Misophonia is a disorder that often goes unrecognized by both the public and medical field. It is hardly talked about although it can be an extremely limiting disability. Due to the amount of uneducated people, this carrd is meant to inform. If you are one of those people, please read this carrd.

Feel free to dm me on twitter with questions!

What is Misophonia?

In basic terms, it means "hatred of sound," but that definition isn't exactly fitting. Those affected by misophonia don't hate sound in general, nor do they hate the specific sounds that trigger them. In fact, hate doesn't even have a role to play in the disorder.

So if this definition is not fitting, what is?

In my words (as a sufferer of misophonia), I would categorize it as a mental disorder that causes a person to become distressed upon hearing certain trigger sounds.

The reason there's no official definition of the disorder, rather than the meaning behind its name, is because it's not even listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Meaning misophonia cannot be diagnosed. (Please see the "how can you help" section of this carrd for more information on this).


Triggers

Trigger Sounds or just triggers are the specific sounds that affect an individual's misophonia. Upon hearing a trigger, an individual may have a variety of emotional and physical responses. Reactions depend on a multitude of factors, such as: the sound itself, the intensity of the sound, the person's mood before experiencing a trigger, and the person's coping mechanism. One reaction that is found in almost all misophonia affected people is a fight or flight response. Meaning, upon hearing a trigger, the individual must either flee from the situation (or do anything to avoid hearing the trigger), or lash out in a physical response.

What are some other responses? Well, it all depends on the individual, but some common emotions associated with triggers are distress, anxiety, anger, disgust, sensory overload, guilt, and depression. Some physical responses can included sweating, tearing up, clenching teeth/fists, biting lip/cheek, trouble breathing, shivering, glaring, stomping, collapsing.

I do want to add that any anger an individual presents is normally not directed at the source of the sound so please do not take it personally.

Now that we know some possibilities of what can happen when an individual experiences a trigger, let's explore some common triggers. Triggers are formed from repetitive sounds or sounds an individual hears on a daily or close to daily basis. This is why most of the sounds on this list are common sounds.

  • Sounds made at the table – fork on a plate, fork scraping teeth, spoon on a bowl, clinking of glasses.

  • Sounds of people drinking – sipping, slurping, saying “ah” after a drink, swallowing, breathing after a drink.

  • Other mouth sounds – sucking teeth, lip popping, kissing, flossing, brushing teeth.

  • Associated sounds – opening chip bags, water bottle crinkling, setting a cup down.

  • Breathing sounds – sniffling, snorting, nasally breathing, regular breathing, snoring, nose whistle, yawning, coughing, throat clearing, hiccups.

  • Vocal triggers – consonant sounds (S and P especially), vowel sounds (less common), lip pop, dry mouth voice, gravelly voice, whispering, specific words, muffled talking, several people talking at once, TV through walls, singing, humming, whistling, “uh”.

  • Home sounds – bass through walls, door slamming, refrigerator running, hair dryers, electric shavers, nail clipping, foot shuffling, flip-flops, heavy footsteps, walking of people upstairs, joint cracking, scratching, ticking clocks, pipes knocking, baby crying, toilet flushing.

  • Work/school sounds – typing, mouse clicks, page flipping, pencil on paper, copier sound, pen clicking, pen tapping, tapping on a desk.

  • Other – farm equipment, pumps, lawnmowers, bouncing balls, back-up beepers, traffic noise, beep of car locking, car door slamming.

  • Animal sounds – dogs/cat grooming, dogs barking, rooster crowing, birds singing, crickets, frogs, animal scratching, the dog whimpering.

*this list was taken from knops.co

Remember these are just some common triggers, and an individual's triggers are not limited to this list.

Triggers are also not just limited to sounds, and can be visual (misokenisia) as well. Some people also suffer from textural triggers although it is much more uncommon.

Do You Have Misophonia?

Because misophonia is not an official disorder, you cannot be diagnosed with it. However, you can self-diagnose yourself as long as you've done proper research. Here are some basic guildlines that may be helpful. Please, however, do not assume you have misophonia if you are simply annoyed by a certain sound, because that undermines the seriousness of the condition!

  • You experience any of the emotions I listed (or other extreme emotions) upon hearing certain sounds

  • You are not simply "annoyed" by these sounds, but rather, distressed

  • You are hindered by your reactions to certain sounds, or the sounds make you avoid doing certain things, such as going out to eat (misophonia does not have to hinder you if it's less severe, however if you are disabled by your responses to triggers, you most likely have some degree of misophonia)

Misophonia itself is not rare, around 1 in 10 people suffer from some degree of it. However, due to lack of awareness and inability to diagnose it, many people suffer in silence, and may not even know that theres a term for what they experience.

Coping Strategies

Coping with anything in life can be extremely difficult, especially mental disorders. This page is for those of you who need help finding a strategy that works for you.

1.) Breathing exercises

Breathing helps many aspects in life, including other disorders such as anxiety (or just general nerves). Breathing deeply and controlling your breathing after being triggered (or during being triggered) can help lesson the intensity of your reaction.

2.) Finding an Outlet

Having somewhere to go to rant or just write about your experiences can help you to deal with them. This helps in multiple areas of life and can help you to cope with and not bottle up your feelings about your misophonia.

3.) Listening to Music

Music is more powerful than it may seem. You can listen to music to block out the trigger or to calm you down. If you have a favorite artist or song, the positive connotations of that artist or song may help you to take your mind off of your negative feelings.

4.) Listening to White Noise

In order to drown out triggers or dampen them, white noise can be extremely helpful. I recommend downloading apps that carry white noise. I have two myself, Sleepiest and Calm. Calm also has a website - calm.com.

5.) Therapy

Despite the lack of education around misophonia in the medical field, therapy can be extremely helpful. I have really enjoyed speaking to my therapist, who has helped me a lot with my misophonia.

How Can You Help?

In regards to the lack of education surrounding misophonia, please spread this carrd. This is an important disorder that severely hinders the lives of many people including myself. The aim is for misophonia to be recognized by the public and especially the DSM and medical field. By spreading awareness, we can help make the world a safer place for those suffering from misophonia. Because misophonia is not an official disorder, there are little to no funds for research. It's been 20 years since it was discovered and named (in 2000), yet there is still hardly any information about it!

If you have a loved one who suffers from misophonia, the best thing you can do is have an open conversation with them (if they are willing of course). Let them explain what they would personally prefer for you to do to help accommodate for them. Ask them if they are comfortable sharing their triggers so that you can do your best to avoid triggering them. Remember that mental health can be a touchy subject, so please be respectful and show them that you are willing to listen to them and do what you can to help.

As a mutual (on twitter) of a person who suffers from misophonia, make sure to check their carrd/bio to see if they have any triggers that you should use a trigger warning for. However, it would be helpful to get into the habit of putting trigger warnings for common triggers, especially chewing (the most common trigger).

A reminder, trigger warnings look like this:

tw // chewing

Not:
tw/chewing
tw //chewing
tw // ch*wing
etc.

Side note: please do not try to compare your annoyance to certain sounds (babies crying, loud chewing, etc.) to the triggers of a person affected by misophonia. It is not the same.