Misophonia / auditory processing

I was listening to the Stuff You Should Know podcast about misophonia this morning - hatred of certain sounds. Long story short, it’s a new diagnosis and has been linked with anxiety. People with misophonia (as it’s currently understood) do not hear any differently than other people, but specific noises can trigger anger and even violence in extreme cases. They often cannot handle ASMR.

I have been dealing with some auditory processing issues for years, and it’s so interesting to learn about how it’s caused by the brain. I don’t think I have true misophonia - mine is a little different than was described. I actually love ASMR and am very sensitive to it, and on good days noises don’t bother me. When I’m very anxious or stressed, though, I can have trouble understanding what others are saying (the words get scrambled) and loud noises are almost unbearable.

Wondering if anyone has anything similar to this. It’s all quite fascinating to learn about.

[BlueAgave]

I had no idea what ASMR was and just looked it up. That's very interesting. I watched a video and my head did start to tingle! When I am anxious I find that I become hypersensitive to lots of different sounds and sometimes even lights. I tend to remove myself if I can. It's probably very common for folks to be sensitive when in that fight or flight mode. Very interesting stuff.

[CLB1125]

I didn’t know it was a thing! Lol certain noises drive me crazy and on a day Im anxious or stressed it’s even worse. My dog walking across my laminate floor, is one that really triggers me. Then I have my husband telling me he has to walk. That causes more anxiety. Thanks for posting about this. I’m going to have to research this.

[Hidden in reply to CLB1125]

I can totally relate to the dog nails on a floor. Just reading that, I could hear it in my head perfectly, and I agree with you!

[LRMT1908]

This sounds like me!!! Can you tell me where to find tbis podcast please 🤞👌

[Hidden in reply to LRMT1908]

The episode about Misophonia is “Stuff You Should Know” - if you google it you’ll see it right away. It just came out last week. More generally, you can also google “sensory overload,” which includes auditory issues like being sensitive to loud noises or certain sounds when you’re overwhelmed. This is definitely what I have… I also can have an aversion to light and being touched physically if I’m having a major attack. My husband doesn’t understand and we have had a lot of arguments about it, but I’ve tried to talk to him about how I cant help it. I didn’t have much anxiety in the period when we met and got married, but then we had a couple years of intense family situations including having two babies, and I turned into a different person than he was used to.