most common signs of people with this condition appear after a specific sound and include:
- Getting more agitated; Running away from the location of the noise; Avoiding some activities due to small noises, such as not going out to eat so as not to hear people chewing; Overreacting to a simple noise; Ask offensively to stop the noise.
This type of behavior can also hinder relations with the closest people, as some sounds, such as coughing or sneezing, cannot be avoided and, therefore, the person with misophonia can start to avoid being with some family or friends who do sound more often.
In addition, and although it is more rare, physical symptoms such as increased heart rate, headaches, stomach problems or jaw pain, for example, may also appear.
Main sounds that cause misophony
Some of the most common sounds that trigger the emergence of negative feelings related to misophonia are:
- Sounds caused by the mouth: drink, chew, burp, kiss, yawn or brush your teeth; Breathing sounds: snoring, sneezing or wheezing; Sounds related to the voice: whisper, nasal voice or repeated use of words; Sounds of the environment: keyboard keys, television on, pages scraping or clock ticking; Animal sounds: dog barking, flying birds or drinking animals;
Some people only experience symptoms when they hear one of these sounds, but there are also cases where it is difficult to tolerate more than one sound and, therefore, there is an endless list of sounds that can cause misophonia.
How the treatment is done
There is still no specific treatment for misophonia and, therefore, the condition has no cure. However, there are some therapies that can help a person to tolerate sounds more easily, thereby preventing the person from participating in normal day-to-day activities:
1. Training therapy for misophonia
This is a type of therapy that has been experienced with people who suffer from misophonia and that can be done with the help of a psychologist. This training consists of helping the person to focus on a pleasant sound, in order to avoid the unpleasant sound that is in the environment.
Thus, in a first phase, the person can be encouraged to listen to music during meals or during other situations that normally cause the misophonic reaction, trying to focus on the music and avoiding thinking about the unpleasant sound. Over time, this technique is adapted until the music is removed and the person stops focusing his attention on the sound that caused the misophony.
2. Psychological therapy
In some cases, the unpleasant feeling caused by a specific sound may be related to some past experience of that person. In these cases, psychological therapy with a psychologist can be a great tool to try to understand what is at the origin of the syndrome and try to resolve the change, or at least, mitigate the reaction to unpleasant sounds.
3. Use of hearing protection devices
This must be the last technique tried and, therefore, it is more used in extreme cases when the person, even after trying other forms of treatment, continues to be very repulsed by the sound in question. It consists of using a device that reduces the sounds of the environment, so that the person cannot hear the sound that causes misophony. However, this is not the best treatment option, as it can interfere with the ability to socialize with other people.
Whenever this type of treatment is used, it is advisable to do psychotherapy sessions so that, at the same time, issues related to misophonia are worked on, in order to reduce the need to use these devices.
4. Other therapies
In addition to what has already been presented, in some cases the psychologist can also indicate other techniques that help in relaxation and that can lead the person to adapt better to unpleasant sounds. These techniques include hypnosis, neuro- biofeedback , meditation or mindfulness , for example, which can be used alone or in conjunction with the techniques indicated above.
