Educational Disclaimer: This article discusses sensitive educational concepts and training topics. It is provided by Open College UK Limited for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical or psychological advice.

The universal diagnosis of this issue is called misophonia which is a loathing of certain sounds! Also known as sound rage!

Picture the scene. You are with your meal only to have your ears ruined by a wet, slapping of someone’s lips, loud swallowing and open-mouth gnashing. For most people, it is a minor annoyance or a vexation!

But the majority of the population, who listen to people eating who make that slapping noise, it drives them into a madness even if they don’t outwardly express it. They feel the anger rising up and they think it’s just them that has this, not realising most people are like this. It feels like an assault on the ears and it makes it impossible for you to focus on your meal with that noise going on.

Can you relate with this, is this you?

You’re actually not unnormal or being cranky because you’re dealing with a real and highly studied, documented neurological oddity. This noise of people eating and making that slapping sound is at the top of the list of unbearable noises and the most second commonest sound of acoustic attacks on your ears isn’t what most people think is loud neighbourly music.

The second most common trigger on the ears is nasal and breathing or snoring sounds, and this is a statisti fact. Hearing someone else heavily breathing, sniffing and snoring or constantly clearing their throat can stir and arouse the same exact visceral panic and hostility as others who smack their lips whilst eating.

Why do these normal, everyday human sounds drive people mad?

In order to understand this better, we need to look much deeper at this reaction other than ordinary annoyance, we have to look at the psychology of neurology. This extreme sound reaction is known as misophonia a documented reaction or condition which literally translates from a Greek term – the hatred of sound. Psychologists exploring this, point out that it is not actually an issue of hatred or a problem with your ears. It’s more an involuntary and deeply hard-wired malfunction in how your mind processes emotional responses to certain types of sounds or auditory stimuli.

Misophonic brain

When an average person, a non-sufferer of misophonic reactions hears someone chewing or sniffling, their mind registers it as a background sound and just filters it out. But in a misophonic mind, this filter starts to fail.

Scientists have found that sounds such as chewing and slapping or breathing a certain way cause a massive and instantaneous hyperactivity in the anterior insular cortex which is the part of the brain that connects our senses to our emotional control areas.

Specifically, and instantaneously when that area overreacts, it then instantly jacks your autonomic nervous system, and it triggers an intense and primitive fight or flight response. Your mind genuinely perceives the sound of lip slapping, chewing or a wet sniffle, or even worse, a gnarly snotty phlegmy suckling noise as an immediate and an existential physical threat to your space and surroundings, and within a nanosecond your body floods with adrenaline or even rage.

Your heart rate increases, muscles tense up, sweat glands activate and you want to shout at the person to stop. But generally, you won’t unless they’re family members and you know them. Most people will just get up and move away instantly. It’s too much to bear.

Psychologically explained

Psychologically speaking this is the main reason this reaction to these sounds is so deeply and instantly overwhelming because it skips past all your logical thinking entirely. You have no time to choose or select whether you can ignore it or tolerate it and just get through it by willpower alone. Because your body and mind is now overreacting as if it’s under physical attack. And that’s why you feel that feeling. That’s why you lead into those thoughts of escape or even an outburst at the person.

Sufferers of misophonia experience a surge of defensive rage and a desperate urge to escape the space or room or even express intense disgust, often followed by embarrassment or regret for having behaved in such an aggressive or touchy way to a loved one. Knowing that this sound rage, as it’s often called, is a neurological reflex instead of a behavioural fault can be helpful. And it proves that you don’t just hate your dinner companions manners, but your mind is simply wired to react in a certain way by misinterpreting this everyday biological sound as a reason to enter into fight or flight to escape the feeling that rises inside you.

Quick Coping Mechanisms

The quickest and most effective coping mechanisms and ways to handle these sound triggers include what’s called sound masking where you use noise cancelling headphones, ear plugs or even playing white noise to physically block out the trigger sounds

Sensory redirection is another method of focusing intensely on a different sensory input, like squeezing a stress ball or focusing on a specific visual object

Another interesting technique is what’s called the mimicry effect, where you mimic the sound yourself. For example, chewing quietly at the same time, which tricks your brain into feeling in control in the vicinity of this noise. You can make that specific noise yourself, but it never triggers you, it only triggers you when you hear other people making the noise.

And this one is probably the best of all especially if you have a real issue with this and is called planned escaping. Basically, leaving the room using a polite gesture or excuse to reset your nervous system before that nasty fight or flight response appears.

In my opinion, I don’t think these will work in most everyday scenarios and the best way is to just leave the room because if you don’t, you may regret it later and having to apologise for your outburst.

Conclusion

It’s not possible to easily rewire your brain’s instant reflex response although you can use active coping mechanisms to survive or settle with these triggers. But in the moment using noise cancelling headphones or focusing on a different sound can help but I think in most cases it won’t much. Better managing this sound rage requires retraining in how you handle intense and automatic physical reactions.

If it’s severe, you may need to see a therapist or undertake a training course. If you want to master the exact psychological frameworks used to manage and reshape this intense emotional fight or flight response, explore our comprehensive course.

Managing this sound rage requires retraining how you handle intense, automatic physical reactions. If you want to master the exact psychological frameworks used to manage and reshape these overwhelming emotional responses, explore our Dialectic Behavioural Therapy (DBT) distance learning course today, to learn how to better manage intense emotional triggers.

Disclaimer & Terms
The educational content on this website—including articles, posts, and comments by Open College UK Limited—is for informational purposes only. It reflects research and insights at the time of writing. Nothing on this site constitutes medical, psychological, or legal advice.

Always consult a qualified professional (such as a GP, doctor, or psychologist) before changing any health regimen or medication.

Content is intended to raise awareness and promote independent thought, not to defame, target, or offend any individual or group. Any reliance on this content is at the reader’s own risk. While we strive for high quality, readers should verify information against their own context and local regulations.

Copyright: All content is owned by Open College UK Limited. Sharing links to this post is welcome, but reproduction without written consent is prohibited.