One in five find everyday sounds intolerable

Nearly one in five people in the UK suffer from ‘misophonia’, a strong negative reaction to common sounds usually made by other people, researchers have found.

A King’s College London and Oxford University study estimated that 18.4% of the general population experience issues with common sounds, such as loud chewing, repetitive sniffing, breathing or yawning

People who experience misophonia feel angry or distressed in response to sounds they find intolerable, which can make it difficult for them to function at work or in social settings.

The misophonia study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, saw researchers use a psychometric tool, called S-Five, to study the intensity of common misophonic sounds in everyday activities, the emotions related to them, and how people reacted to them. Clinical interviews were also undertaken.

Loud chewing, slurping, snoring and loud breathing frequently elicited negative emotional responses among the representative sample of 772 people, whereas reactions to normal breathing, footsteps and swallowing were indicative of higher levels of misophonia.

Those with misophonia experienced anger and panic as a reaction to specific sounds, whereas irritation was a more common reaction across the sample.

Misophonia was equally common in men and women and tended to be less severe with age.

Participants were asked whether they had heard of the condition (13.6%) and whether they identified as having it (2.3%). However, the researchers said that some of the reported reactions to triggering sounds suggested more people could have the condition but might not be aware.

Dr Jane Gregory, clinical psychologist at the University of Oxford’s  Department of Experimental Psychology, said: “The experience of misophonia is more than just being annoyed by a sound. Misophonia can cause feelings of helplessness and being trapped when people can’t get away from an unpleasant sound.

“Often those with misophonia feel bad about themselves for reacting the way they do, especially when they are responding to sounds made by loved ones. More research is needed to understand what causes misophonia and how we can help those people whose symptoms disrupt their day-to-day lives.”

Dr Silia Vitoratou, senior lecturer in Psychometrics and Measurement at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London, said: “We have shown that everyday sounds made by others negatively impact the lives of nearly one in five people in the UK. Our study also suggests that many people may not recognise they have misophonia. We believe the scale we have developed will help us to understand misophonia better and will also help health professionals to support those who suffer from misophonia.”

The academics said further research is needed to determine at what point the condition becomes “disordered” in terms of distress, impact and need for treatment.

The study, the first of its kind in the UK, was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and Wellcome.

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