As if misophonia wasn’t enough, many of us suffer from a related condition called misokinesia.
If misophonia is best defined as a ‘hatred’ of certain sounds, misokinesia is probably best defined as a ‘hatred’ of certain movements.
These movements tend to be small and repetitive and often involve someone’s hands or face, or both.
Sufferers feel a combination of frenzied panic and confusion if they can see someone repeatedly touching their face out of the corner of their eye… fidgeting with something… or making other, irregular movements.
Does that sound like you?
If it does, the chances are you have misokinesia. If you already suffer from misophonia and can identify with this, then you almost certainly do.
I first discovered I had this aversion to movement when I was at University.
I’d gone to the cinema with my best friend and we were sat next to each other in the theatre. About 20 minutes into the film, he took a ring off his finger and started twirling it around his hand. He then raised it to his mouth and spent the rest of the film popping it in and out of his mouth.
He did this silently and didn’t make any dramatic or disruptive movements, but to me it felt like my whole world was on red alert. All I could focus on was that irritating movement out of the corner of my eye.
It was so bad that I can’t remember a single thing that happened in the film – I don’t even remember what the film was called. What I do remember, in painstaking detail, is every single minute little movement he made with his hands.
At the time I didn’t know whether to say something or ask him to stop. It was confusing. I felt furious and upset, but I was also aware everyone else in the theatre seemed to be fine with it. No one else had noticed, no-one else seemed bothered.
Because of this the rational part of my mind was saying: “come on now, he’s just fiddling with a bit of jewellery, he’s not interrupting the film in any way. He’s not being noisy or doing anything particularly weird.”
I chatted to his girlfriend about it afterwards and asked her whether she found it annoying when he fidgets or chews his fingernails. She hadn’t really noticed it. Moreover when I explained that I thought I might have an odd mental quirk regarding movements like this, she said that “yes, that does sound a bit strange”.
Even though I didn’t know it had a name at the time, I have memories of suffering from episodes of misophonia when I was 8 or 9 years old. The movement part, the misokinesia, I assumed was somehow related to the sound part – the act of seeing someone eat.
So when I got irritated by people clicking their fingers or making sudden movements I just put it down to me being irritable about certain things. It wasn’t until cinema-gate that I realised that something wasn’t right.
Since then I’ve talked to a number of people, many via this website, who experience these misokinesia (visual) triggers alongside their misophonia (sound) ones.
Some people have reported feeling a sense of slight nausea with their misokinesia as opposed to the blind panic normally associated with misophonia. For others it’s the other way around.
Many people have the same response to both (I fall into this category)… and then there are people who experience one but not the other.
My own, informal, surveying suggests that of the people I’ve communicated with, between a third and half of people with misophonia also have misokinesia. However comprehensive surveys under controlled conditions need to be run to determine the true figure.
Here’s a quick run down of some visual triggers that are sometimes associated with misokinesia:
- Any kind of repetitive face touching (including pulling or playing with facial hair)
- Fidgeting or any unusual hand movements
- Chewing gum or food (specifically the visuals of the mouth contorting, as well as the sound)
There’s a fascinating bit of research a friend of mine is doing into something called ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response). She looking for possible connections between ASMR, misophonia and synaesthesia (synaesthetes often have an inter-sensory experience – for example they might find numbers are represented by colours). I’ve been encouraging her to look into the misokinesia connection as well, because I sometimes have a very physical reaction to certain movements other people make.
On one occasion I almost fell over when someone across the street made a noise and pointed sharply at something near me. I was 12 or 13 years old at the time and felt (and probably looked!) ridiculous. The funny thing is I couldn’t help it, it was if I was being physical jolted.
I’d be really interested to hear if anyone else suffers from misokinesia and if so, how it manifests itself.
As I write this I’m feeling pangs of irrational fury because I can see my work colleague to my left, pulling at his beard. His beard for goodness sake. Hand me the blinkers…
Yes, I have noticed this as well. It doesn’t affect me as much as misophonia, but I have noticed it. I remember my first experience with it was in 2nd grade. I was at school and a girl to my left was constantly running her fingers over her eyelashes. I was getting annoyed by it and felt my heart beating heavily. I remember even telling her to stop a few times. Of course, I was only met with a look of mere confusion for she didn’t even know what I was talking about.
So, I went to talk to my sister about it, in search of a comfort that I wasn’t fully insane. That didn’t help. She seemed to make it worse, telling me that the girl wasn’t doing anything abnormal and I was over reacting.
Which is why I love the Internet. After a horrid night at the dinner table in 7th grade, I looked online for a reason of my problems and up popped misophonia. It’s great to know that I’m not the only one with these problems and that I’m not crazy or insane.
The other things I find irritating to my misokinesia is leg rubbing, fingernail cleaning, chewing, drinking, and nose rubbing.
Thanks for sharing this! It is great to hear the stories of others and know that I’m not the only one suffering.
Thanks for the comment Rachel! That’s really interesting. Those misokinesia triggers all get me as well, except perhaps for the leg rubbing – although I don’t think I know anyone who does that thankfully. Of course now I’ve said that they’ll be at least 4,000 people on the train home rubbing their legs and driving me insane…
I am a sufferer of misophonia and also get agitated at people fidgeting. My mother always played with her hair and I had to hide behind a chair so I couldn’t see her. My husband had a habit of rubbing his nose all the time. I felt really stupid asking him to stop. I thought the hate of fidgeting was the brain translating it into sounds, I didn’t know it had a name.
Ughh I can’t stand it when people play with their hair too!! My sister always twirls her hair constantly and it drives me insane
Yes! The hair twirling is by far one of the worsts triggers for me…especially when they take the time to part out the little piece they are going to twiddle between their fingers. Worst thing EVER!
My daughter does the hair curling thing too and equally drives me out of my mind. Loud noises do not bother me as much as peoples mannerisms i.e tooth picking, the way they hold a fork, throat clearing etc.
i never knew this was real. i’ve always thought I was a weird child for being annoyed at little things such as a repetitive action. i’ve been suffering from this since I was around 3 or 4. my mom would be fidgeting with her fingers and I would get really angry, I would tell her she can’t do that. my family thought I was a control freak and kept telling me “you need to stop that.” as much as I tried, I couldn’t. every time someone would chew/fidget I would get irritated almost over the top. i still struggle to not blow a nut at someone because they do these things. It bothers me that I can’t be a normal person and just let it go.
Don’t be! I have dyslexic and am ADHD both I didn’t know till I was 50! I just thought I was stupid! Along with that mix in Misophonia and Misokinesia! I have thought I would blow my mind! Sounds! Legs giggling! Reperttion! Omg! People that this doesn’t effect don’t have a clue the pain and panic they cause!
I am 51 yrs old, have suffered this my whole life & just learned this disorder has been identified. I too, just thought I was crazy & how can you explain the rage inside of you when you’re triggered? The good thing is we are not alone. And more research is being done to treat it. So far my family is very understanding. Hugs to you & I wish you the best with coping.
Everything I do bothering my bf. Noise of me doing anything? If I’m not sitting still? If I get up ALOT and move throughout the room.
But loud tv and music don’t bother him ? What’s his problem? He talks loud.
My friend always twirled her hair and I can’t stand it. I’ve asked her to stop and she just seems insulted.
Started a while ago probably earlier than I realized but at night when I was about to sleep, I would hear my vent crackling and the metal components shaking. While I was tuning all the other sounds around me out, I could only hear the sudden clanks of the metal vent when everything was quiet and was about to falls asleep.
Aaaughh!! Jiggling pens and legs, popping knuckles, sucking on cough drops which click on the teeth, thumb-sucking, gum cracking, lip smackers and lip lickers, all of them make me so upset! I might leave the situation, distract myself, cover my eyes or ears. Unfortunately my brother found out and tortured me with noisy eating as a teen.
I have misophonia and I don’t like people fidgeting my misophonia is getting worse though and I can’t stand it I have to make an excuse to leave the table at dinner which never works and my parents keep telling me to deal with it and that it’s not a big deal because they don’t know and don’t understand how it can get so out of control and stir up so much rage I’m pretty sure I got misophonia around age 9-10
Oh my goodness thank you so much. I needed so badly to read this tonight. I have developed a horrible reaction to my partner massaging her shoulders, the noise and visual makes me want to scream and I hate feeling this way. It makes me feel like such a monster but less so to know other people experience the same thing. Thank you!
Any human movement out of the corner of my eye aggravates me. I have two young daughters and I feel terrible because I always ask them to “stop moving!” And I realize how unreasonable this sounds to say to kids… but it does make me very anxious and irritable.
I can relate on so many levels. Mine started as early as 5. My mom would play with her hair… but like NON stop twirl it, super far away from her head. I would tell her to stop. It would drive me crazy I would want to punch her. Obv I never did… as I got older just more things bothered me.
Slurping, tapping, chewing loud.
My husband cracks his knuckles and feet about 100 times a day and I loose my mind. Also, the distraction by movements. I’ve ALWAYS felt this but thought I was deff crazy. When my toddler won’t stop touching her face, of movements during a movie ect. I just don’t understand why people can’t sit still. I often find myself wanting to be alone a lot because I feel less on edge, and “crazy” I wish I had solutions.
I only found out last week that what I have has a name.
I am 64 and for as long as I can remember I hate any repetitive sounds, clicking, tapping, whistling, any continual sound or movement. I have been reading all the comments to see if anyone hates the sound of liquid coming out of a bottle, like pouring wine, water etc. I cannot concentrate on anything when I hear a repetitive sound.
Twirling hair, noisy eaters also annoy. But any continuous sound drives me mad.
Your not crazy! I was so happy to know there was a name for sounds and movements that drive me crazy!
Am the only one that can’t tolerate the sound of “T’s” and “D’s” at the end of a word? It drives me mad enough to sabotage my own social life, and never talk to people. I really hate this about myself
Yes, I find the liquid pouring sound very annoying, particularly when it is portrayed prominently in e.g. a commercial. Normal water flowing does not bother me, only when it’s being poured as part of a human ritual. It’s like they’re purposely adding a flourish to make it seem extra indulgent or something. It always sounds to me like the person is showing off and purposely doing it.
Yes, there have been several ads on tv recently that have huge sound close ups of water and cows eating. Ugh! It makes me feel sick.
When I was a child I was constantly complaining that my brother ate too loudly. Of course now I know it was my problem but he went on to eat extra loudly because he knew it irritated me.
At least he didn’t jiggle his leg under the table like all too many people.
I flinch if insects come anywhere near me and feel really unwell if they fly too close to my ears. I dread my partner opening a packet of anything. He seems to take forever and deliberately make it louder than necessary. And don’t talk to me about the neighbours and the noise they constantly make when I am trying to get to sleep.
Thank goodness I now know it’s a thing. Or two things. And only took me 60 years to find out why I always felt different.
Amen! I love Jack Daniels, but their commercial that starts with pouring a Jack on the rocks and says,”I always wanted to do that” makes me want to scream and a little nauseous. The commercial would be great without the sound effect.
omg i feel this same way when a cartoon character slurps something from a cup or mug…it’s like an airy liquid slurp, and it’s always the same exact sound in cartoons….and even typing this right now is making me anxious. I want to break the tv when i hear it! Lol.
I also suffer from this issue. Repetitive sound and movement can raise my irritability monitor from 0-60 in a very short time. I have the extra added joy of also being sensitive to certain fabrics touching my skin. Pant seams and nylons are especially troublesome. Anyone who says Yoga pants are comfortable is insane in my view as I am ready to tear them off halfway through a class. I often comment I just want to be naked all the time. Sigh…. I use humour to brush it off, but it can be hard to deal with everyday situations. Nice To know I’m not crazy, but it would be nice to have some relief. Pets and children making noises or repetitive movements does not affect me the same way an adult human doing the thing does. Odd disorder to say the least.
Pant seams,nylons, cheap fabrics, tight clothing,especially underwear. Can’t deal with it. Go to a warm climate every winter to get away from bundling up and blankets. Just thinking about all the stuff that drives me crazy drives me crazy this includes misophonia and misokinesia which I just discovered.
Omg I relate to all this and just thought I was being irrational. For instance my partner eating tortilla chips. I had to ask that he pout them into a dish so the bag wouldn’t crackle, and now it’s just the crunching noise driving me bonkers. He happens to smack his lips too .
