Share Your Tips for Coping with Misophonia

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  • #3946 Reply
    Emma

      Does anyone have any tips for coping with visual triggers? People shaking their legs, blinking, unusua mouth movements are all triggers for me. Mimicking is almost a necessity when I see these things, I spend my life with my head in the corner of rooms or with my hair/hands blocking my peripheral vision. Having to blind and deafen yourself with earphones and white noise 24/7 is driving me crazy. Its very isolating.

      #3957 Reply
      Julie W

        I don’t know if anyone else has a problem with certain people’s voices but I sure do. I absolutely can’t stand my co-worker’s voice and I have a very visceral reaction to it. I was almost having panic attacks at work whenever I’d hear her and naturally she talks all day long. I started keeping my door shut but I could still hear her through the wall. I invested $20 in a white noise machine and I set it on ocean sounds. I keep the volume fairly high and it drowns her out about 90%. I know everyone around me thinks I’m being antisocial with my door shut all day, but trust me, it’s keeping me from killing someone.

        #3962 Reply
        Gabriella

          My most severe trigger sound is the sound of people chewing and one of my family members barely closes their mouth when they chew. Whenever I hear it my bodt becomes inflamed, it gets hard to breathe, and tears form in my eyes, but I can’t leave the room because my parents think I’m faking it! I need suggestions for calming my reactions please and thank you!!

          #3972 Reply
          Haley

            One of my worst triggers is chewing, but in a weird way. When most people (at least in my family) chew, their tongue sort of snaps on the top of their mouth, creating the worst sound ever. So, when they eat harder foods, it drains out that sound because of the crunch. The thing I do to cope with this, even though it sounds weird, is trying to chew louder than them to drain it out. I have many other trigger sounds, but I unfortunately haven’t found any other ways of coping with them.

            #4001 Reply
            S.W

              I have misophonia (hate certain sounds) and misokinesia (hate certain movements) and people don’t believe I have it. They can’t tell what is going on in my mind! Anyway, my tips are to purchase ear defenders which block out noise. You can also purchase toys that have rubber spikes on them so if you’re angry, you can pull the spikes out. My pet hates are loud chewing, people messing with their faces, fidgeting, people moving their feet in circular motions or moving them, slurping, loud sipping and loud breathing. Gosh they annoy me! I hope this comment helps.

              #4003 Reply
              jon

                So, the sound of ANYONE eating (especially someone who smacks their lips while eating) drives me NUCKING FUTS!!!!! It is so bad that in the past I have had to get up from Christmas dinner with the family & go into another room so as not to hurt someone. The only thing that helps me is to have music (best solution) or some other background noise going on to focus on. I don’t have any problems in a loud environment, but dear God don’t let someone be eating loudly around me if it is quiet!!!

                #4008 Reply
                Beth

                  Hi!

                  I just wanted to let you all know my story (at least the part of it that’s already happened; it’s still a work in progress!).

                  For me, there’s something about being in a public situation that somehow I manage to keep myself together. It’s still SOOO hard, though, so in public situations, here’s what helps. Oh, and my trigger sounds are eating, slurping, swallowing, and in general all slurp-ish sounds made when talking. When someone’s eating and they offer some to me or I have my own snack, eating also masks and helps (me, at least, but I hope it helps you, too)! If they don’t offer and I don’t have food, discreetly covering the ear closest to them helps a little. I try to pour the frustration into a fist clench, so maybe a stress ball would help (I’m trying to get one of those).

                  I went to an audiologist and am currently trying out hearing aids. Unlike most stories, they’re actually NOT helping me right now. I’ve only had them for a few weeks, and misophonia is a neurological issue (which might take a long time to fix), but the fact is that I haven’t noticed any improvement whatsoever. My audiologist suggested a new thing for me, and I want to pass it onto you because HEARING AIDS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE AND THERE MIGHT BE A BETTER, MORE AFFORDABLE SOLUTION!!! If you have an app that lets you buy music (I’m going to use Spotify premium because it has such a wide selection and I don’t have an apple product), and you’re able to buy wireless earbuds (I’m looking for those right now), it’s a kind of therapy that you can do on your own.

                  1. Make a playlist of the kind of sounds/music that makes you SUPER happy. You FAVORITE favorite music.

                  2. Listen to your music twenty minutes before and during a trigger situation (for me, meals, or even really going out in general).

