Sounds make you angry? You’re not alone

Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash

A coworker tapping their pen, my partner eating an apple, my neighbor dragging their furniture, moviegoers chewing popcorn. All these sounds can drive me crazy.

Certain noises easily distract me and overtake my mind. I can't focus on anything else. At times, they'll make me angry.

Does this happen to you? It has a name. It's called misophonia.

What is misophonia?

WebMD describes misophonia as a “disorder in which certain sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses that some might perceive as unreasonable given the circumstance.”

And according to Harvard Medical School, “people with misophonia are affected emotionally by common sounds.” The sounds made by others are sounds most people don’t notice or pay attention to.

A person with misophonia, therefore, has strong reactions to specific sounds.

What impact does misophonia have on a person?

Breathing, chewing, tapping, etc., create a fight or flight response in people who suffer misophonia. They’ll generally feel a strong desire to escape or will feel anger.

In the past, I was too scared to let people know how much a sound bothered me. But the anger and desire to flee burned…