Is It Just Because I Am Gay Or Do I Have Misophonia?

When a guy walks into a bar chewing his gum like a cow chews grass, I know A) I would never date him and B) we cannot stand near each other or something bad will happen. 

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I have misophonia.  Here is my facebook update from yesterday.

I actually have two sets of headphones at work, one that is plugged into my computer all the time and another for my phone when my computer is starting up / rebooting.  When you have misophonia and your office mate sighs every 2 minutes, eats while on the phone, loves apples and chips, and constantly moves around tapping her heels on the plastic chair mat, you have to go to extremes.

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It took me a while to find out that there is a name for my sound issue.  I truly thought it was because I was gay that I overly detested peoples' poor manners and their breathing, eating, chewing, sighing, fingernail clipping, tapping habits.  I chalked it up to be a little gay boy that judged everyone else for their poor social skills.  But no, there is apparently an explanation for my rage, hatred, disgust of hearing other people make those annoying sounds. 

 

 

 

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The sound of chewing is probably one of the most annoying sounds on the planet, if you are the type of person who cannot naturally block it out, you know EXACTLY how horrible it can be. People who complain about others chewing are not merely being difficult to be around; the sound is literally amplified in their brain to such a level that they cannot ignore it.

The same thing can happen with the sound of someone cutting their nails or even tapping their feet. This sound is not only annoying, but it can also drive some people into an uncontrollable rage. This neurological disorder is called, “misophonia” or the fear of sound.

The condition comes from the central nervous system. It is hard wired to auditory stimuli in a negative way. This causes an individual suffering from the disorder to feel panic, disgust, or anger. They can even experience a “fight or flight” sensation or an anxiety attack.

That might seem like bad news to some, but it might also say something about who one is as a person. This disorder may mean that the one suffering from it may be more creative than most. “Northwestern research provides the first physiological evidence that real-world creativity may be associated with a reduced ability to filter “irrelevant” sensory information.” (Northwestern University)

David Wolfe reiterates that basically, those who are naturally creative have a harder time blocking out annoying sounds.

Do you just find loud chewing gross?  If so, then you just dislike poor upbringing. 

Or do you get irate and lash out when annoying sounds are around?  You may have misophonia.

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