UNCG Researcher Studies Auditory Annoyance

UNCG Researcher Studies Auditory Annoyance

People with misophonia are affected by the sounds of others eating, typing, even breathing

Greensboro, N.C.–?Maybe someone has told you that you are chewing too loudly, or that the way you slurp your coffee is obnoxious, or even that the sound of your breathing is driving them up the wall.

The good news: It might not be you. They might suffer from a little-known condition known as misophonia, and it can be serious. Some with misophonia experience significant impairment from these symptoms, such as not being able to eat in any social situations.

UNC Greensboro graduate researcher Caitlin Stone, in the Clinical Psychology PhD program explains, “Misophonia is a condition where people feel an intense reaction to sounds.” Often these are noises that others don’t even notice or find innocuous: chewing, breathing, the rattle of metal utensils on a plate, the clicking of a computer keyboard or mouse.

“There are a lot of different ways this manifests for them,” Stone says. “It can cause anger. It can cause a physiological reaction, like panic. Some have even described it as ‘torture,’ listening to someone eat or breathe in a certain manner.”

Her research involves deep dives into existing data sets and is funded with $50,000 from the Misophonia Research Fund and another $25,000 from an anonymous private donor.

Stone is looking for behaviors or symptoms in early childhood that might increase one’s risk for misophonia later in life. “Our hope is to find windows where we could implement interventions before misophonia develops. We’re working on treatments so that going to a restaurant or working in an office where someone is tapping on a keyboard is not a daunting idea.”

MEDIA CONTACT
Brian Clarey
University Communications
btclarey@uncg.edu