A strange affliction - I hadn't heard of misophonia a year ago. Now it blights my life. This is a little-known and hard-to-understand disorder. In its most extreme form it seems to be very rare. It's an internet disease. As it becomes more widely known, people who have been suffering for years suddenly realise they're not alone and there are other people like them. Some people find out by googling their symptoms. This is how my 16 year old daughter found out. She found out and then waited for the symptoms to worsen as the internet said they would. Who knows if that was self-fulfilling? One bright light in all of this is that at least we know what it is.
Hatred of sound. Sound rage. Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome. These are all used to describe misophonia. I don't really understand what it feels like but I see the sudden change of mood, the panic, the need to control her environment, the fear of being exposed to a trigger. And it's not just sounds - movements as well.
Most health care professionals haven't heard of misophonia. There's no reliable treatment. Some people stumble on something that helps, but what helps one doesn't necessarily help another. A lot of research is needed.
I'm starting this blog to give some insight into how this thing impacts on sufferers, their families, and their relationships.
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