During winter I started wearing organic cotton undershirts and leggings which really helps and I wear it inside out because seams bother me to no end. I can no longer wear skinny pants because I can’t stand the clinginess on my legs. I can’t even wear bras anymore because they all feel tight and annoying. I also can’t stand polyester and other synthetic fabrics. It’s like an acute awareness that is quite debilitating.
I know right? Young children or someone who is handicapped or I am aware of their innocence, so to speak, does not bother me. If it is an adult, someone who should know better then I’m off the charts annoyed or I get so angry that I have to leave the same room they are in. The worst thing lately is, I love my husband so very much but he has developed a new habit. He rubs his legs or moves his thumb back and forth. The Repetitiveness is driving me to a point that I’m fearing that I will lash out at him and he will never understand that it is really a problem for me. Has anyone found a cure or come up with a means of being able to cope?
I’m the same! Adults doing things bothers me so much more. This seems to have become more of an issue for me once my anxiety was bad enough to be diagnosed. Certain sounds drive me absolutely bonkers, my boyfriend is SO fidgety and is constantly touching/pulling/scratching at his beard and not the sound and the visual make me irrationally furious. Squeaky chairs, chewing, someone breathing loudly, skin on skin fidget sounds, NAIL CLIPPERS.. I cannot handle. And anything repetitive in my peripheral is unbearable like jiggling legs, face touching send me into a rage. Also too much noise like loud family gatherings get to a point after about 40 minute where I feel like I’m going to implode from all the sounds. I haven’t found any way to ‘cure’ this but it’s certainly exhausting. I resort to physically blocking my peripheral vision and wearing earplugs or headphones if possible.
Yes its interesting how young children and adults use these annoying rituals to self soothe when anxious or upset. I work with young people who are on the autistic spectrum who engage in all of these things that drive me mad too!!! Flicking twirling humming you name it. I can’t even mention the quirky eating rituals!!! I love my job despite all this because it’s not their fault and we do have strategies to diminish behaviours that society doesn’t want to see because they don’t understand. There is always a way around unwanted learnt behaviour. Especially if you are intelligent enough to realise you have these aversions.
my dad had this my mum couldnt knit when he was in, he couldnt stand the noise of the clicking needles, i have it too drives me mad, cant stand any repetative noises at all, coughing etc sniffing being the worse.
Wow!!! I’ve never read anything that addressed these issues seriously! I am and have always been so bothered by sound and movement to the point where it makes me cry. If someone is whistling while standing near me- I just keep staring at them thinking they should know that no one wants to hear them. If someone is jingling change in there pocket- it makes me feel Full of rage. If someone is humming- omg! Playing the drums on a desk???!! I remember when we were in HS my BFF used to sleep over my house on the weekends and when we were going to sleep she would rub her feet together – she said she was a “self soother!” I told her she could not self soothe around me!!!! I first noticed this about myself when I was about 8- and my younger brother was 4- he would make airplane noises with his toys- or a Robot voice and I would yell at him to STOP. I remember it making me cry. I can remember my mom saying “What’s wrong with you he’s just playing with his toys!” It’s actually very hard to live with this! Is there help?
OMG reading your comment was like you had read my mind, Iv been told i’m very intolerant and impatient. How can you possibly tolerate someone jingling change, whistling or humming? Iv actually had to ask strangers to stop doing those things as the more it goes on the more the pressure in my head increases until I feel like the top of my head with blow off. Im not sure when I first became aware of it as I feel like I have always had it, it never helped that my brother is a “tapper” he taps desks, cup handles with his wedding ring, seems like anything he can get near. My partner is a VERY NOISY eater, its getting to the stage where I find excuses to eat at different times or places, he also has a very dry cough that drives me mad, its really affecting my relationship as I find it very annoying and he thinks im very intolerant, but I really cannot help it…. its all I can hear,it makes me feel sick and I can feel the anxiety building to the point that I sometimes feel I could lash out to make the “offender” stop doing what they are doing will make the noise stop. I am 48 and feel like this is getting worse, and due to this find myself telling other people off, or telling them what do do/not do, I’m positive I have lost friends over this as they find me overbearing, bossy and intollerant : (
Until 2 days ago, I thought I was the only one with this issue. I am 52 and have a wonderful partner who I have been with for just over 2 years. He constantly fidgets his hands and feet. It irritates me to the point where I am nauseous. We do not live together yet, but I’m not sure if I will ever be able to. I have 2 divorces and a list of broken relationships behind me. I told my partner last week that I am the easiest person to get along with but the hardest person to live with. I did some soul searching on this . . .looking back to childhood where sounds and movements drove me insane. My children are grown now and really, did nothing that irritated me. They knew certain things irritated me so they refrained from doing them. I raised my kids predominantly alone after their father died in 2016 because there was always something about everyone I was dating that bugged me. Even right now, as we speak, my partner and i are on a road trip and he’s tapping to the music. Even though I’m in the passenger seat on my phone, all I can see is tapping. CAN I VOMIT NOW!! My stomach is wrenching!!
I’m so glad I’m not alone in my feelings. I thought I was insane!!
My doctor prescribed 100mg of Bupropion, which helps reduce the amount of time I notice annoying sounds. Doesn’t eliminate it. It helps if I eat at the same time as my husband, I don’t hear the sounds when I eat at the same time.
It’s truly remarkable to be able to read all of this and know I’m not alone. I am the only person I know who has misophonia and misokinesia and it’s getting to a point where my relationship with my mom is suffering. She is my main trigger. She has a mental disorder where she cannot stop pulling her hair and she constantly is rubbing her teeth up against her lips along with licking her lips. It is so aggrivating to me that I can tell when she is going to do those movements and I have to look away to keep myself from completely lashing out. I am trying to decide what treatment is best for me.
Hi Elizabeth, I thought I was the only one that when other people whistle I can’t stand it. I am 66 and this has been happening since I was a child. I am so glad to see someone else shares the same issues. Someone humming makes me mad too. I give the person dirty looks as if they have no right to hum or whistle. I know they do but the sound just is so ear piercing and annoying to me. My husband picks his cuticles. Can’t stand that either. Someone cracking gum bothers me. I hope I hear back from you again so we can talk about our annoyances. Lol
All the above and esp people circling their thumbs around each other rapidly I suffer from both and it got a lot worse after my fathers death.My family find it very hard to deal with and used to be very unsupportive explaining it’ is real condition has helped
Oh my GOSH! I HATE the thumb circling too! It feels like such a relief to know I’m not alone in this very specific trigger.
For me the worst is someone jiggling their leg or foot. I purposely sit with my back to others in restaurants or position cushions to hide a foot jig. It drives me insane, I can see it out of the corner of my eye and it’s all I can see.
My daughter, at 5 years old, unbeknownst to the rest of the family had Miokoniesa and was always complaining about anyone making repetitive moves or chewing gum. I told her she needed to get over it and I’d do it on purpose just to try to help her get over it. She would leave the room. She hates me to this day. She’s now 41 yrs old.
I really hope that some research will be done to find out more about misophonia and misokinesia. I have suffered from both since I was around 6 years old. Its has always caused arguments with my family, even now (I’m 37 years old). The only way I can cope os to leave the room. I never understood what was wrong with me. I also experience ASMR, so its fascinating that you think they may be linked. I can’t stand the ASMR videos on YouTube though, they usually contain whispering or tapping nails, both of which I find very difficult to listen to.
Hi, it’s almost end of 2018 and I came across this article. Has anyone found any treatments for misophonia and misokinesia? My husband has both for almost 50 years and so far we haven’t found anyone who knows how to treat them. Thanks.
I feel I suffer from both misophonia and misokinesia. Sounds of eating and sounds of picking at stuff drive me up the wall and the second it starts I have to isolate myself which affects me socially. I get highly irritable at those noises but the worst noise of all that I absolutely can’t deal with is noises that come from animals such as dogs. It makes me irritable and makes my skin crawl. I’ve tried to muffle the sound by putting my fingers in my ears when my family’s dogs and friends dogs are licking theirselves and or eating or lapping water so those noises don’t irritate me but even when I don’t hear the noise I still get irritated by the sight of them licking theirselves and or eating and lapping water. I also get very irritated by people who fidget a lot or by people who like to pick at things such as picking at the label on a coke bottle or picking at their nails. Also at people who, I don’t know how else to put this but, hacking up flem and spitting it out. You hocking up a loogy. My oldest sister thinks some of these irritations are funny and she just tells me I’m being super sensitive and over reacting so when I go to visit her she knows of one thing that highly irritates me and it’s like she does it on purpose just to get my irritated reaction from it and she thinks it’s just really funny. And what it is, isshe purposely gets her dog to lick her hand,her face and she knows it brothers me and she does nothing to stop the dog from doing it and her dog can sit and lick on her for almost an hour straight and the only way she’ll make the dog stop is if I tell her that I am fixing to go back home. I also live with my mother and she is actually more understanding of my issues. She’s actually the one that told me that I probably suffer from misophonia. My mother is a psychiatric nurse. So she’s more sympathetic to me and this problem. So if I’m in the living room with her she will half of the time tell the dogs to stop their licking before I say something or before I start getting irritated by it. But because I understand that they’re dogs and that what they do cause they’re just grooming and cleaning themselves I instead of getting to the point of irritation I respectfully just remove myself from the room. But this issue with the dogs affects my relationship with friends and family and I often find myself always isolating myself. So I really don’t have a lot of friends. And not much of a relationship with my family because I can’t be around the dogs a whole lot and I don’t want my issue to get to the point that it’s like I’m just a mean person towards dogs. My family kinda already think that I’m just always mean to the dogs. But the weird thing is it’s like the dogs actually have an understanding or it’s like they know I’m bothered by that and like they know I can’t control that irritability but they know I love them very much. And they are always excited to see me and always wanting my affection and they want to give me their affection. I try to let them love on me which is by them wanting to lick on me. I find that ironic they want to love on me by the very thing that irritates me. I try to allow them to do it just cause they’re dogs and they aren’t doing anything thing wrong and they shouldn’t have to suffer because I have an issue with the noise,sight and touch of them licking on theirselves and or other people so that’s why I just sit to myself in my room all by myself. And then a sense of depression comes cause I’m always or most of the time alone and it’s gotten to the point that I struggle with trying to have a relationship with someone because I’m so use to being to myself that I don’t really know how to conversate with people. And I also lack physical affection so when someone tries to touch me or hold me or even kiss me I lack that wanting of physical connection it’s like I just don’t want to be touched I don’t know how to feel and most of the time I have know urge to want to enjoy being touched or show that person that I want them romantically as far as the physical part of the romance goes. It’s like I can click with someone mentally and verbally but not physically I just well it’s like I pull away if they try to hold myhand,rub my arm or neck, and when they just want to give me a kiss. It’s also the same with my family and my children. I don’t really do physical affection. It’s like awkward for me. They know I love them I just can’t show it physically. I have isolated myself majority of my life that I am socially awkward as well as showing physical affection is awkward as well. People either tell me or I know they just think it and talk about me about how weird of a person I am. I have gotten to the point because of these issues I have has affected for a long time it’s made me feel very alone and it makes me feel and think to myself that I will end up growing old and dying alone. It’s made me somewhat depressed. I hide this feeling from everyone but when I’m home and in my room by myself I feel like a loser who don’t have any friends and can’t make any friends or romantic relationships with anyone cause I’m just so awkward and weird and no one wants to be seen with someone like that cause they don’t want to be made fun of because they were seen with someone who is just a loser weirdo. It’s like I’m embarrassing to be around much less being caght and made fun of for being around me. My family unknowingly ignores me or forgets in a way that I exist. I know that they don’t do intentionally. I used to throw a fit with them become angry and upset by the way they treat me or lack of treating me, I mean all my family will call each other and make plans with each other and later when they tell me about things and they expect me to know what’s going on with everyone in their lives like I’m suppose to be caught up and up to date with crap going on in their lives they act all shocked when I have know idea what they are even talking about. And finally when they decide to ask why I don’t have a clue I’m like y’all kinda almost forget I exist. And all through my life it’s like they really had know big concerns or pay close attention to me and everything about me like I just wasn’t to important or like I was just in their way. I feel like if they would have paid more attention to me when I was a child they probably would have come to an understanding that I was having some very real serious problems that I needed help. I’ve even verbally tried to go to my parents and siblings about how bad I was being picked on and bullied and being made fun of in front of everyone in school. I had 2 friend’s in highschool. That’s pretty sad that I can count how many friends I had not even on a whole hand. But my family didn’t want to or know how to deal with it so I’ve always felt alone. So now knowing I can finally put a name to my specific issues that I just can’t seem to control and realize I’ve been dealing with this a long time and I am also realizing that it truly does exist and I’m just now in recent weeks just because my mother has come to realize some of her lack of basically being their for me when I needed her when I was young she has done nothing but apologize to me and you I’m not angry with her I’ve had to realize she had her own problems