When it came to the 'triggering' sounds, however, those in the test group experienced significantly increased heart rates and skin conductivity.īrain scans also revealed a marked difference in the subjects' neurology. Neither group reacted much to the neutral or annoying sounds. Their neurological and physiological responses were compared with those from a control group of 22 volunteers who felt they didn't have misophonia. In 2017, a team led by researchers from Newcastle University in the UK found evidence of changes to the brain's frontal lobe that could account for the emotional response triggered by sounds in those with misophonia.Ī test group of 20 volunteers who said they experienced the condition listened to neutral, repetitive sounds, such as a boiling kettle annoying sounds such as a baby's cry and 'triggering' sounds, including breathing noises or loud chewing.
The psychology of chewing on plastic manual#
There are no official criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and those who experience it often find it difficult to be taken seriously.īut a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2014 suggested that it could affect as much as 20 percent of the population, while a 2015 study in Australasian Psychiatry argued that it was associated with obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety, and could potentially be considered a disorder in its own right. While it's been recognised as a condition since 2000, research into its cause and its prevalence has been limited. People with this condition experience annoyance or even anger at the clacking of a keyboard, the rustling of a chip packet, or the smacking of lips. Called misophonia, it describes the unreasonable emotions that well up inside some of us when we hear certain repetitive noises being produced by those around us.