                  The science behind this therapy is that your favorite music playing at the same time as your trigger sounds are supposed to confuse your brain and tell it that trigger sounds are neutral, and hopefully someday normal and fine.

                  The hardest part about this therapy is finding the right earbud. Here are some links to different kinds of earbuds I’m looking at right now:

                  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N40ORUU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=37O6COYYCPZLJ&coliid=I1E66N4GTIICGY&psc=1

                  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N32WW6S/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=37O6COYYCPZLJ&coliid=I1IEGC6B752MWR&psc=1

                  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXNNAEY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=37O6COYYCPZLJ&coliid=I21C9TJ56ICF3E&psc=1

                  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MA0R8AG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=37O6COYYCPZLJ&coliid=I3NYHMNVZTGRGH&psc=1

                  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3AWSVQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=37O6COYYCPZLJ&coliid=IM2KEZEXFJ8JO&psc=1

                  PLEASE let me know if you try any of these and they work well!

                  I know it’s a lot harder to do the search, but I’ll let you know on any progress that I make so you won’t have to do all the searching! And it’s MUCH more affordable than hearing aids and might actually help! (I haven’t tried it yet, so no guarantee, but this whole thing is kind of unknown to everybody, so we’re learning together!)

                  There is at least a temporary alternative that also helped me with distraction issues. Resound Relief. It’s basically an app that has the same kinds of calming sounds on it that a hearing aid has, so you can still have access to the sounds of a hearing aid without the insane cost of the actual device. It’s helped me immediately with focusing as well as calmed me down! Really try to explore the app, because it has all sorts of downloadable sounds, and there’s a spot where you can make your own sounds based on the songs and sounds they provide. I DEFINITELY recommend it! Oh, and it’s FREE! It’s amazing.

                  I REALLY hope this could help you in some way! It’s amazing to think that you’re still persevering, even though misophonia feels like people repeatedly punching you in the face and expecting you to function like a normal human being. I’m also praying that God will heal us, or help us deal with misophonia. Thank you for listening to my random thoughts! I hope it helps! God bless!

                  #4019 Reply
                  Cormac Doyle

                    Hello all

                    I came across this condition purely by accident some three years ago when a patient of mine presented with combat related PTSD. In the assessment he reported that he had developed Misophonia during teenage years. I treatment him successfully for the PTSD using a therapy called EMDR. Part of the treatment involves the use of Bilateral music. He noticed that the intensity of the Misophonia reduced from 8/10 to an average 2/10. This is not a cure but it would appear that bilateral music helps to reduce the intensity of auditory irritation. I have since tried this with three other individuals (all referred for different mental heath issues) wth age ranges from 16-69 all who self report a reduction. I hope this helps.

                    #4048 Reply
                    Beth

                      Okay, it’s Beth again. I wanted to update you all!

                      Guys, it’s incredible. Sound therapy is working! The main gist of sound therapy is that you’re trying to focus on something other than the trigger sound. So even when I’m stuck in a situation without earbuds, I try my hardest to focus on something going on around me other than the trigger sound. It’s still hard, and it’s a process that takes a little while, but I’ve already been noticing some improvement! My family knowing that I have it also helps immensely, because I can ask them to take out their gum or wait until I’m out of a room to eat, and they understand and appreciate me stopping it before it already drives me crazy. The thing I’m trying to remember is that just because my family knows that I have misophonia doesn’t mean that they always remember, because sometimes I feel more frustrated because they even know now and still freely produce trigger sounds around me. But they’re people, and they forget, and I’m working on remembering that.

                      But back to sound therapy! I have a dab wireless earbud that doesn’t show as well: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N32WW6S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, and it’s a great little earbud! The main thing about sound therapy is that you DON’T want to mask the trigger sounds. I know it automatically makes you think, “WHAT?! No!” But it’s a longer-lasting solution. What your looking for is a discreet earbud that can help you listen to your favorite music while still able to hear everything going on around you.
                      I haven’t found the perfect earbuds yet. You’re looking for something subtle enough that nobody will notice and think you’re being disrespectful, but something that you can still hear everything around you while listening. I chose to start dabs wireless earbud because it’s only in one ear, so you can still hear a lot of what’s going on. The downside to this is it still covers up one ear, so sometimes it sounds like I have hearing loss in one ear (louder talking, asking someone to repeat themselves).