that caused her to not totally be their for me and she’s done nothing but be hear for me now and I told her to never apologize again there is no need for it but because we’ve gotten a closer relationship more now then in the past she noticed and helped me realize and brought light to these to things that I deal with and she is starting to realize even though she doesn’t have a real good memory of the past because some of the problems she was dealing with at the time has left a hazy fog on those memories. She even tells me she can’t remember a lot from the past. But she realizes that I have probably been dealing with these 2 problems for a very long time. I am and probably will always also be very OCD when it comes to every little thing that happens to and around me right down to how the day happened exactly and everything that was said exactly and never forget. So what I’m trying to say on the OCD thing is I have one hell of a memory and will not forget anything even if I tried. And people don’t understand especially my family how I can remember so much and talk about it as if it happened yesterday. I’m proof that the saying “an elephant never forgets” well there’s a lot of truth in that and I’m sure I’m not the only one that is OCD about there memories whether if it was fom an hour ago to all the way back as far as you can remember. It’s amazing but it can also drive you nuts because if people truly do not truly know you that well they don’t understand why I get very upset when they tell me I’m either stretching the truth or over exaggerating when just honestly my memory is very crisp in my head and I just remember every detail all the way down to what it smelled like at that point in time of that memory and they can’t remember things as well as I do and because they can’t remember a whole lot then they turn to I’m either making it up,stretching the truth or making it more than it really is to get attention. But what they don’t understand is I’ve grown accustomed to being alone I’m used to it. It has become something that has gotten to the point that it almost doesn’t bother me to be lonely but it does from time to time can be depressing but and so being used to being alone about anything a lot I’m also used to hiding my true feelings and making people think I am not bothered or depressed about anything as far as they know by what I let them know and let them see they think I’m a pretty happy person with out an issue except for they know about the misophonia but that’s all they think I have an issue with. All of these issues hasmade it to where I basically constantly have a pretty big wall up around me and if people don’t have the patience to deal with it will never truly understand anything about me. Cause it takes a good while to just barely let anyone in. Take my mother I mean that’s my mother you would think the wall is down for her and she can come and go as she pleases. But she still has to climb my wall a little bit with a little effort to get in. But because she is a psychiatric nurse she knows how to read very well so half the time she doesn’t have to try to get in she can just read herself in. And she’s very patient with me and she doesn’t come to me cause that does know good she doesn’t try to force anything instead she waits patiently til I’m ready to come to her and express things about myself to her. She waits for me to open up to her bit by bit. She is really the only one I’ve been able to truly get close with in my whole life and everyone I know. She would probably be the only one I could really trust to say anything to just because she has really been the only one who has shown me that she has really truly and honestly wants to understand me and make me feel like I can almost tell her anything and trust she would not judge me and only help if I ask for it and word things to me where I can understand it and not mistakenly say something that I would take wrong or get upset cause I thought it offended me and I react well not in a good way. She knows that I can take something the wrong way very easily and if she can’t she respectfully worns me ahead of time to not overthink and or overreact to what she is going to say she just don’t know how to word it at the time. And I never get upset with her. She has helped me become a stronger person each and every day and the more we learn about each other the more I realize we have quite a bit in common. We are in some ways a lot alike. So I know she can be very helpful to me on a lot of things but she can’t really be helpful with the noise and visual irritations that I have. She doesn’t deal with those kind of problems so she really doesn’t understand those feelings and doesn’t understand that I just can’t let things roll off my back that easy. She gets irritated for a minute or 2 then she’s like ok whatever and she’s fine the next minute and forgets about what upset her or irritated her. Me not that easy I can stay irritated for a few days over 1 thing. It goes from little irritation to severe then slowly goes back down then I’m fine and this process usually will take anywhere from 3 days to a week to get over whatever irritated me. I also get very irritated by people who don’t do things logically you makes no sense whatsoever it doesn’t matter howmany different ways you think about what they did andwhy they did it that way it just still makes no sense logically. Like my mom’s husband I purposely try not to spend so much time around him. Now I know he’s spent many years on some medication that it’s done something to him on a mental status. And I don’t know if this may also contribute but his mother passed away she had dementia so I don’t know if that could possibly play a part he hasn’t had a doctor check him out for that but anyways it’s like he’s there but not. Like me and my mother both feel like he is our child we are raising you kinda got hold his hand for almost everything or it could be he’s used to being pampered by his mom that he thinks we should spoil him like his mom did I don’t know but it’s very confusing cause he won’t tell and you can’t pinpoint why his behavior is the way it is and it’s very irritating because your like why did I just have to repeat myself 20 times within a 5 minute period. He spaces out almost everything he does can get very annoying like his whistling or asking the dogs if they want to go outside 30 different times back to back in a babying type voice. Like he’ll be like”wanna go outside” 30 times back to back but he’s talking in a baby voice like how you would do if you were talking cute to a baby. Instead of looking for something he asks one of us if we have it like cleaning supplies. Now he knows where we keep that stuff but instead of looking he asks me or my mom and he sits there it’s like he plays dumb to the point that we stop what we are doing to go look for him cause its like he just can’t do it by himself someone has to do it for him. He acts really clueless al the time so you struggle talking to him cause it’s like he can’t comprehend the most simplest things like you ask himto go to the store if he doesn’t write it down he’ll call 20 different times and ask the same thing what was I was supposed to get. Now if you write it down and hand him the list the second he gets up he somehow loses it in a matter of literally 2 minutes then you have to find it for him and it ends up being in plain sight like he shouldn’t have missed it cause it took me 2 seconds of coming in the room and blam there it is it’s like he has a blindfold on looking for stuff like he just don’t have or want a care in the world and it gets very irritating very quick but not just for that effects my mom that way to she gets easily irritated by stupidity. But you love him to death but you’re left irritated cause you just can’t understand it and or why he behaves this way so you can only deal with it in little spurts. And he’s extremely sensitive so you really have to think before you speak or act. Me and both sides of my family we are silly and joke around a lot and we are some smartasses. Like I warn people ahead of time. Itell them that you can’t take pretty much everything I say seriously I’m usually always joking around. Then I tell themm that it will be very noticeable if and or when I’m actually being serious. There is a very noticeable difference. Anyone can catch very quickly. Even a monkey could catch within a second. Very different tone. When my tone changes it usually scares the crap out of people and they just give me space. They most times don’t want or try to bump heads with me because they can’t read me very well so they don’t know how I will respond to them if they try to stand toe to toe with me but I usually try to avoid situations like that cause it can be very scary. The madder I get my blood pressure will skyrocket and I end up running a temp of 104 on up and end up blacking out and at that point I don’t have control of my actions and don’t have any recollection of what happened at that point somebody has to tell me what I said and or done. I’ve woke up before and couldn’t recall how I had gotten this really big scratch on my chest. I thought maybe in my sleep. Nope my neighbor came in my house charging at me I defended myself by pushing her out of my house she then picked something up and hit me in my face with it and that’s when I don’t remember anything else. My other neighbor said after she hit me my demeanor changed and she said it was like no one was home I was completely blank she said I hit her with so much force she grabbed my shirt and scratched me in the process to keep her from going over the railing and possibly going to the hospital. I don’t remember any of that but 2 days later she actually confirmed it with me when she came to apologize for starting it with me
But I feel like I’ve been going on and on but I just feel like everything that’s going on with me comes from a whole lot from my life and I feel that I have a lot of irritation for a lot of specific noises,sights,touch and even smells and these are irritations that I can’t ignore and I can’t control the type of feelings they give me and it’s not good feelings and when I get this way it’s most of the time gives me bad anxiety to the point my chest hurts and it makes me feel like I’m having a mild heart attack or it upset my acid reflux to the point I can’t drink or eat and I get very nauseous and it burns really bad. I’ve gone to doctor’s before and the feeling I got was they felt I was making all of this up cause they probably thought tjat I was going to say whatever I could to get certain medications. But I told them specifically that I couldn’t take one medication called like I think valium I told them it makes me very psychotic and I have major memory loss. I told them all of this is very truthful and I just want someone to truly believe me and help me find the right kind of help that I need so I can try to live a life where I’m not always feeling like I have to be alone
I don’t like being alone I want to have somewhat of a normal life where I can have relationships with people I love and possibly find someone to be able to spend my life with without making them feel like I don’t care about them and they end up not wanting to be with me because I gave them the impression that they were wasting their time with me and it looks like I have to much that they don’t want to deal with it. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m such a difficult person to deal with and be around and I just chase or push everyone away cause I don’t know how to deal with these problems and I just don’t cause it’s to exhausting and I just end up not being able to fight anymore and just give up. Cause I don’t want to give up I’m not the type but if I can’t figure this out it will end up being a stopping point. You can only fight so much before you just give up before it actually ends up cutting your life short and I don’t want that. I also don’t like asking for help. But I was taught that there’s no shame it actually makes you a stronger person to admit that nobody can do it all and its ok to have some help. It makes you brave not weak. So if anybody makes it to this point in my story. I’m asking if anyone can understand and help point me in the direction I need to be in after all we are all gods children so I’m asking for family to help me if they can. Thanks for taking your time in reading this and being patient with this very long long story. But I really needed to get it off my chest and just let it all out so that whomever does read this and actually understands a lot of can possibly help. I want a great normal life with lots of my loving family in it with me so I can know and feel the joy of having relationships and people in my life rather than being lonely and people pitying me. That’s the worst feeling ever is when someone pity’s you. Thanks again for taking the time.
Please let me know if you find out anything that works or helps you. I cried at least ten times reading this. Its as if my whole life were spelled out in your story (except my mom doesn’t know how to help like yours does). I can’t stand animals anymore because of the same thing, when my childhood dog had fleas I was so mad from the scratching himself that I wanted to kill him. Even though I loved him the leg movements was more than hurting me. I couldn’t keep friends during school or anytime after that, their noises, repeated movements, and so on, I was the odd child. My siblings found out ways to exacerbate the problem, and my parents told me that I was the problem. My husband tells me I am the problem. My children tell me that I am the problem. My heart wants to be loved and I can’t stand anyone coming close enough or putting up with “me” to stick around long enough to love me. I really hope the answer isn’t to stay “drugged up” in order to live like everyone else gets to live (prescription or otherwise medication). I also have six children under the age of 13 and they don’t understand me, they can’t see my pain. I do know i love them but I can’t live like I am supposed to live to show them love. I am definitely reading more up on this. I had to Google search tonight after I couldn’t take one more minute of the dinner table. I have to find a way to fix this.i had given up in the past, almost wanted to end my life, and repented and didn’t try anything, but the thought of relief was tempting.
One thought, there were times I had been under extreme stress and I found myself doing things to myself I can’t tolerate in other people, picking at stray hairs on my face (I am a female), picking at my fingernails, then I would berate myself afterwards. The other problem I have is when people say the name/word “mom” without saying anything after that, not finishing the sentence. Getting my attention but then saying “nevermind “. Or walking off.
I have no respect anymore because of this. I think I just want some love, respect, credibility. That’s all. For now.
Oh my goodness, I am so glad there are other people in this world who have this thing!!! I’m autistic but undiagnosed and may or may not have OCD, so I figured it must be normal to want to rip someone’s head off every morning after I finish vacuuming the floor, but after talking to a few of my ASD friends I realized maybe that is just a weird thing about me. Maybe I’m just really judgmental and rude.
Then a couple of months ago I started going to public school and a few new hated sounds popped up. I also began to characterize certain people by their irritating habits after the first few days, for example one guy bounces his leg up and down at a crazy speed. Not only does it distract me from my lesson because of the movement right in the side of my vision, but he shakes the table to the point where I am about to explode and I never know what to do but just sit there and steam.
It was that guy who brought back the memory of when Mom used to read to us and I’d sit in a chair where I couldn’t see anyone because my sister would play with her hair and Dad would pinch his lips or whatever… anyway, I looked it up to see what the heck that was about today and found this. I’m hoping that I can find some way to cope with these things so I can focus on my school and not seem grumpy all the time – and so I can actually be friends with a person who seems to shake the earth with his leg 24/7!
My son and his repetitive movements trigger me like no other and I don’t believe he’s eaten a single chip near me in 5 years. I explained to that it wasn’t his fault, my ears and eyes are just very sensitive. He’s the kindest child.
