What’s Your Best Misophonia Coping Technique?

by | Feb 21, 2018 | Blog | 9 comments

How do you cope?

That’s the theme for this blog post.

I want to start putting all of our favourite misophonia coping techniques in one place so that we can benefit from each other’s experiences.

So what’s your best misophonia coping techinque?

What do you do in the heat of the moment? How do you cope?

It doesn’t matter how weird, silly or ‘out there’ you think it is. If you have a second, please drop me a line here and let me know what it is that helps you.

It could be a movement… a clever excuse to leave the room… a thought… a breathing technique… a mimicking strategy… a potion distilled from the tears of a rare Himalayan bird that must be dropped onto the eyelids at the start of a waxing moon… anything at all.

Obviously what works for one person might not work for another and that’s fine. Let’s just get everything out there. The idea is to test, tweak, hone and see what works for you.

If you want you can also leave a comment below this post.

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9 Comments

  1. Ian Spence

    My neighbours are always banging so if i am in the house on my own i always wear earplugs and it keeps me calm and relaxed.

    Reply
    • Jasmine

      I found out a great way for me, as I am quite young in teen years with this problem I get teased. I find it great to make ”fun” of myself. What I mean by that is I laugh with them, I say ”Aha it sounds ridiculous but it is quite irritating” and if they continue I politely step away if they continue to follow me or annoy me I will say to them ” Could you please stop. I’m getting annoyed and stressed?” if they continue then i would phone my parents and tell them what’s happening and then pretend I need to be somewhere else! I don’t do it often though

      Reply
    • Tara

      Sometimes subtly mimicking the noise (for me it’s “s” noises and mouth noises) can be really soothing. I of course always have earbuds handy. If I can’t get away from a noise or block it out I don’t allow myself to look at the source because that makes it worse. I also find that pretending it’s a dog making the noise (chewing) makes me less annoyed.

      Reply
  2. Hannah

    I tend to get pretty twitchy around my family when they make repetitive noises and I find they’re the people I struggle the most around, because they don’t believe in mental illnesses that aren’t “drastic” like schizophrenia or major phobias. However when I’m with my friends I just tell them to stop and then stare them down if they don’t. Haha apparently I’m an intimidating person and it works in my favour in unfavourable situations such as those. I feel a bit bad for doing it but they really should understand that “please stop” doesn’t mean “oh yes do it twice as much and make me hate you.”

    Reply
    • Sam

      Hey, I’m Sam, and I’m in my teens. I used to ask my family why they’re chewing so loudly, but now, I know that it’s probably me just reacting to their noral chewing sounds. Especially when I’m watching a movie with my brother. He always eats chips and crap like that, and that just really gets to me. My family always mocked me for that and my brother still does. He doesn’t take it seriously. So when I’m watching a movie with him, or he’s just casually eating something, (we’re sharing a room) I’m just leaving the room. He also eats at 3 in the morning for example, so I often sleep on the couch.

      Reply
  3. Paul

    Put the sound in perspetive by comparing it to genuinely awful situations-car accident, job loss, not finding a parking space (joke). Avoid “search” situations like looking for the lowest price on shoes.

    Reply
    • Dylan

      I agree.also not looking at it .if I see it I hear it way worse

      Reply
  4. GG

    I became aware of this in 2017-2018. I Started experiencing meltdowns and fleeing my home around 2016. By 2017 things escalated and I was even put on a 51-50. Since then I have seen many different therapist and psychiatrist. I’ve been told a lot by many different people. I’ve been put on my different drugs and none help. They all make things worse. I’m now seeing a therapist, but I have’t started therapy. I won’t start therapy till Mid July because the therapists who do the therapy are in training and won’t start till mid July. If I was to go elsewhere it’s like 5-6 months wait. People like me are literally dying, but that’s one of the disadvantages to being poor. Insurance covers very little. I should be happy with having some coverage.

    My main triggers are barking dogs and car stereo bass. Too a lower extent loud sounds like fireworks, gun shots or heavy machinery. Neither of these are everyday sounds, so I could deal with them if I’m not expose to them a lot. Dogs barking, Stereo Bass, nothing I can do. The noise pollution is bad where I live. My house is the second to the corner. I live close to where three streets cross. They literally don’t cross, but the other cross street is like 30 feet away. So, you could say I live where three streets connect 🙁

    I live with headphones on at all time. I been doing this for 2-3 years now. My ears always hurt. My head always hurts. I literally sleep with headphones on. My family simply doesn’t understand what I’m going through and I hope they never do. I don’t wish this on anyone. They just look at me and tell me to snap out and get my act together. This doesn’t hurt me because I know they’re ignorant, but it does get to me at times. Deep down I know they want the best for me and care for me, but they simply don’t understand and think it’s me playing a game or they truly believe it’s something that one day I could snap out from as they have told me so many times.

    I just turned 38. I have no wife, girlfriend, kids. I don’t have a job. I’ve already sold all my valuable possessions to help myself with money. I haven’t had a full time job in about 8 years now. I’m really scared about the future. Not having anyone is scary. Yes, I have my mother and sisters who help too some extents, but not having a home where I feel safe, job (money), life is scary. I’m literally scared living in my house since that’s where all the triggers take place. I wish everyone going through this the best.

    Reply
  5. Beate Varga

    My condition isn’t as severe as yours, but I can understand what you’re experiencing. My family doesn’t understand it either, so I often sleep on the couch in the living room. I’m very sorry that things turned out to be this way for you, but I’m sure that you can find a job that suits you and your condition. There are a million possibilities in this world! I’m truly wishing the best for you! Hang in there! (Nice username btw)

    Reply

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