Triggered By My Own Nose Whistling

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  • #8737 Reply
    Katherine

      Hey, I didn’t think I would write about my issues on a public forum but I feel like it is getting out of control and am hoping if anyone can give me advice as to how I should approach this. I’m not sure if this is misophonia or not but I highly suspect that it is.

      I was initially triggered by external sounds. For example, I would be triggered by brief phone rings, wind chimes, dogs barking, birds chirping, specific oral sounds made by a relative. Then I started to get triggered by leg shaking.

      I tried to isolate myself from all these triggers and found an environment that was 90% quiet and free from most irritating sounds. I was doing fine until I noticed this whistling sound that my nose makes. It’s quite embarrassing to admit that I’m getting triggered by sounds coming from myself.

      I tried to get rid of the whistling sound by using nasal strips and nasal mists but that did not take away the sound. I went to see a psychiatrist and she said that it is caused by my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She says that my compulsive behavior as I’m doing homework is causing me to be more irritated by particular sounds that reoccur. Although I think that there is some link or overlap, I think misophonia is a separate condition on its own. I have reason to believe that because I can not habituate to these sounds by exposure and relaxation techniques. With OCD, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) works fine. But I noticed that ERP does not work for misophonia. The more I am exposed to the trigger sounds, the stronger the emotional response becomes.

      (Sorry for so much text. I’ll try to make it brief.)

      Anyways, my psychiatrist prescribed me Fluoxetine, generic for Prozac. I have little hope that it is going to do anything for my adversion to specific sounds. My primary care doctor prescribed me a nasal mist because I was complaining about the whistling sound and of not being able to breathe efficiently though my nose. At this point, I think I’m breathing fine through my nose. I just hate the whistling sound and it is driving me crazy because I cannot escape sounds coming from myself.

      I’m currently on summer break so I don’t have school but I’m concerned as to what’s going to happen to me when I have to go back to school. I can barely concentrate on anything. It’s as if 50% of my attention is on the whistling sound and the other 50% is on my actual work. My academic life is really important to me and I just don’t want a whistling sound to ruin my life. I was thinking that the whistling sound might be caused by a nasal septum perforation and was thinking that maybe getting a nonsurgical procedure might give me relief from this sound. The particular procedure that I’m thinking about is the insertion of a nasal septal button to close the perforation. But of course, I can only get the procedure if it is actually a nasal septum perforation.

      I was told to just breathe though my mouth but I can’t do that forever. I say that because while I’m breathing through my mouth, I’m constantly anticipating an accidental nose whistle.

      Sorry for such a long post. Thank you for reading this! I’m contemplating whether I should get the procedure done. I would definitely get the procedure done if it would take away the whistling sound but at the same time, I’m wondering if trying to get rid of the sound is maladaptive.

      Any advice would be much appreciated!

      P.S. I’m currently coping by exercising, having more social interaction, and keeping my stress levels down to a minimum or none.

      #1008761 Reply
      cindy

        I had a similar thing. I had an operation to straighten the septum about 30 years ago now and I keep the sound away by using nasal spays and antihistamine to try to keep the passages clear. If you are like me there will be no way you can simply live with it – get it sorted as soon as you can!

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