For me the sound that bothers me is aluminum foil I can’t stand it that crinkle sound it makes me cringe inside every single time . Or someone saying a certain word will bother me so much my mom used to say the word “swell” to mean good and I had to tell her to stop saying it it bothered me so much
Is there a way of overcoming it? I want help badly because of it i have turned into a kind of person who always tells other people what to do!
And deep down i feel real bad about it but i just cant help it!
My half laughing/ crying right now. Laughing because ya’lls thoughts are the same as mine. Crying because I’m not the only one. Only just tonight have I found this forum. I’ve read this article before but I never took the time to actually read all of the comments. I have a EXTREME aversion to movement. Unfortunately my husband happens to do ALL of my lifelong triggers. He shakes his legs, feet, shakes the whole couch, picks at his cuticles, and the absolute worst is he makes all these unusua mouth movements without knowing while watching tv or reading. Almost 24/7. It’s like he’s swishing mouthwash without the mouthwash!! It makes me want to claw my eyes out. I’ve resorted to building a pillow wall on the couch to shield my line of sight to him, and it helps momentarily until I move and see all the movement out of the corner of my eyes. I either need blinders or I’m going to have to isolate in a different room during all down time. I feel isolated. My husband I’m sure feels like he’s doing something wrong because that’s how I’m making him feel but I honestly don’t know how to cope. I’m very happy that I’ve found this website and hopefully I can connect with some people who have similar stories.
Oh snap I didn’t realise this was an actual thing. I get annoyed at people around me all the time who are constantly rubbing their hands together or flicking their legs whilst everyone else is nonchalant. I thought that maybe there was something wrong with me – but, come to think of it, these things have only seemed to annoy me within the last couple of years. So I wonder if it is brought on by something and if it can be overcome…
I CANNOT stand when someone flicks their legs! OMG I thought I was the only one. My mom always does it and when I go to class I try to sit where I can’t see anyone’s legs. Mainly females because they just love to do that crap. I get so aggravated! Sometimes I’m even telling myself I don’t want to be friends with them because it’s just that annoying! Glad to see I’m not completely crazy and alone in this weird pet peeve!
I Cried Reading this, I’m assuming when u say flicks their legs You mean the Obvious kicking air over n over, My mate does this he shakes his feet side to side to the point he’s rocking me as well And I Get HIGHLY ANNOYED then his feelings are hurt, And leg rubbing I get.but when people rub my legs or anywhere repeatedly, and in a fast motion Or Rubs My head like um a freakin dog I go Mad and I obsess over why something so small that sooo many other people tolerate drive me insane like this. Its Really bothersome so I prefer to be alone most times
Yesterday was the first time that I even heard of Misophonia/Misokinesia. I have had several issues with this and wildly searched if it had a name. I do love people but have been triggered by their repetitive behavior to the point that I feel anger and even disgust! Yesterday while putting together some disaster relief meals with friends for flooding victims here in Nebraska, I blew up in front of everyone. My husband in the background leaving the frig open long enough to hear the ding ding ding….a very loud person laughing at everything. My husband saying um every 5 words…crumbling paper…finally I yelled at everyone.and I wanted to run away! In shame I apologized and talked to my husband about the things he does all the time that are repetitive and drive me crazy. Poor guy..he has short term memory loss and is getting almost deaf to boot. So it makes ”ME” HAVE TO REPEAT EVERTHING OVER AND KVER AND OVER! I love him and I want to be able to help him not criticize him. I’m looking for more info on what natural remedies are out there. If I have to watch him wipe his hands after every bite of popcorn again I may just go mad! Just sayin.
I have Misophonia too and I find lots of things really iritating, mainly people doing things with their hands that are un-nessesary, ie running hands through their hair, tapping their fingers, when my husband reads the paper he pulls the pages, smooths them, runs his fingers over the creases to fold them neater, rattles the pages and sort of rubs his bits through his clothes as he reads, whilst he is relaxing with the paper I sit there getting very tense and iritated, now I realise its not just me being intollerant, its an actual ‘thing’
I heard about this condition yesterday on the radio.
I was amazed it was as though somebody was describing me.
I just thought it was normal to hate certain noises and gestures.
My biggest triggers are the sound of eating and drinking but worse is the sound people make when they click their nails or cut them.
Both the sound and sight of it drives me into a rage. The strange thing is I am 49 and this only developed about ten years ago.
I was in my work van with a colleague who was picking dirt from under his nails.
Straight away it infuriated me and I asked him to stop.
He found it amusing and carried on.
I actually threatened him with violence stopped the van and told him to get out drove away and left him.
Needless to say he didn’t do it again.
My partner and children know not to make these sounds or gestures in front of me
I actually left my former partner because I could not endure the sound she made when she ate
In a way I’m glad that it’s an actual condition despite the fact there seems little I can do about it.
Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated
I feel your anguish. I broke with a very sweet and kind boyfriend because he breathed to loud through his nose and mouth. Grunted while he ate and had to make some type of noise when he moved like getting up from a chair or bending over etc. He sounded like he weighed 500 lbs like it was a huge struggle. He was fairly normal weight so it didn’t justify the sounds which that drove me insane. Smacking his mouth, moving his lips while he read, dear God I just couldn’t do it any longer. I am much happier now. Silence is golden to me. Although when I go visit my mother she has a clock on the wall that tic, tocs wayyyyy to much! lol
I’m working on breathing and rethinking my brain to say, these people are not here to torture me. That helps a little.
I’m pittied you but also think it is funny. Poor the boyfriend but i think i also will do the same thing for my own comfort. I will try to survey a partner before i married them.
I suffer with many of these feelings, they are far worse when I’m feeling stressed, which has become more of an issue in recent years. My son has Aspersers which results in heightened senses, and I’m aware that others in my family have autistic traits. I think there could maybe be a link.
Those behaviours are antisocial, he has not been raised properly and is too stupid to learn manners.
Sadly its more common in men. You did the right thing, not just because of your condition but it says a lot about him.
Thank You, All Of You guys for sharing this, U hit home when You said Your Children and spouse know better than to do certain things. Toe nails, hair shavings, I hate when people have there disgusting napkins on the table,They only get one chance and its stupid but I fight but the urge wins. I will start my research…
Yeah To top it All off I’m An August Virgo…
I hate when people say “there” when they mean THEIR. Or say YOUR welcome instead of YOURE welcome. It’s not that difficult.
Hugh G says: “I hate when people say “there” when they mean THEIR. Or say YOUR welcome instead of YOURE welcome.”
Absolutely with you there! I also hate when people leave apostrophes out of abbreviations, especially when the misspelling is immediately underlined in red as soon as they’ve typed it.
I cannot stand when people whistle through their teeth. Can. Not. Stand. Regular whistling bothers me, but whistling through teeth honestly makes me want to kill myself. Other triggers are pen clicking, nail/cuticle biting, and one that really drives me crazy is when my husband sucks on the tips of his glasses; it literally makes my lips vibrate/itch/ache when he does it. I also hate any music with a steady drumbeat. I find loud drums incredibly distracting. I always just thought I was a bad, evil person for being so easily annoyed. I do like to stay home alone where I can control my environment. Oddly, a ticking clock does not always bother me. When an animal or a small child causes a trigger, I have a much less pronounced reaction than if it comes from an adult. Something about feeling that someone should know better makes it worse. Lucky for me, I have very poor peripheral vision. Otherwise who knows how crazy I would be?
I could be in a store and as soon as I hear a kid throwing a fit I have to leave. Also the stores out there that have their music pumped up I told a manager one time is this a store or a dance club. He didn’t like it too much.
I understand about the the kids crying in stores, I’m like doesn’t that bother anybody else around me?
Maybe I’m not a total freak after all…since around the age of 9 I’ve had misophobia and misokinesia and did not know that until today! I’d convinced myself it must be a mild form of autism, despite having no other symptoms. I left school and home aged 16 because my father was unable to sit still – he fidgeted all of the time. Then I married a man who fidgets so much I can’t sit in the same room for any length of time. Aargh!
Wow! That is crazy. I thought I was bad XD My biggest agitation is my fiance jiggling his knee. To this day he hasn’t broke the habit after me always having to end up telling him to stop multiple times a day.. It gives me worse anxiety than I’ve ever felt from any ANYTHING else (and I’m a long term anxiety sufferer already).
Second would be dogs licking themselves. Especially the SOUND. That can be the most sudden onset anxiety that I’ve ever felt at times.
Other things like coughing, sneezing, anything involving toenails except my own, bag rustling, anything like that and repetitive, can really get on my nerves, but not nearly as bad. And it always stops happening right before I have to ask them to stop…
Cause really?!
“Could you stop coughing?”
“Could you stop opening that bag up?”
“Could you stop sneezing?”
I guess I’d get to a point to avert the situation.
If he still hasn’t broken the habit, then it’s probably a thing that he really can’t consciously control. Just try to remember he’s not doing it AT you, no more than you are having a reaction to it AT him.
Yeees,,, I Am Extremely tolerant with Children && the elderly but folks I feel should “Know Better ” There is No Mercy… poor them… But people like Me,,,, Those who know me know,,, But Baby,,, You can ef up my whole day with these itty bitty things that make nerves in my face n other parts of my body twitch… Solo Dolo
I am so glad I found this! I have been shunned so many times for being the “crazy” one or Im being mean. I’m not mean about it, I just can not physically handle people chewing,smacking, breathing loudly, nose whistling, crunching, clearing their throat, sniffling, coughing or sneezing loudly, etc. I then noticed especially with someone close to me he drives me insane touching his ears or his head, a spot on his nose, he picks eye boogers constantly, bites his nails, scratches his leg or rubs his head when hes tired and its constant with him. I’ve been told I’m autistic or I need mental help, maybe so, but good Lord just use manners and control yourself not everyone is so annoying.
Is there a collective name for having a variety of these situations / disabilities whatever you want to call it? Like is there an overarching name for having both misophonia and misokinesia? Is the misokinesia strictly related to like a visual version such as someone can’t handle seeing certain motions (like I don’t like twiddling fingers or similar) But there’s also visual triggers that prompt a fight or flight response in me that feels analogous like seeing things whether they gross me out and larger they are or otherwise. I know like many there’s concurrent OCD and/or tourette’s probably other stuff too. Is there a name for the stuff like super ridiculous sensitivity to odors my odor threshold went insane at detecting things at lower thresholds most can’t and only occasionally some have so I know I’m not imagining it when I developed asthma. Not much longer after my lifelong misalphania got much worse without necessarily obvious triggers other than potentially repeated sound exposure. And I guess there was also in some cases but less frequent problematic for asthma odor sensitivity.
I guess I’m asking about the particular so I can understand miso kinesia are they the same as when it includes discussed or difficult feelings when it’s not just the tactless sensation with the visual or is that another name? Is there a name for all these bound together? And finally a lot of this sensory perception overload really seems like it rings a bell with high functioning autism. Is there any widespread opinion or even divided camp with enough adherence to make it seem like there’s something and it’s not one person spouting their own unique personal view as to whether these things are part of the autistic spectrum and if so what does that mean? I can’t help but wonder this because I hear and think I understand that autism will not limited to involves a lot of overstimulation of a sensory perception that one cannot just ignore or filter out and that’s been me forever but I’ve never been given an autism diagnosis of which I understand many many types are on the spectrum including high functioning so I’m wondering what am I considered I guess. Thank you for thinking about this any of you who do and any responses
No one has talked about the person at home, or guest ( relative ) visiting the home or some one in our work force has to sneeze so, so, so loud it blows me over…. it is ridiculous and not necessary…. it does startle people and of course the snapping of gum, or playing with their fingers that make a noise….. the people in the movie theatre who are making noises with their water bottles, their wrapping package that has candy inside, ….. my husband goes crazy when I am so startled and nearly have a heart attack when these noises make me jolt, make me CRAZY….. I find it because they are seeking attention… also people at work who push their chair in making the noise of dragging it and not lifting it… or people who make that noise from moving a table down the way… I would have someone near by lift it to create a quiet atmosphere while people are talking, working or just reading… ABSOLUTELY UNNECESSARY>.. I still say it is attention seeking and nothin more… There is also a certain culture group that bend over with their nose almost at their plate and slurping or making some kind of ridiculous noise to eat their meal…. sheesh… I say it is because they are not using the proper tools that will hold it much easier than it dropping off the sticks…. grrrrrgh!!!!!!!!! Makes me crazy!
