Hey!
I’m 15, but I’ve had Misophonia for what feels like forever. My triggers are things like chewing, swallowing, biting/spitting out nails, and generally just sounds to do with the mouth. I have a supportive family, but I know I’ve been distancing myself from them a lot lately. My dad says things like: “You’re going to have to get it over it!” and the like. I’ve been having those exact thoughts as well and it scares me. I can’t remember the last time I ate a homemade dinner with my family because every time I tried, I would just end up in tears trying not to have a full blown panic attack. It’s caused countless arguments to surface as well, and I hate it. I have a hard time talking about it with my family since none of them seem to really understand.
I’ve talked to a psychologist, an auditory expert, and an occupational therapist, the latter of which gave me a type of treatment. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was pretty much a pair of headphones and an IPod that had specially remastered music in it. Its purpose was to retrain your brain to hear different notes or something of the like.
It didn’t really help for me, but I think it’s definitely worth a shot. I think we should definitely try to spread word of Misophonia, because this sucks and I don’t want anyone else to suffer from this.
A random coping technique I picked up on by accident: when you’re in fast food restaurants, sit as closely to the soda fountain machine as possible. I happened to be at a Subway one time with my family (who chew really loudly) and we sat close to it…I don’t know what it is, but for some reason I couldn’t hear any chewing. I think it has something to do with that weird buzzing noise you always hear, but I’m not all that sure. It was really odd and I’m still not sure why or how that works. Maybe this’ll help for you? I hope so.
Another thing that might work would be to buy a pair of good headphones (I recommend Seinnheiser, the kind that covers your entire ear and is noise cancelling). My parents allow me to use them while we’re eating.
Also, I mentioned talking to a psychologist. Even though she didn’t know much about Misophonia itself, it felt like a weight was lifted off of my chest when I was able to talk about my feelings and reactions without having my family in the room. I was able to open up a bit more.
Don’t lose hope! This is an uphill battle, but you aren’t alone in this. #alwayskeepfighting