Everyone has pet peeves. There will always be something that drives you just a little bit crazy and can easily become all that you can focus on in a single moment. For some, it may be the clicking of a pen or a whiteboard not being fully erased. For me, it is the sound of someone chewing loudly.
Some call this aversion “misophonia,” or “hatred of sound”. It is not a recognized disorder and even I question its validity.
In a New York Times blog post written by Dr. Barron H. Lerner, a supporter and a physician who believes he suffers from misophonia, he questions, “By naming it, are we giving too much credence to a series of symptoms that are no big deal?”
It boggles me to think that something as simple as becoming irritated by chewing could be a diagnosed disorder, but I can still understand how for some it could interrupt their everyday lives.
As I said before, everyone has pet peeves. Could misophonia just be a simple everyday nuisance?
Dr. Lerner explains in his article that as a result of misophonia, some suffer extreme mood swings and become extremely angry when a sound they dislike becomes overbearing--so much so, it can interrupt one’s daily life.
In some ways, I can understand how these people may feel. There are certainly times where the sound of someone’s chewing makes me overcome with anger, but it is usually during a moment where I am already stressed out, dislike the individual, or am trying to concentrate on something. I know plenty of other people who feel the same way when they hear a pen clicking, especially if they are taking a test or trying to focus. It happens to everyone, something just drives you a little crazy in a certain moment. But I have always been able to find a way to ignore the sound and move on with my life.
In addition to proposing the concept of misophonia, Lerner also suggests several techniques for overcoming it. Some are obvious such as removing yourself from the situation, or distracting yourself, but some have suggested making the noise yourself to understand why it may be occurring and to simply accept it.
I have found since reading this article several months ago that I have become more accepting of the sounds that bother me. They only occasionally make me angry or drive me crazy, and typically only in situations where I really want to focus. And even though many of my friends will continue to make fun of me for saying that I cannot stand the sound of someone’s chewing, it is simply just something that annoys me now and I need to handle on my own.
Whether or not misophonia truly exists will remain a mystery until research advances, but for now I think it may just be another pet peeve that is my problem to deal with.