I hate fidgeting, repetitive movements, etc – they make me feel sick – but I couldn’t disagree more about “unnecessary sneezing”. I frequently have sneezing fits and I do not enjoy them at all. I can well understand that others may dislike them, and I always apologise. But I can’t control them. I do think we need to be less condemning of people whose behaviours cause bad reactions in us.
Yeah, no. As a loud sneezer (who has not completely controllable allergies yet) I can assure you that if it was possible for me to sneeze quietly, I absolutely would. And since stifling a powerful sneeze can actually be harmful, there is no way I’m going to do that on anyone’s behalf, no matter WHAT kind of reaction my sneeze triggers in them.
And the people making the noises that trigger you? They are just living their lives, not “seeking attention”, FFS. Most people quite honestly do not notices these types of noises or gestures AT ALL, or if they do, are not bothered by them. That you have a disorder that causes certain noises/gestures to be irrationally irritating does not mean those people are doing them AT you, purposely for attention, or any other sinister/selfish reason you want to come up with.
Those of us with misophonias, sensory processing disorders, sensory defensiveness, etc – WE are the odd ones out, and WE are the ones that have to learn how to live in a world where we are affected by people doing normal, innocuous, everyday, things. And if you continue to view people’s normal, innocuous, everyday actions in such an uncharitable light, then all you are going to do is make yourself more miserable than you ever need to.
Hi! I am 16 years old and I have already been diagnosed with misophonia by my doctor, along with a few other disorders. I have noticed I get extremely irritated, close to tears, disgusting, etc… when I see people bite their nails, fidget at all with their hands, play with their hair, shake their feet, the movement of someone chewing, and so many more. I am in high school and this is probably the worst time to be experiencing this. It isn’t just pet peeves i have, it causes me so much anxiety to where i have to leave class to cry. It confuses me so much. I hadn’t been able to pinpoint a word to describe my extreme detest against watching certain motions. Nobody understands it. It frustrates me to know that nobody understands it, but as i read the other comments it gives me some sort of relief. I wish there was more of a light on mental disorders because people who don’t experience them don’t understand how life altering they are. Because of my disorder I have to test in the halls to stay focused, can’t eat with certain people, can’t sit next to certain people, cannot attend movie theaters or things of that realm, etc… I have had an endless amount of people not belief me and ask for proof i have misophonia, and it sucks because they try to tell me its not real. Experiencing this disorder is truly awful, it affects me in so many ways and i wish i could figure out someway to help myself. My mom has suggested therapy for me, but she suggests it because of my other issues i deal with on a day to day basis. I need to figure this out. Any feedback would be absolutely amazing!!! Thank you!
Hi Hailey , my name is Karen and I’m 56 years old so far out of school, but I understand . I never knew our life complications had a name until recently so I’m glad to find this community. Therapy , sure , why not ? But , over many years of dealing with this I’ve found the absolute best medicine is physical movement either outside ( be safe , no walking in dangerous areas or at night ) or even a gym . Even though there are sounds /smells ( which I taste , that’s my other issue ) they are often not repetitive or rhythmic so they blend rather that overwhelm. Yoga also really helps although I don’t know why . Remember, you’re not crazy or bad , your brain is just a little more active than most people and that’s a good thing .
Take care ,
K .
OMGoodness…..
I’ve never actually heard anyone else say that they taste smells,,, It’s a blessing and a curse, I get nauseous easily I have to have certain salty and sweet things around to keep me from vomiting. Most likely Baking Soda to curve the nausea and then like a fruit punch fruitie or now n later to keep it down both followed by ice cold water. WeirdO… my entire life
Hi hailey! I just turned 15, and I’m going through the exact same thing as you. It’s such a horrible thing to have in high school, and no one in my family understands, they just yell at me.
Hi I am almost 14 and for the past 2-3 years I’ve had these symptoms. Noisy eating drives me mad to the point where I’m in tears. There’s also a noise my dad makes when he has a cold, sniffing and then clicking/scratching his throat. It angers me so much that I self harm. My mum scratches her face and taps her leg so when she comes home I avoid her. It’s sad that for the rest of my life I won’t be able to spend time with my family without getting distressed or screaming
I can’t stand the following noises made by other people: chewing food or gum, gulping liquids, whistling, humming, grunting, sighing, sniffing noise, clearing throat sounds, sighing. I also can’t stand the sound of someone that has a lisp when they talk.
I can relate to your comment 120%. I’m 19 years old and dealt with the same thing… I’d like to talk with you because I’ve felt like no one believes me or truly understands me. Is there any way we can talk privately?
i always thought that it was just something stupid i’ll have to deal with i’ve had multiple people call me crazy. Some of the main triggers are like people shaking their feet or having their hand in front of their mouth or even just like people say with their mouths open! I have to physically put a barrier between me and them as to not see them but before i put the barrier i have to like push their hand away and tell them to stop and then put the barrier so it’s almost like i got the last word, i know that sounds wierd probably. I always mimick people either verbally or physically as to stop myself from bursting out crying which i normally do anyways but it’s like i’m so angry that i can’t even cry because i’m that angry. Honestly sometimes i sorta wished that i was deaf in that moment rather than being in the scenario
I know exactly how you feel.. You especially got me when you said that in those moments you wished you were deaf. I sadly have wished I was deaf too in those moments of rage. I also have misokinesia and have wished I was blind before too. In this moment… I wish they would find a treatment already and end our suffering.
Also, it’s not a “mental disorder”, it’s a neurological one.
I just noticed tonight that my friend during chorus rehearsal was bothering me so much that I had to get up and move to another seat. I can’t imagine what she must have thought. I didn’t want to be rude to her by barking at her, “Could you please stop that? It’s really annoying and gross! You don’t come to chorus rehearsal to stroke your hair and comb it with your fingers the entire night in search of split ends! I can’t think of anything more disgusting! Next thing I know you’ll be sticking the small strips of hair you are inspecting in your mouth! What’s wrong with you? Enough is enough already! We all touch our hair once in a while, but this is ridiculous. You won’t stop! Didn’t you wash your hair? Haven’t you noticed that you have extremely frizzy and long hair? You should be inspecting the knots in your hair at home before coming to rehearsal!!!!!!”
I didn’t want to say this to my friend because I’m there to make friends not enemies. The best I could do was get up and move, which I felt wasn’t very nice. Another thing she does is glance over at me while I’m singing or taking notes in my music. I feel like covering my page with my arm the way kids do to keep their neighbors from cheating from off their papers during a school test.
I will need to read more on this. I also can’t watch my beautiful daughter eat. I feel like ants are crawling all over me and I can’t stand the sound. During holiday family meals, I have to place a large flower arrangement at the center of the table to block the view of my husband while he eats. I can’t stand it. It makes me want to scream.
I guess there really is something “wrong” with me. All this time I thought it was them. I also can’t stand hearing people talk on cell phones in public either. I makes me feel irrate. I feel like saying, “Shut the F up! I’m here to relax, not hear you schmooze business over your phone!!!!”
Chris, people playing with their long hair is my worst visual trigger, and I have many. The way you describe your reaction is spot-on! Glad to hear I’m not the only one, but sorry so many of us have this condition.
I’ve never actually understood why some people get so angry/freaked out by people who play with their hair (my hair is usually way too short for twiddling so, Not Me) but as part of a misophonia related disorder, it makes perfect sense now.
I am 53 years old and it is finally nice to know I’m not alone and what I’m feeling isn’t because I’m “high maintenance” or “intolerant”. There are many noises that I can’t stand but the top of my list is: Excessive talking! Large group when everyone is talking and laughing, a single person who speaks loudly and never shuts-up, I DETEST most TV! Shows such as “The View” leaves me in a rage!If I was to be tortured that show would just be played over and over again!Cell phones needless to say have just about done me in. I’m a firm believer in good manners and proper etiquette. That combined with the talking issue makes me livid. I have thrown so many murderous looks at people in public, left stores, made comments to people, etc. What I’d really like to do is yell “Everyone shut the F*** Up!” But that would be bad manners….:) My adult daughter was very athletic child. I did enjoy going to her games but at home she would be talking to me always with some sort of ball in hand either dribbling, tossing, bouncing and she learned pretty quickly NOT to do that. The ticking clock I find rather soothing for some reason. When my daughter and son-in-law spend the night I have to take it out of the guest room though. My son-in-law can’t sleep with that ticking. Every morning my husband slurps his coffee. I’ve never said a word because he is the kindest most loving man and I know it’s my issue but after more than 25 years of marriage I still feel anger when it happens. Just nice to know I’m not alone!!
Gosh Heidi, it’s my wonderful husband that triggers me too. Slurping coffee, passing gas at both ends all day, his constant snacking. I have to leave the room. What a horrible disorder this is.
I CANNOT STAND the noise of television, at all, except if I am actually watching something I am interested in (VERY rare) nor can I deal with listening to just talking on the radio for any extended length of time.
On the other hand, I’ve almost dozed off in the MRI machine before. Such a weird disorder.
Chris…You sound just like me. I just found out about Misophonia and now believe it’s a disorder that seems to affect millions of people. I am 74 female and have had this all my life it seems. Now perhaps I can learn more and get help.
Oh my,you are me!!!…my husband irritates the life out of me EVERYDAY it drives me insane he now even makes disgusting noises while NOT eating,he’s got worse as time gone by he’s 69 so there’s no chance of changing him ,I would like to walk out and never go back but at my age can’t start again
Cell phones: even people without misophonia are irritated by loud talkers on cell phones.
BUT, there is actually a very valid reason so many people talk way too loud on a cell.
A regular landline phone feeds the speakers voice back to them through the speaker of the handpiece, which allows them to regulate their voices to a moderate level. Before this was done, people yelled into those kinds of phones too.
I really wish cell technology would come up with a way to deal with this so public cell phone yellers can become a thing of the past.
Same same same!!! Cell phone talk. Also Nail clipping, people sighing, whistling, to name a few more…..
Hi, I can’t handle when people continuely have to have their shoe halfway off and shake it like a flip flop or men usually shake their leg constantly drives me nuts I’d like to go shake them
Ha! Have you ever seen Kimberley on The Five on Fox News?
OMG, she does this and drives me crazy so I stopped watching.
Ive dealt with this all of my life and I’ve become isolated. I really pray that a treatment will be found soon because I’m tired of dealing with it!
I am extremely irritated if I notice someone chewing gum when I am on the bus. The motion of the moving jaw is hideous to me and I have to avoid looking in that direction.
Evelyn I could not agree more about the jaw motion. I always remember Angela from My So-Called Life watching her parents chew saying “I mean, if you stop to think about, like, chewing — what it really is — how people just do it, like, in public.” Hahaha helps put my disgust into words.
Yes this is me too. Ever since I was 15 or maybe even 12 I started having issues with my Mom swallowing, noises in school like tapping, coughing that made want to strangle them, and even my watch that ticked while I was taking a test. It made me disoriented. It was weird after I turned 15 I was angry a lot, but that wasn’t the real problem. The real one was every sound started to get really loud. I’d have to cover my ears when people moved dishes around and would literally fall to the floor when I was touched. It was weird because I’ve never been that way. At 14 it was just people touching my shoulder to get my attention and by 18-19 and still now at 20, I can’t stand being touched slight movements put me on edge. Like I have to fight or something. Even lights on cars passing by feel like they’re in my face. If someone at work flicks a bag near me it makes my body feel like it hit me. And I literally jolt away like I was pushed when anyone moves near me. I used to react to sounds or touch by screaming which turned into throwing any object I was holding. Even someone saying my name at a normal volume makes me jolt or scream. I hate freaking people out and trying to make them conform, so I just keep it inside. But the beeping sounds at work on our headsets is starting to drive me insane.luckily the sounds aren’t constant or I’d be a wreck. I still feel overwhelming anger when someone makes noises filling ice or someone says um or ah too much which I just found out are triggers of Misophonia. I recently found out about this name and just now about misokinesa. It blew my mind. One question does it give you headaches or feel like someone is pounding your eardrums when you hear sounds. It does in my ears and it hurts. Do you relate?
I can not stand seeing chewing whether I can hear it or not. If I can’t hear it it’s like I’m waiting to hear the first chomping sounds and I can concentrate on nothing else and I also can’t stand foot shaking I think I could chop somebody’s foot off and it annoys me and it does sicken me
Everytime my dad slurps or taps or I hear the sound of breathing under a microphone and next to me I have this firing rage inside of me. I always consulted my self-thinking I don’t have ADHD or add nor do i have autism and this article helped me understand my disorder. In school, I would pull out my hair or clench my hands to not make it obvious but at home, i let it all out making me a victim of something unknown. Thank you so much! I think my parents would doubt it but at least I know whats wrong with me.
