Nearly 1 in 5 Adults May Have Misophonia, Experiencing Significant Negative Responses to Sounds

Summary: Up to 18% of the population suffer from misophonia, or an increased intolerance to certain sounds such as a person chewing. Some people with misophonia report more than simple frustration when exposed to certain noises, they say they feel trapped and helpless when they can not get away from sounds that bother them.

Source: PLOS

Around 18% of the UK general population may have misophonia, decreased tolerance to certain sounds, according to a study published March 22, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Silia Vitoratou from King’s College London, UK, and colleagues.

People with misophonia have strong negative reactions when hearing certain common sounds, such as chewing or sniffing. There’s little research on the prevalence of misophonia in a general population, though previous studies have reported estimates ranging from 5-20% within specific samples, such as university students.

Here, the authors surveyed a sample representative of the UK general population. Of the 768 people surveyed, 51% identified as women, 48% as men, and four identified as non-binary/other. The mean age was 46.4. 13.6% of the sample was aware of the term misophonia prior to the survey, with 2.3% self-identifying as having misophonia.

The authors’ survey asked about common “trigger sounds” and asked respondents to describe their emotional response and its intensity using a 10-point scale. The authors also asked people about how these sounds affect their life, the way they see themselves, their personal and professional relationships.

They conducted interviews with 26 self-identified individuals with misophonia and 29 individuals from the general survey pool to establish a cut-off score for significant symptoms of misophonia. The new questionnaire allows researchers and clinicians to measure these aspects of misophonia and see how things change over time.

The authors found that 18% of their sample appeared to have significant symptoms of misophonia, which can include feeling trapped or helpless around these sounds, as well as blaming yourself for the strong reactions and missing out on things because of the impact of sounds.

Furthermore, the most common negative reaction to these sounds in the general population was irritation, while the individuals with misophonia reported that they felt trapped or helpless when they could not get away from these sounds.

While there were no significant differences in the prevalence of misophonia based on gender, the authors found individuals above the threshold for misophonia were an average 3.3 years younger than those below the threshold, a small but significant difference.

Though these results are specific to the UK, so may not be generalizable across countries and cultures, the authors suggest their survey tool may be useful to clinicians working in the misophonia field.

This shows a woman covering her ears
People with misophonia have strong negative reactions when hearing certain common sounds, such as chewing or sniffing. Image is in the public domain

Silia Vitoratou from King’s College London, UK, adds, “Ιt is important that our study revealed that 1 in 5 people in the UK experiences significant misophonic reactions, but only a small fraction was aware of the term.

“This means that most people with misophonia do not have a name to describe what they are experiencing. Our team works hard to raise the condition’s profile and to provide clinicians with the tools they need to understand and assess misophonia effectively.”

Jane Gregory from the University of Oxford, UK, adds, “Our survey captured the complexity of the condition.

“Misophonia is more than just being annoyed by certain sounds, it’s about feeling trapped or helpless when you can’t get away from these sounds and missing out on things because of this.

“It’s about feeling like there’s something wrong with you for the way you react to sounds, but also not being able to do anything about it. It can be such a relief to find out that you are not alone, that other people react this way to sounds too. To find out that there is a word for what you are experiencing.”

About this misophonia research news

Author: Press Office
Source: PLOS
Contact: Press Office – PLOS
Image: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.
Misophonia in the UK: Prevalence and norms from the S-Five in a UK representative sample” by Silia Vitoratou et al. PLOS ONE


Abstract

Misophonia in the UK: Prevalence and norms from the S-Five in a UK representative sample

What is the reality of the misophonic experience in the general population? This is a study on misophonia in a large sample, representative of the UK general population.

The study utilises a multidimensional psychometric tool, the S-Five, to study the intensity of the triggering misophonic sounds in everyday activities, the emotions/feelings related to them, and the norms of the key components of the misophonic experience: internalising and externalising appraisals, perceived threat and avoidance behaviours, outbursts, and the impact on functioning.

Based on the S-Five scores and a semi-structured interview delivered by clinicians who specialise in misophonia, the estimated prevalence of people for whom symptoms of misophonia cause a significant burden in their life in the UK was estimated to be 18%. The psychometric properties of the S-Five in the UK general population were also evaluated and differences across gender and age were explored.