                      While these work very well and I’ve been pleased with them, my audiologist said she wants me to wear bi-neural (in both ears), open earbuds. That’s when I found bone conduction earbuds: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XK29X4F/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. These earbuds use vibrations instead of shooting the sound waves into your ear. They’re incredible! The one downside to them is they’re not as invisible. They don’t look like earbuds at all, but they’re visible and people will probably ask about them. I wear my hair down, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to hide them more that way. I have yet to find perfect earbuds, but for now, this is the best I’ve found.

                      I hope this helps you! Misophonia’s a battle, but you’re doing a great job fighting it!

                      #4085 Reply
                      adrian

                        hello,
                        i’m 12 years old and as i’ve stated in other threads i’m triggered by eating noises. my mom’s a very loud eater and i have to quite literally destroy my hearing with loud music to not hear the noises. i’ve left the room but i can still hear her. i hate it. i’ve tried asking her to stop but she doesn’t take misophonia seriously. everytime i hear it i have horrible, violent thoughts about the person making the sound. if i continue doing what i’m currently doing i’ll end up going deaf. what can i do?

                        #4208 Reply
                        brian

                          Hi, I just recently that this is a noted condition, Until then I just thought there was something seriously wrong with me and how could be such an anti-social person in certain environments.

                          Eating noises is a big one, playing music from phones in public areas, tapping, sniffling, plus the myriad of other noises that set it off. I never go anywhere without ear plugs and will also quite often wear ( shooting sound blocking )headphones over the top to try to block it out.

                          On one business class flight, a passenger on the other side of the cabin was doing a disgusting loud sniff every 5 minutes, I had to have music earphones playing the whole flight, either that or throw him out of the plane. When the cabin staff asked me to turn my music off I politely asked them to ask him to shut up as he had done it the whole flight and was driving me nuts. They left me with the music.

                          The problem is avoiding situations and places such as cinemas ( anyone get the trepidation of even going knowing some idiot will noisily eat popcorn or use their phone or eat boiled sweets that come in plastic wrappers ) I pick last week of the film and something like Tuesday first viewing hoping the place is empty. Desocialises you and is not good for healthy living but neither is going nuts.

                          Any tips that work will be welcome please.

                          Even my girlfriend ensures she carries earplugs in all her bags incase I accidently didn’t have any, and she will go into a shop before me to check the sound is ok. if not we don’t go.

                          Any café or restaurant needs vetting re the sound, it’s a pain for the partners, but she understands ( most of the time )

                          good luck to us all.

                          #4784 Reply
                          Nancy Gatta

                            I also get triggered by grammatical errors. I cope by correcting the speaker under my breath. Just thinking the correction does not help.

                            #4864 Reply
                            Jo

                              Hi, I have had this condition for 40 years. I tolerate eating with people better if I eat in our kitchen with the cooker hood fan on. White noise seems to keep me calmer. I prefer to eat out in busy restaurants as the background noise also distracts my attention from noise at the dinner table. Trips to the cinema are rare but I sit on the back row with my own popcorn. This way no one is annoying behind me and I can eat popcorn to distract me from other noise in front of me. Hope these tips help someone.

                              #5013 Reply
                              Daniel

                                I have to leave the situation.. I’ll get up and go to the bathroom or get a drink or something if I can… but sometimes I’ll be in a meeting and someone will be eating breakfast or lunch or a snack (yes I work in a company where that’s normal) and that is altogether insanely frustrating. The stress in those situations is unbearable, regardless of mindfulness or breathing or anything.

                                In that scenario I actually start sweating with anger/frustration and I just try to rush the meeting as much as possible to get out early, or else I’ll excuse myself as if I have a meeting clash. It sucks but I’d ruin my professional relationships if I lashed out verbally!!

                                I’ve yet to find something to control it. My girlfriend knows my ticks and if they happen we both laugh at my frustration, she sometimes does things (like brushing teeth & talking to me) deliberately to tease, and that’s helped a little I guess in making it more playful!

                                I think if more people knew about this issue they would be more conscious of what they do around others!

                                #5069 Reply
                                Jamie

                                  To those who are talking about earplugs, I can say it is not a very healthy thing to have. For two years I had earplugs and as life went on my condition began to worsen till I was freaking out constantly. Just like noise cancelling headphones, and other devices that are made to quiet noise, eventually your ears will grow accustom to the device and those noises will return. I can not say how you will react, but be wary.

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