I have noticed this my misophonia has been going on since I was about 5 and I feel so bad for my sister I screamed at her and no one else because no one else wouldn’t hit me if I did but I noticed the misokinesis about 2 years ago when I was 10 I was in a car and in a car in the lane next to us someone was chewing and it was obvious to me there could be no sound involved but I was almost in tears because of it.my friend also rubs his lip and it makes me feel almost nauseous . Does anyone else get this feeling?
Hello everyone! I’m so grateful that I am not the only one that suffers from this disorder. When I was a child it was loud smacking and chewing that would almost have me in tears. As I’ve gotten older, it’s gotten worst. My husband thinks that I hate eveiabout him . It annoys me when he smacks, drink and make the refreshing sound. When he twirls his feet. When he walks without picking up his feet.. how do I fix this disorder?
Lol Rhonda, I know exactly what you mean by “the refreshing sound”. I HATE it. It’s like “Do you have no self-control? Do you just make orgasm noises in public too? Or let a big fart rip? Because that’s basically what you’re doing.”
I’m so happy right now! I thought I was the ONLY one who had this probably! I cried about it every night because I hated going to school! EVERYONE annoys me by sniffling, clicking, taping, breathing loud, coughing to moving OR SHAKING THEIR LEGS!! I cried so much because it bother me so so so so bad! I always knew I was annoyed by sounds since 2 or 3rd grade when kids make tapping noises with pens or highlighters and I say “stop” they don’t and just do it louder and never stop! But I rlly noticed it in 7th grade!! Oh my god it was HORROBLE I hated it! I moved my seat everywhere to find a place to not get annoyed and I told teachers and nothing help. I did notice being in the front of the class HELP A LOT BETTER and I always put my hand around my eyes when I am at school so I only see my work and nothing else. But sadly I still see everyone moving their legs! ALSO the most IMPORTANT thing I use are some noise canceling silicone earplugs! I wear there almost the whole day at school! School isn’t good but but without them I wouldn’t even believe it. School so hard and I’m in 8th grade right now but I’m so scared because everything it just getting more annoying and I can’t control it! Everyone just says to me “your crazy” “get over it” “it isn’t annoying” “no” “omg” “what” or “I don’t care” when I asked them to stop makeing that noise or movement and I just want to sit at my desk and cry because I cant hold it back. I just want it to go away and it is just taking away my life. I just don’t knot what to do anymore. I wish there were pills. My life will be so much better 🙁 but I always sleep with my music on to let out noise I wear noise proof head phones, earplugs, and basically anything u could think of, I even have a noise machine. It helps a lot, but nothing can get me over it, i hope it goes away soon ? but it won’t. I have to just deal with it, but no one knows how hard it is.
Hi Ava,
I’m 38 years old and was lucky that in my teens, only food sounds bothered me. In college and afterwards my misophonia expanded to forceful typing being one of my biggest triggers. I try to meditate and exercise regularly to lessen it. Hang in there, thanks for sharing your experience, and know that there is a growing community of us to touch base with. I’m optimistic that research will find some ways to help us.
I feel your pain but didn’t discover what my “problem” was until I was 65 years old. For years I thought I was mean, impatient, intolerant and overly critical of others. Misophoinia is most bothersome, but my sister runs her fingers over her eyelashes as you describe and my best friend chews on his tongue and both of those movements drive me insane.
Yet another thing to add to the ever-growing and considerably long list of my conditions and disorders
I think at this point it’s like 11 things long
I’m 14 years old and I almost have a mental issue for every year I’ve been alive
FINALLY light has been shed! I thought I was an awful person for not being able to tolerate particular sounds and repetitive movements from others and particular environments. I was researching why much of what my significant other does (silly sounds he feels the needs to make on a regular basis and constant thumping his fingers…among other things) has made me question whether or not I could remain in our relationship. It’s not just him, for I cannot read or focus on the content with noise like the tv or radio or others speaking. I crave a quiet environment. Crowds and people getting too closely to me trigger panic. I am a 55 year old woman. I want so much to cope but haven’t figured out a way yet. I could not ask to be treated better by anyone, but my sweetie doesn’t seem to understand my dilemma. I prefer to drive in silence. He has to have the radio loud. I need a fan to drown out the noise to sleep and he doesn’t get it. I live in the country to get away from the noise of the city, and he’s lived his whole life in the city on a busy street. He also has a bit of hearing loss due to working around loud machinery, leading to a constant hum of some sort. He’s explained his reasons and I understand them. But he seems to not grasp my sensitivity to the distractions. I’ve struggled in the work environment due to the distractions of talking and loud voices. My computer job requires me to read and reread material. I constantly have to start over to grasp the content.
When I’m in a public setting at a school function, at the movies, or in a restaurant and someone is talking loudly or whispering, after a while I have to ask the person to either stop or lower his or her voice.
I would do anything to not be bothered by sounds/noise and movements. I hope to find out more about this and what I can do to cope better. I can’t change everyone else. This is my problem. Thank you for sharing your story. Bless you!
Replying here because I simply can’t scroll to the bottom only to find no way to reply. I have yelled at my mother and others for eating loudly. I have also yelled at others for fidgeting. In the car my boyfriend shakes his leg and it makes me nauseous. I always thought that was due to the movement of the car. Anyone fidgeting makes me nervous and almost angry. Noises literally drive me crazy. I mean like people eating drives me nuts. I can turn up the music in my car if someone is eating and it doesn’t matter. It’s like the sound of them eating is in my head. It’s getting worse. People on tv were eating or kissing and the noise was unbearable. I had never thought about the movement being connected. I have so many mental issues what’s a few more.
Wow yes!! Finally i feel like im not a weirdo and that this is actually a thing!
I also experience feelings if nausea.
I’ve particularly noticed with people that have ticks.
Its the repetitive movement and the knowing that its happening again and again that makes me so angry and feeling sick. Lol
Yes!! I, Taper, have mild misophonia to crunching/chewing
A quick unexpected TAP on a window, like with a ring or coin would send a feeling of fingernails down a chalkboard inside my head and body. As well as my Turtles when they bang their hard shell against the glass aquarium. It makes my nerves (all of them) feel even more sensitive and raw, and then I can’t help but anticipate when the next abrupt, annoying, destroying, nerve racking sound will catch me off guard. I think being caught off guard makes
it so much worse. I get a head-ache around my temples jaws hurt and my legs vibrate within. It’s weird.
I get these feelings sometimes just from the good, the bad, and the ugly that is part of being an Empath, which I’m sure I am. My hearing is not only sensitive, but I can hear people talking from inside their house next door. Not yelling, talking. I thought they were at my front door having a conversation, and I opened the door and nobody was there. I could hear exactly what was being said. When I saw one of them days later, I asked if they had come to the door and maybe I didn’t answer in time, he said no, not at all. So I told him I could hear him talking to someone and it sounded like he was at my front porch/door. Lol He said, what was I saying…..so I told him, and he seemed a little bothered bcz he said there is no way you could hear me saying that when I was in my Kitchen which is the opposite side of the house from mine, and the doors and window’s were closed, but he said that I heard what he had said. I was in the bathroom of my house and there is a skylight in there, but it doesn’t open, I figured sound must travel through it somehow. And, one thing that just wrecks me is snoring! There is no way on earth I could be in a house, let alone a room with someone snoring. And that sure limits a lot for me….hahaha
I wish I could fall asleep with someone snoring, but as I miss so much sleep already, the snoring would push me into sleep deprivation for sure bcz I could not go to sleep with that NOISE! And I feel bad that I’m that way, but it isn’t something I can change, I’ve tried many times and one of us would get thrown outside for sure. And ear plugs do nothing for me. You are right though, I do also believe we, “Misophoniacs” are very In tuned, and have extraordinarily sensitized nerve endings! IMO. Which could very well be from being a sensitive/empath, too. We hide or store away life’s idiosyncrasies day after day, and we finally just pop from within! We just feel more, all the way through our bodies! Oh, lucky us!
I have 2 children with adhd and one of the 2 has Tourrettes as well. It drives me Bananas when they tap tap tap with a pen or shake their leg/foot cuz they have to constantly be moving. We went to the movies with the one that has Tourrettes, I couldn’t watch the movie and we were getting so many looks. I vowed never to do it again.
Yet it has also helped me to learn patience and acceptance as well because they cannot help it. Its who they are. They know it bugs me so they work on it just as I work on not lashing out everytime it grates on my nerves!
Mine has progressed with age.
At school I noticed my friend twiddle with her hair. But what annoyed me was how she did that whilst lost in her own world with her large jaw jutting out. That expression and her unkind character led me to dump her as a friend.
My sister was always shaking her leg and fidgeting about unable to sit or stand still. It made me feel jittery.
Now I can’t stand tv noise, people on their loudspeaker when I call them, accents, nasally or guttarl speech, and off course repetitive sounds.
I also can’t stand the way some people move especially when its a nervous tick. Equally I can’t stand sour, morose faces.
The key issue is how they elicit a strong reaction in me, like a hatred of the person and desire to run away.
Its now a long time since the article was written but here are my troubles in list format, perhaps they will help in categorizing any studies you have since completed:
I smell and “taste” colors and shapes.
I eat food and decide it has a shape (I sense it as I am tasting and then remember it as so)
I do get more than agitated when I hear saliva as people chew. It drives me nearly mad.
I have had a similar experience with movement that made me almost fly out of a car once. It was tapping but a same tap I would do with my fingers so I was unsure if tapping or predictability played in.
I also suffer from hypnogenic dreams. I am not sure if that fits in anywhere but thought I would mention it. Additionally, I have a form of a migraine that is not painful, but I sense a candle dripping on my head, forming a puddle of water that is cool. I have a sense of a tiny man with an ice pic tapping on the tip of my nose. These things cause what appear to be ticks but they aren’t. I’m just trying to get rid of the pool of water on my head and the little man on my nose. ha! Its weird, but those are the things I struggle with. No mental illness and I’m not on any medication except blood pressure meds. I hope this helps. If you have any research, I’d love to learn more on how to maybe cope a bit.
Wow!
I can not believe what i am reading here!
After suffering almost 60 years with the same triggers and thinking that i was a total freak! Learning from other people here that i am not the only one?
I started to get annoyed when my dad was always whistling! Was so bad that one day I went to the kitchen and grabbed a small knife and pushed it into my neck while saying shut up you freak repeatedly!
Lucky mum asked him something and he stopped!
Now I have people around me that do things that always anger me so it is getting worse..specially when the neighbours have a karaoke night untill 3 at night!
Hi, I’ve read many comments which have helped me in that I know I’m not on my own. I’m now 59 and since the age of about eight I’ve had A real visual issue with mouth movement and in particular people who chew the inside of their gum or lip. It started with my father and then later years my first wife. I used to sit at the dining table and watch my father do this routine of extracting food from his teeth with his tongue after eating. I remember being super focused on it to the point where I couldn’t think about anything else. It seem to go on and on and all I could do was sit there absolutely boiling inside. It made me feel very, very angry. I guess some of the anger was at myself not being able to simply just ignore something so innocuous. One Teatime I had such an angry grip on my teacup that they exploded all over the table. I made an excuse saying that maybe the cup had a crack in it and that’s why it has shattered.
With my first wife, she continually used to bite her lip. I asked her please would she not do it but was met with refusal which made me feel, I was now trapped with this feeling and there was nothing I could do if the other person made no attempt to curtail it. I found it difficult at meal times and watching TV as this was going on the whole time instead of enjoying things my attention was solely on what she was doing with her mouth and feeling of rage and anger inside me. That was over 20 years ago and unfortunately for me both my daughters have adopted the same, practice which I find excruciatingly difficult to deal with when I’m in the same room.
It’s difficult writing this because the honesty means I have to explain in a feelings of pure anger and rage at something. Most people would look at and say they can’t even understand why I would feel like this I have no idea where it comes from or how it started but I know it is something that is almost impossible to ignore and stop happening to me despite my children both saying I should get therapy et cetera. They are in the mid to late 20s now.