Our results show that the five-factor structure is reproduced, and that the S-Five is a reliable and valid scale for the measurement of the severity of the misophonic experience in the general UK population.

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  1. Tapping, clicking, I get irritated, and unnecessarily angry. I have no clue why, and i wish I could just turn it off. I will try and sit there and take it for as long as I can, but then it’s just like “stop, please, I’m begging you”. Either the person stops or I leave. If i can’t leave or they don’t stop then pretty much the rest of my day is done.

  2. omg I can’t even go to my mom’s house anymore bc just the THOUGHT of her eating salad makes me wanna seriously hurt her… glad to know this is a real thing and I’m not just insane

  3. Holy geez…. another fantastic study about our weak, frail,pantywaste society…..what the hells wrong with y’all….no wonder these other countries have the idea they can conquer us… everybody’s got some kind of disease or “new named” condition, perhaps y’all should tighten up abit and hide them petty feelings and imaginary problems away….TOUGHEN UP AMERICA.

  4. Loud chewing, pen clicking, feet tapping, taps dripping, bowls being scraped when there’s nothing left in them and my worst…. Coffee slurping..

  5. I think there are sounds that annoy me. When I am trying to do something requiring concentration I find other people’s talking makes it impossible. I used to teach school. It drove me crazy trying to get perfect silence from my students. I felt like I was constantly fighting the off-task talking so I could teach.

    On the other side of the issue, one time I was “chewed” out by a woman and her husband for eating popcorn (a big bucketful) in a movie theater! She said I was doing it on purpose, asked me if I’d missed dinner and was I ever going to stop. When I first tried to speak the husband shushed me. Next I defended my right to respond to their issue. I said in an angry but low voice that I had no idea I was bothering them and was certainly not seeking to annoy them. I did not reply to her rude questions. The sound was quite low on the movie, so I figured she could have asked management to turn up the sound, as it probably would cover up my chewing. They also could have changed their seats.

    It was some time later that I heard about the condition of sound sensitivity, without the actual term of misophonia. I also realized that both the lady at the movies and I myself may suffer with this. It does make me angry, as it obviously did to the lady. That said, you might learn how to overcome the panic or irritation by seeing a counselor, perhaps one with certification in hypnotherapy. One such professional often can help you mollify your response to such stimuli, especially if you are on the verge of murdering someone!

  6. When I was a kid, my siblings and I were not allowed to crunch on food if Dad was in the room. He could not stand the sound. Dad was a type A personality so it was assumed he was just being who he was. At that time, I was not aware I was hearing impaired. I lived in a very quiet world (nice place!). But at 21, I was tested and equipped with hearing devices and boy did life change. Lots of good changes BUT I could not believe how loud people sounded when eating chips, apples, carrot sticks, swallowing food, swallowing liquid, sniffing, snorking (bad!) scraping-scraping-scraping a container to get the last bit of yogurt, and the new one is tapping a touch screen on cell phones with a finger nail instead of the finger pad. I’ve moved to a different seat in a movie theatre to get away from someone with a paper bag with popcorn. Candy wrappers – yikes! The sounds from some fabric, hearing someone bite their fingernails, AND…vocal fry…is so distracting I can hardly listen to the speaker. Misophonia is likely hereditary. It is MY issue. I don’t bring it up in any conversations because people take it the wrong way and think I’m telling them they’re not allowed to make a sound. Hearing devices allow me to change the sound and that is such a bonus. I can filter out a lot of annoying (to me) sounds, and other times I step away from the source or have background music playing to drown out those small but incredibly disturbing sounds. Hearing these particular sounds though can put me in a panic if I can’t address them in 3 seconds or less. I have yanked out my hearing aids because I couldn’t change the settings fast enough. “I need to change the batteries, I’ll be back in a minute”. ’nuff said. I am grateful to learn that my Dad wasn’t as type A as I thought he was, and that his intolerance for certain sounds was a condition he likely had. Find your way, folks. Noise filtering aids help. Go easy on yourself, but knowledge sure helps! Mary

    1. Habits created by through time. A quick response to an annoyance never to be dealt with. Like someone unable to control his or her tongue. The sound/noise quickly stirs up a negative effect. Thoughts, words, making faces like body movements are physical. So many reactions are in habit. Need to break it down, like work on the negative thoughts that the annoyance conjures up, that will help with bad words if any, controlling your expression to prevent rudeness, etc
      …….. don’t allow yourself to be labeled and make it a Part of you automatically AND DONT DO IT TO YOUR CHILDREN LET THEM GROW. WORK WITH THEIR DEMEANORS , CHARACTERISTICS , RESPECT THE CHILDREN. VOICE FOR THE CHILDREN. HAVE A NICE DAY.

