If you find it difficult to tolerate sounds like “tapping, smacking,…” when others are eating, you might be experiencing a rare syndrome known as “misophonia”. This condition makes you extremely sensitive to everyday noises, and your brain functions quite differently compared to the average person.
Individuals with misophonia exhibit sweating and increased heart rate when they hear these sounds.
This conclusion comes from a study recently published in the journal Current Biology, which involved brain scans of 20 individuals with misophonia compared to 22 others without the condition. During the experiment, all volunteers were exposed to uncomfortable noises, including screams, neutral sounds like falling rain, and sounds created by others, such as chewing, smacking, and snoring.
The results showed that none of the participants enjoyed most of these sounds, but those with misophonia exhibited signs of sweating and increased heart rate when exposed to these noises. The brain scans revealed that different regions in the brains of individuals with misophonia reacted strongly to unpleasant sounds. Furthermore, the frontal lobe in these individuals was more interconnected with other regions, leading to a stronger response.
The research team noted that misophonia is a very rare syndrome and understanding how the brain generates emotional responses could help doctors quickly devise effective treatments. Of course, treatment could also benefit people who don’t have the syndrome but still feel discomfort when they hear someone smacking their lips while eating or feel a shiver when they hear loud snoring.