Wow. I didn’t know this had a name! I’ve had misophonia since about late 2008-early 2009 (when I first noticed it, I was 18/19 and from there it has become so strong it has ruined relationships with family and friends). The past year or so I have noticed my reaction to sights getting worse and worse- the movement of my dad’s jaw when he eats, or the sight of my mom’s throat when she chews gum. She also uses an e-cig and between the puff and whizzing sounds from that and the SIGHT of her raising it to her lips I’ve about gone mad!
Hi Nicole, I’m so sorry to hear that. You’re not alone and it will get easier. One thing I know for sure is that even though the sounds/visual triggers are horrible and at times unbearable, you can definitely develop coping mechanisms which will help. It took me a while to realise this, but if you’re feeling anxious or stressed (outside of the miso) it can make the triggers even worse… and then it gets into a vicious cycle of feeling stressed so you trigger and vice versa. So if you’re having a tough day, sometimes it’s best to find a way to be away from the situation when you start getting triggers – e.g. take a pretend phonecall or use the bathroom. I know it’s a lot harder if you’re living with your folks (that was the worst time for me) but it will get better.
I am 55 and wish I knew what this was I suffering with since as long as I remember. From the repetitive movements to the chewing ( Oh Please, Not With the Mouth Open!) to the tiniest movements or sounds, it comes and go’s.
I have wanted to rip my ears out at times and I think over the years ( in reflection) I’ve used fans and loud machinery ( steady noise ) to drown out sound to the point that I am half deaf now.
It is not as intense as it used to be. I think it comes and go’s with my blood pressure but lm not sure.
Hopefully in the future this condition will be treatable but until then hang in their and keep trying different coping methods.
Also, there is a sound generator app. Called Mynoise that is well worth the ten bucks it has an endless amount of generators that you can adjust to your comfort level. This has done a lot to save my sanity. Really
Yes! I have this too! It’s gotten worse as I have gotten older. Can’t watch people chewing, can’t handle any movements in my periphial vision. I have to move positions or block it out with a hand or my hair. Going to the movies is the worst…do you know how many times people reach into their popcorn containers? I can’t sleep if the lights are off but the tv is on (my husband is watching). No flashing lights! And my kids fidget. A lot! It’s a wonder I’m still sane…..
Interesting, I think mine’s gotten worse I’ve gotten older as well. I use the hand trick all the time (a well placed hand in head lean can do wonders). Cripes, cinemas are an absolute nightmare… even aside from he constant hand to mouth movements, it seems crazy that cinema food is amongst the loudest on the planet. They might as well sell klaxons.
I am worried that my misophonia will worsen as i grow old, and i really dont want myself old in my bed, getting irritated by the sound of tap dripping water and then die!
My misophonia and misokinesia have both gotten worse as I am getting older. I am now 36 years old and have had this as long as I can remember. It seems as I am getting older, I notice new things that start driving me mad that used to not bother me. The list just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It is very disturbing to know that we all will most likely have this for the rest of our lives. I know for myself, it affects my life greatly. I don’t want to leave my house, I have isolated myself, I have no friends, and I even push myself away from the one person in my life, my boyfriend. I have no family and am scared that I will leave him, because he drives me crazy all day with his moving of his feet and loud breathing and huffing sounds ALL DAY LONG!!!!! I wear ear plugs all day, but my ears are so raw inside, that I don’t know how much longer I can keep pushing them in my pussy, bloody, raw ears. But , I keep doing it, because I feel I will do and try anything so I don’t have to hear or see these things that are driving me insane. I’m at a loss here….. Sorry, I couldn’t be more encouraging. I pray that someday they will do more studies on this and give us some treatment options.
Melissa, I wear earplugs a lot, too, and the ears can get sore, so sometimes I wear ear-defenders around the house. The kind you see men wearing on building sites. They mitigate the sound so it’s less intrusive and it will give the inside of your ears a rest. You may look a bit silly at first, but they will help alleviate the soreness left behind by constant use of earplugs. And such constant use can push earwax down the ear canal so it accumulates by the eardrum, making it harder to hear in the long run. Every misophonia sufferer should own a pair!
Thank you for your reply. I am definitely going to check them out! My ears are so raw and sore that it’s sad and I just keep pushing them little suckers in there every day. Every morning I even have dried up pussy stuff that comes out of my ears, I guess because there raw and they have scabs in them to. So, thank you! I needed an alternative!
Hi Melissa, I also wear earplugs almost 24/7 and was interested to hear that your ears get really sore. In case you don’t do this already or if there’s any chance that they’re getting infected from wearing the same plugs for a while, you can buy plugs in bulk cheap from eBay. I get 100 pairs at a time for about 10 quid and treat myself to a new pair every day!
Circumaural headphones with music on are the best noise isolators I have found, sound is also transmitted through the bones of the face to the eardrum and this helps with that.
Thanks for the suggestion! I’m looking into in-ear white noise generators. They are so expensive though… But I’m saving up, as I think they will be worth the money. I hope anyway..
this is very interesting reading…. i myself believe in finding the center or root of anything ‘bad’ or ‘irritating’….
humans are funny things…. we dont have issues with triggers that make us happy, but a ‘bad trigger’ makes us consider we are insane or different… i think a lot of us dont like the chewing or swallowing or fidgeting as for me its a germ issue….
Just to be clear…. im not a germaphobe ( cant even spell it ;-)… ) but as a former chef… im aware of cross contamination and am aware of the tiny molecules and bizarre world within world theories etc etc that surround us…. so i am thinking of the germs that are been transferred from hair to mouth, or touching ones face etc etc…. as a child i remember my gran making ‘disgusting’ noises when i was a to young to say ”eat properly woman!!” so i believe that the irritation comes from when i was a child and lacked the ability to rectify the situation ( perhaps i associate it to been powerless… ). Find ur Centre.
so glad it isnt just me I knew there was something not normal about the way I reacted to sounds and movements clocks ticking,chewing, snoring, crisp bags,even my poor husbands breathing irritates me to the point of red mist! The list of noises is endless! Didnt realise that the irritation of movements existed I thought it was me being hypersensitive!Seeing my hubby tap his foot through the corner of my eye again brings me to the point where I feel im going to explode with rage! This is steadily getting worse! I am now getting to the point where im frightened to go to bed because my hubby snores and fidgets! This is getting very concerning for me! When I tell people they laugh and think im a loon! just so glad im not! And these are recognised disorders!
Don’t worry Coleen, you’re in good company! I hope that if we can discover more about these conditions we’ll be able to develop better coping mechanisms that we can all use.
Yep I have this. I get irrationally furious at people for many of their movements. The list is very long and some people have unique movements that drive me bonkers. All I can think of doing is smacking them and yelling at them, but I know I’m being crazy so I will contort myself any way I need to not to see them move.
I find that as well. Some people definitely seem to have movements unique to them which are triggers. The temptation is to scream “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”
This is just great! So first I’ve just found out that a life long problem I’ve had with certain noise like sniffing and chewing is a mental disorder , now I find out I suffer from two mental disorders !! Wow! My misokinesia are: people flopping their hands, I get so nervous I want to kick their hand! People chewing gum, even though I have headphones on to block out the sound, if I can still see their mouth moving up and down It drives me crazy. People fiddling with their hands or bouncing their legs…. God it’s a nightmare. How do I handle it? Well thank god for the invention of the ipad! I play music plugged into my ears and keep my head down playing on games on my ipad, it helps so much. I feel like I’m going mad sometimes. I have become so withdrawn from people. But their is one thing I’m happy about, finding out their is a name/s for my condition and I’m not alone. In 35 years no one has understood up until now. It’s such a relief
Hi Xan, I think you’re right, distraction seems to work best (headphones in and focus on a book/iPad etc). I’m hoping that as a community we’ll discover we have all some sort of previously undiscovered superpower that makes up for the misophonia/misokinesia.
My daughter has this condition. I never knew there was a name for it. I just thought it was part of her anxiety/OCD disorder. I have noticed it’s worse when she is anxious. For about 4 or 5 years now she will tell me to stop if I am touching my fingers or picking at my nails or something similar. She also does not want anyone to talk to her when she is eating. I don’t know if that is part of it.
Thanks for the comment Pat. I personally find it’s worse when I’m stressed or anxious as well, so it does sound like it might be part of her condition. I’ve found that knowing it’s ‘a thing’ is helpful in that it can help you to rationalise the feelings when you’re in the moment. I have an aversion to other people talking to me when they’re eating too (particularly people I’m very close to, such as my partner, mum, sister etc) and that’s totally misophonia related. It’s the licking lips/chewing/slight noises that people sometimes make when they’re talking in-between mouthfuls. It’s totally irrational of course – and it never reflects on the person – but it’s a thing unfortunately.
My sister just brought this condition to my attention. I had never heard of it. Both my sister and I have the same aversions, which sounds like we both suffer from Misophonia AND Misokinesia. I thought we were just miserable sods!
My husband, bless his heart, makes coffee -lovely frothy coffee in the mornings and we sit in bed and chat. I want to scream when talks through a mouthful of foam; the sound of it!!! I say, stifling a yell “oh please, don’t do that, I can’t understand you” If someone calls me on the phone and I can hear they are eating something I want to scream – it makes me so bad tempered. Cinema noises, rustling, coughing, fidgeting. What is really awful is when children make a sudden racket when I am on the balcony – their sudden calling to each other actually hurts my ears if I am not prepared for the noise. I just want to shout “Shut up”. I hate being like this, there are so many triggers that set off a rage in me.
I have almost pounced (literally) on a stranger cracking his knuckles on a train. I screamed “Oh NO, don’t do that!” He together with the other passengers thought I was a mad woman. It doesn’t really make it easier to know there is a name for this madness really, even worse to know there is no cure.
Thank you- I needed to read this- I don’t feel like a crazy asshole anymore
Yes, sister, partner, daughter all those closest to me 🙁
This has made my night!! I though I was odd, over sensitive, weird, irrational, COLD…. Finally 🙂 x
I am so glad to hear that it’s a real brain disorder and that I am not crazy… It came first when I was 16/17 and it affected my relationship with some of my family member as they did not understand me. The thing is: when people knows that you can’t support some sound and/or movement they can use it (my sister used it a lot it was painful). So it’s better to keep it for us 🙁
And the way to prevent that is to focus on something else, to listen some music or just to leave.
For example when I am in my office and hear my boss next to me doing the same repetitive noise by touching her mac’s touch I just listen music.
I am scare to see that it’s getting worse with the age, do you have any other tips to make our life easier ?
Thanks a lot,
Vic
Hi Vic, thanks for the comment. I’ve been thinking about this and on the one hand it does feel like it’s getting worse with age, but then I think it could be related to lifestyle as well. I’ve noticed it definitely gets worse in stressful situations. For example at work, or in certain social situations which might not have arisen as frequently when we were younger.
That’s a great tip about the headphones and one I use myself frequently. Other tips include… working in a quiet room for a few hours (meeting room for example) can really help. Just say you’re working on something that requires a lot of concentration. Working from home once a week really helps if you can.
If I’m having a real panic I say I just need to go to the bathroom/toilet. That instantly works and doesn’t seem weird (unless you over use it!). Then I just take a few deep breaths and splash my face with cold water. If you’re already used the toilet trick recently, you could also go and get a drink of water or better still offer to make people some tea/coffee.
I can’t sit through a whole meal. I always “go to the bathroom” at least once or twice.
It is worse if we’re eating at a closed space, where people are crammed, like in my parent’s house, where you feel trapped and unable to have an easy escape the threat to your sanity.
Same for me with eating in close quarters with others. Most the time, I just say that I’m not hungry yet and eat after everyone else is done and gone away!
My beautiful 3 year old son has this with ‘picking’, nails, sores etc… the sound and the action. I have suffered from these conditions since about 6 years old, for 20 years. I feel so guilty for passing it onto my son. I get so angry even when i look at people’s mouths. 🙁 I would consider shock therapy if it would cure me.
Thanks KitKat. Well the good thing is he has a mother than completely understands what he’s going through and that will really help him! When he realises that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with him and that he’s not a ‘freak’ for feeling this way, hopefully he’ll find coping mechanisms that work for him.
My 9 yo son has Misophonia and Misokinesia. He has a name for the movements that trigger him – “animations.” If he sees someone pointing, for example, he will scream, “Don’t make that animation!” He is not able to focus on anything else until the triggering “animation” (and/or sound) stops. He tells me he is not able to look away or move away. Some “animations” that trigger him are : scratching a nose, movement of hand to mouth while eating, walking, running, bicycling, jumping, and hand and pencil writing on paper. He is also autistic and has OCD and Sensory Processing Disorder. Up until a few days ago, I though his reaction to sound and movement was a combination of SPD and OCD.
