What is Misophonia?

Misophonia is a recent term meaning a serious dislike or hatred of sounds. It is applied to those who hearing particular sounds will show high levels of emotional or physiological distress, such as irritability, anger, disgust or avoidance of those sounds.

Sufferers may try to deal with the situation by asking to stop the sound, leaving or avoiding the place or people causing the sounds. Such responses may be seen as unreasonable to others and can have severe effects on employment, study, hobbies, social activities and relationship with friends and family.

Misophonia is often associated with mouth and nasal sounds such as eating, drinking, chewing, slurping, lip smacking, breathing or sniffing for example but can be a negative reaction to any sound with a specific pattern and meaning to a given individual.

It is also possible that misophonia might be just one feature of a broader pattern of sensory intolerance.

Sufferers of misophonia often show a heightened sense of interoception (perception of ones internal body state) but currently there is no agreement in medical circles about the cause.

Misophonia often appears in the early teenage years and appears to be more common amongst girls than boys. The condition is real and causes difficulties for both the sufferer and their family.

Can Misophonia be Helped?

The sounds that cause the problem may not necessarily be particularly loud although the sufferer may have some excessive sound sensitivity on some frequencies. Misophonia may also be associated with other labels or sensory intolerances.

We have worked with a number of clients experiencing misophonia and helped them with Auditory Integration Training (AIT) to improve their auditory processing and also Lightwave Stimulation (LWS) which influences emotional control via the autonomic nervous system. 

Contact Us for a free telephone consultation and further information. 

For more information about how we may help please contact us