Misophonia

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Unfortunately I have been to 10. Never with animals I would like to point out. I used to be very violent to other people but now it is more self injuring like head banging or biting myself.

I'm starting to think that misophonia might be linked with Aspergers in a lot of cases. I was diagnosed with hyperacusis originally but I don't hear ALL sounds as loud, just some. Misophonia fits my problems much better. Wearing white noise 'hearing aids' has helped reduce my discomfort a lot and it is always wise to keep a variety of different strength earplugs and industrial ear protectors around just in case. It is best not to use these too often though otherwise hyperacusis can develop. I only put on the ear protection in dire emergencies (i.e when I am about to go into a massive rage).

For me, the main triggers are:

People eating/chewing food or gum
Kissing sounds
Constant low humming sounds
Very high pitched sounds
The background noise from MP3 players headphones (travel is near impossible without protection)
A consistent, repetetive noise such as someone banging their foot repeatedly on the floor.

No I am not easy to live with

Most people on the spectrum have this to some level.

I HATE chewing (and swallowing), I just want to full on yell at anyone who eats in front of me. It's disgusting. /rage

I also hate and become agitated by swing music to an unreasonable degree.

You know? I haven't questioned every single person I've ever met about this, but almost everyone I know, most of them not Autistic at all, hates SOME noises. And no, I'm not talking just "hates," but is bothered by certain noises to the point of obvious aggravation and either having to remove themselves from the sound, or get the sound to STOP whatever it takes.

This is a topic that has come up with most everyone I've ever gotten to know beyond "acquaintance" level.

I don't get how this is Autism related. Is there really a higher percentage of us affected by this than of the total population?

I've just known so many people affected by this, including me, I've always accepted it as a normal part of being human. I've always had the feeling that those that are not affected by it at all are in the minority. Do I just hang out with more oddballs than normal?

I was once sitting in a bus shelter in front of a supermarket. This guy had bought some fried chicken and sat on the bench opposite me eating it. He would whip out a piece of greasy fried chicken, literally suck the flesh from the bones, and then toss the bone into a bush. The constant lip smacking, sucking and chewing noises drove me up the wall until I decided to walk down to the next bus stop. Even when away from it, I kept hearing the licking, sucking noises in my head!

The voices of some people, or certain words, or visual stimuli like gestures or some combinations of colors, could be irritating even if they are inconsequential. Sometimes I avert eye contact with someone if their voice is too annoying because I do not want to look annoyed. I really hope mine does not irritate people as much.

Last edited by petitesouris on 05 Dec 2011, 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don't think it's that common to get so angry that you wish to seriously hurt/damage who/what is producing the noise. It is common to be annoyed by some sounds, not enraged to the point of having palpitations and violent thoughts. And of course, if by SOME sounds you mean something particularly high pitched like nails on a blackboard, I think it is more "normal" to be annoyed by something like that than by the sound of a lightbulb buzzing or a person chewing at the other end of the room, with the tv on.
Also, I didn't say that it actually is autism related. I just asked here because I have other traits and I genuinely didn't know if it might be more common among people on the spectrum because of the generally high sensorial sensitivity. I didn't know, so I asked.

Interestingly enough, I just mentioned this to one of my carers. She recently had training by a well known (apparently not well known enough for me to remember his name though...) Austrian autism/Aspergers specialist. He actually used the term 'misophonia' to describe the hearing issues that affect a large percentage of people on the spectrum. Not all people on the spectrum have misophonia, obviously but this could suggest that it is in higher rates than average. I think the difference between normal irritation and misophonia though is that the latter can trigger the fight or flight response whereas the former doesn't. I think most people off the spectrum are the former but I do know some people who are definitely not on the spectrum who have similar issues.

On the misophonia scale, I have gone to 9 many times with fire alarms in domestic kitchens. Beating them right off the ceiling with a chair or a 2x4 stud. Many times.

Good link! I am going to show this to my current counselor. She seems to think that taking deep breaths will help. Also I have gone to 9 and 10 with loud bassy music. I have also thrown a counter stool across the room when my neighbors blasted music. I feel incredibly validated by this diagnoses description, because I felt that what was going on with me was much worse than hypercusis.

Ever heard of a shruti box? It's like an accordion in a briefcase, operated by opening and closing it to pass the air through, with levers you move to make the tones. I felt really bad when my friend got one, because I can't stand it. She could tell, so she used to tease me about it until I finally admitted I couldn't take listening to it anymore. (She wasn't being mean or anything. It was actually a playful way of getting me to be honest, because she appreciates that. She's a good friend who explains stuff to me, and she somehow makes it feel safe to tell the truth about not being able to handle things.)

Musicians playing out of synch with each other also drives me up the wall, but I sometimes have to suffer through it anyway, in order to lead open practices of our group. I can only leave the room if there's someone else who can take over for a while. It's way better when just our regular members play!

I didn't know this had a name.
I feel very physically very disstressed by it. It goes deep into the spine and I get spasm there.

It is that common in my little world.



Yeah, and so did I. If you missed it, here's the question:



I asked because I didn't know. Right?

I did ask also if I just hang around with more oddballs than normal. The questions weren't rhetorical. They weren't meant to imply I thought it didn't have anything to do with Autism. I said I didn't get how it was related because of my own experiences, and that those experiences could be out of the ordinary.

Geez, we're on the same page, but you're acting as if I was challenging you. Was it the "shocked" faces? That wasn't about being shocked at what you're asking. It's about being shocked that yet another one of my paradigms may have been wrong all along.

Anyway, I don't know why it came across to you differently than I meant it, but it sure seems it did. Sorry.

I guess that writing

might make the following question sound like a challenge.
I apologize if I misunderstood and if my reply seemed to be aggressive, it wasn't meant that way. I just wanted to explain that I wasn't trying to make any scientifical assumptions.

I brought this up to a therapist and she said that while it's not uncommon for people to be annoyed, even very annoyed, by these sounds, the fight or flight aspect is definitely not neurotypical. Becoming so enraged that you envision punching the person making the noise or physically leaving a situation because of the responsive rage is what sets those of us affected by this apart.

The same here!

I definitely suffer from this to an extent. For example, I can't put away silverware most of the time, because the sound of metal clanging against metal is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Also, I have a relative who is completely obnoxious and loud (Two of his more redeeming characteristics.). When he starts hooting like a fool in front of the TV, or starts spouting off bigoted nonsense in a loud tone of voice, others can just tune him out, but not me. It's especially annoying when I'm trying to sleep (Have bad insomnia, raccoon eyes and all, so it's difficult in and of itself.)