Hi Rabbit bloom. Thanks for your comment. That’s really interesting. I freak out with pointing as well but I’d never made the connection with that and misokinesia before. It’s incredibly interesting what you say about his autism, OCD and SPD. There still aren’t any conclusive studies which pinpoint exactly what causes misokinesia but I suspect OCD is a part of it (I have mild OCD). I know OCD and autism are often mentioned in relation to both misophonia and misokinesia.
I most certainly get this! My Mum and other members of the family constantly move some part of their body – jiggling knee, wagging foot… I think it’s an anxious energy outlet. And my husband constantly pulls on / fiddles with his beard (aaargh!).
The funny thing is, I feel easier about asking (close) people to stop the movements than I do about the noises, as I can be a bit more ‘jokey’ in my approach. I dread noise makers getting more personally offended, and almost all times I will remove myself from the situation where possible rather than risk insulting them. Plus it’s my problem, so I like to feel like I have some tactics for dealing with it – going to the bathroom, making a cuppa etc.
I had a big talk with my Mum, and she is awesome at understanding that it’s not personal – and knows just how badly I feel, and how tortuous it is to live with. Husband is great too, and very supportive if I’m overwhelmed, but I do on occasion get an eye-roll or miniature huff if he’s the cause. I can deal with that. 😉
Hi Mix, thanks for your comment. I know what you mean, I find it much easier to stop people making the movements than sounds. Especially if it’s someone you’re really close to because you can just take their hand and as you say, make a joke out of it. I sometimes pick my girlfriend up or give her a kiss. So glad you have a supportive family and husband, that is half the battle. BEARD STROKING IS MY NEMESIS.
I had my husband trim his beard, it’s perfect because he doesn’t constantly stroke it now. He also was causing facial blemishes because of the oils in his hands. So many beards out there now in 2018. Sorry it’s a big trigger for you.
I’m a 45 year old woman who though I was completely irrational,I suffer from both complaints and have for as long as I can remember. I live with my partner of 7 years and I adore him but he foot taps,scratches,picks etc etc. If he decides he wants to eat nuts I have to completely leave the vicinity and have even been known to bury my head in pillows,blankets to drowned all noise.I can’t sit on the couch with him because of his constant movement.I also despise repetitive sound it leaves me feeling actually murderous even though I know I’m being hypersensitive
Thanks for your comment Michelle. I recommend buying your partner giant mittens and 4 inch thick woollen socks that can’t be removed without a screwdriver. If that’s impractical (and I can’t think why it would be) then I hope that at least knowing that you’re not irrational or bonkers goes some way to helping you cope with your misokinesia/misophonia triggers
I cannot believe reading this I am actually not a fussy impatient freak. At almost 47 years of age and not understanding why I have such violent tendancies over what I deemed as rediculous reasons. After all why would I get angry and feel violent over noises and certain movements. After reading the page and peoples comments I have sat here almost at the point of tears knowing I am not the only one. Thank you xx
Donna, I was exactly the same. I have always wondered why these things bother me – yet they bother no one else! Although I would not wish this curse on anyone I am pleased to have found this group with people who understand. Its no fun being a hermit!
Thanks for the comment Donna! The MASSIVE relief of discovering that misophonia/misokinesia is actually a neurological condition (and that we’re not completely irrational monsters) has really helped me. That’s exactly why I set the site up, so that we can help each other to through this, work out the best coping mechanisms and educate others
Oh Donna – this is just how I feel. In fact I thought everyone had these, what seemed like phobias, but just didn’t show them. Does it help in the long run to know what it’s called? I have also used the “drown out” method – but I’d like to tackle the cause somehow.
I noticed I had synaesthesia first at about 18, I see all words in colours, I didn’t know it had a name, I just thought everyone did and then it’s only when my Mum heard a documentary about misophonia/misokinesia that she realised I had that too. The worst movement is when someone jiggles their foot – if I could see that during exams it was awful and soundwise it’s when someone slurps tea, I get so angry and feel like I have to get out of the room, I just thought I was really intolerant, I’m so glad it isn’t just me!
Hi Emily, that’s really interesting. Some academics (including a friend of mine who’s doing a PHD in synaesthesia at the moment) think that there may be links between synaesthesia and misophonia. They’re all sensory conditions so it wouldn’t surprise me if they were linked.
I am curious if these are also related to OCD?
Hi Cybil. Very interesting (and somewhat controversial) question! I personally believe that misophonia/misokinesia is a sensory disorder, however it’s not uncommon for people to have both miso and OCD.
I’ve been diagnosed with OCD and I can tell you they’re almost certainly linked. Part of OCD is the inability to filter what a standard human would consider extraneous. Is someone endlessly picking at their eye extraneous? Pretty much always. Does it make me want to destroy the planet when someone does it? Sure does.
Hi Em, many people with misophonia do also have OCD but just to clarify, it’s not necessarily the case the two are inextricably linked (and that to have one you must have the other). It seems to be that they often cohabit. It will be interesting to see what more neurological research here brings up!
I started hating eating sounds aged 8. I am 55 now. I had a very happy period of life when work and marriage were going well, children were little, all was ok and my triggers were mainly under control, I didn’t get overly upset about them. Since the last 8 years I have had more stress from family life and the triggers are much worse. It has got to the stage where I sleep in my separate room in a single bed with a fan on to drown out the background noise of my family, I cannot stand the sound of my husband eating, drinking, shaving, bathing, cleaning his teeth, peeing drives me to rage, all these things did not used to be like this when I was younger and not stressed and happy with life. I have a very loud kitchen fan which I put on for meal times, I wear ear plugs on public transport, I often stand by the doors of trains with my ear plugs in looking out the window so I don’t have to see or hear everyone eating or picking their skin, head, hair, nose, beard etc.
My daughter has exactly the same as me which is really sad. My son does not. My husband does not understand it at all. He makes no effort at all to understand me or our daughter. Sad. If I could I would leave and go live on an island with my dog and my flute. But I have to be here for our children. The marriage is sad. I can’t stand the sounds and movements that he makes, stirring his tea, dragging his feet, picking his teeth, disgusting, all these things disgust me. Not just from him but from anyone who does it but it is so sad that it appears so vile from him. Maybe cos he doesn’t try to help me with it.
My daughter and I make every effort to minimise triggers for each other. I would walk to the moon and back to find a cure. It is a very physical response to sound and movement. It is not under my control. I don’t ask for sympathy I just want to be understood.
I believe I have some synaesthesia too. I get colours with some words etc, and I get shapes come with both sounds and smells. Sometimes when I’m trying to describe a smell (especially with perfumes), I actually end up describing its shape.
Mix, this link between the two sensory conditions is fascinating and I think could be key to our understanding of how misophonia works. I’ve just set up a forum thread about it. If you (and Emily ^ and anyone else with synaesthesia) get a moment, it’d be great if you could add your thoughts http://allergictosound.com/forums/topic/misophonia-and-synaesthesia/
My son suffers from misophonia and misokinesia. He reminds me a lot about certain movements when we’re together. In the past I’ve felt like I can’t move when I’m around him, but I’ve gotten use to it. I am not bothered by movements, only by sounds.
I am in the same boat. Along with the sound triggers I also am bothered to rage about fidgeting, leg shaking, beard rubbing, and pretty much any and all repetitive motions in my peripheral vision. My mother is a leg shaker and fidgeter, my husband plays with his beard and rubs his face and arms a lot. My daughter fidget and bites her nails. The odd part is these things only bother me if they are next to me in a car or the couch. If I am looking right at them or across from them it’s not so bad. But if I catch it from the corners of my eyes. RAGE. I can’t even think straight. I love my mom but she is often the perfect storm of tapping, humming, leg shaking and fidgeting and I have snapped angrily at her many times and have had to apologize then attempt to explain my feelings. Ugh. Sorry to vent but I definitely know how you feel.
My daughter fidgets too and sometimes my husband strokes his eyebrows… send me into a RAGE too. I hate that it makes me feel this way. I wish there was a better way to deal with this other than to “just deal with it. I wonder if this is also linked to OCD?
I recently just heard of misokinesia the other day. It was on the radio and I was like “omg that’s me ” I never knew it was an actual disorder. It explains alot. Even just reading all the comments is making me irritated just thinking about it. My son who is 20 now use to shake is hands constantly. It drive me insane. It was a constant repetitive shaking in for no apparent reason. Then my daughter now 13 started with a similar gesture. I almost went mad. Now she constantly moves. Standing in line she moves back and forth and twists and turns. Its nothing outrageous but I address it and she thinks I’m nuts. It looks like she has to go to the bathroom to me. Im always asking her if she has to use the bathroom because of it. We sit and watch a movie and she is moving the whole time. She puts on lotion or chapstick and that’s all I can focus on. It’s very disturbing to me. I get this weird annoyed feeling. Someone mentioned leg rubbing, I Remember to this day as a child my friends mom used to do that in the car. She would rub her tight while driving. I didnt understand why that bothered me so much. Even now 30 years later I think about it. I cant take people walking around while I’m sleeping either. I get anxious. It’s really frustrating. My son and my mom do this all night. I also get annoyed at nail biting. Mostly when men do it. And it’s weird cuz I constantly picket my fingers and nails but can’t stand when others do it. Constant sniffing drives me crazy too. I’m so anxious even writing this. It’s like a get this twitch of irritation in me.
I’m in my 50’s and now there is finally a word or words that describe this bloody annoying problem I’ve had since childhood. I’ts terribly embarrassing when you’re caught out putting earplugs in at the movies seated next to your Mother, (who’s simply breathing), having to plead with your Husband to stop fidgeting his feet while relaxing in the lounge, glaring at people on transport who are swinging there legs in a seat or God forbid breathing with a whistling schnoz. Chewing gum sends me potty, scraping teeth on forks sends shivers of hatred through my core and swallowing, slurping, open mouthed chewing, I could go on; well I have always thought I’m super sensitive to sound or nutty, until now.
Happily my hubby still loves me and puts up with it, and I have mellowed, or managed it somewhat, but I get the concern of other sufferers and their friends and family cause it’s such an uncommon affliction and not dissimilar to depression/anxiety, as It’s not accepted as a ‘real’ problem by many.
So thanks for your blog, It was fascinating reading everyone’s comments and good luck to all.
Hi Sue-anne, thanks for your comment. There’s some really interesting research being done into misophonia at the moment, so hopefully this will shed light on this little known condition and misokinesa which seems to be strongly related
Many years ago I dated a guy who HATED it when I scraped my teeth on a fork and would angrily tell me to use my lips instead. And I would angrily tell him to shove it, because I have sensory processing disorder (unknown at that time) and am revolted by scraping food off a fork with my lips, especially if the food is the LEAST bit oily or greasy (one of my worst sensory triggers!) So much so that I actually curl my lips as far away from the food as I can get them when I am putting it in my mouth! LOL
What with the Clash of the Neurological disorders, mealtimes with that ex could get interesting.
The answer is YES. I have what I would consider a very severe case of both Misophonia and Misokinesia. I can’t be sure which came first because I feel like I’ve been affected my whole life. My earliest memory is my brothers eating cereal and how I would hate the sound and yell at them to chew with their mouths closed. They always swore they were, and after being diagnosed with Misophonia 4 years ago, I finally realized it was the sound of their chewing with their mouths closed and the movement of their jaws that would infuriate me. I’m 49 and I was probably 6 or 7 at that time. Over the years, it has gotten progressively worse. People who tap their legs, hair twirling, even people staring at their phones and scrolling through their phone which is a repetitive type movement will make it impossible for me to concentrate on anything other than screaming at them in my head to stop. I also hate people getting too close to me and feeling their body heat on me. I take the train everyday and will literally scrunch myself into the tiniest corner of a seat so that the person next to me doesn’t touch me. And if they’re chewing gum and I can see their mouth moving, I’ll pull my hair across my cheek just to cover up my peripheral vision. Add in any type of movement and I’m out of there. I change seats more often than not and sometimes it’s awkward because I’ll have to stand in a crowded train and people thinks it weird that I’m giving up a seat to stand. Which it is but I’m afraid of the one day that I can’t control my impulse to punch their faces off. I have the sound maskers that were prescribed by an audiologist to help drown out the miso triggers I hate but they do nothing for the Misokinesia visual triggers that are just as bad.
I hope your friend’s research is successful in whatever small way and one day there’s some hope for all of us suffering from these very odd and horrendous disorders.