  7. Only 18% have it? How many individuals do you know that AREN’T terribly bothered by the sound of “fingernails scraping on a chalkboard”?

    1. Imagine, Jonathan….listening to that frequently throughout the day. Misophonia is bigger than the chalkboard. Much bigger. It’s just scratching the surface of this topic.

  8. I seriously thought I was crazy with this for a long time until like a few months ago. One of the things I hate is when people are talking when I’m working on something like in school. I like to sit out in the hallway and read usually but I can’t even get through one page because people keep talking from elsewhere in the halls and it gets to the point where I feel like I’m going to cry. I also remember one time while we were having silent reading time, this one girl decided it was the perfect time to eat a small bag of chips. I could hear her each time she reached into the bag and it crinkled and I had to listen to her chewing the entire time and I couldn’t read any of my book at all. My brain just fixated on her chewing and crinkling the bag the entire time. People just don’t get it either. If I hear just breathing or someone drops their pencil or something while we’re doing an assignment I have to clasp my hands over my ears tightly so I can concentrate on the assignment. It’s so annoying and I’m very glad there’s a name for this.

    1. Hi Rune
      Because my Dad likely had misophonia, I grew up learning to eat very very quietly. Walking across the floor was quiet. I wasn’t to scrape my plate with utensils. Drinking was also done slowly and quietly. THEN…I realized I had misophonia as well. So though I can’t realistically require people around me to consider that when they’re around me, I have found ways to cope. Noise cancelling headphones when I’m on a bus or train, or bone conducting headphones when I’m at work help. Hearing someone else on their keyboard bothers me. The headphones help cancel out that sound. One idea leads to another. Find your way to live WITH misophonia. With more research, maybe there will come a time when therapy treatments will desensitize us to those sounds. I’m optimistic about that. I’ve heard it is done for autistics. I’ve walked out of a room to step away from sounds, but I also leave a room when I can’t distinguish one voice from another. My hearing is poor. But funny, isn’t it, how misophonia makes its way through hearing impairment and produces a moment or two of insanity.

    2. I feel ill at the sound of the introduction to the late night show with Jimmy Fallon. I rush to turn off the TV before it starts. I also have difficulty with a certain frequency of sound from young girls. Absolutely makes me feel trapped. Finally, the sound of a crows in a stadium -just the general roar of the crows. Some simple musical note tones really are upsetting.

  9. I thought I was crazy for most of my life. I had a moment where I thought perhaps I was autistic. Whistling, people eating with their mouth open, teeth sucking, snapping, plastic being crinkled, elongated words with an “s”, sniffing, and way too many more things literally cause me physical pain. The pain usually starts at my temple and shoots down my body. I get angry to the point I almost feel like I’m going to pass out because my blood pressure is so high. It’s an awful and intense rollercoaster of emotions that never ends. If I leave a room because I can’t take it other people get mad at me because they take it too personally. I wish there was a way to explain this is a way for people to understand.

    1. I also thought I was alone in this. My wife would got so mad at me for reacting when the kids screech or make inordinately loud sounds. I’m glad we have a term to use for these triggers.

  10. I’m not from the UK, I suffer from this since I was a little girl, especially the sounds that are repeatable, like the car signal sound even when the car is not moving. I can’t hear anything except the car signal, if it was for a long time (like over than 2 minutes) I might throw-out, it becomes less irritating if I was driving, I think because I can turn it off after 10 seconds. By the way I suffer also from motion sickness science I was very small, I don’t know if this effect other.

  11. I have suffered from misophonia since childhood (I am now in my 70s) and it has had a major impact on my life. I wrote a blog post about my experiences: http://dorispotter.blogspot.com/2021/10/living-with-misophonia.html

    I hope public awareness of this condition will allow people to have some understanding of the intense reaction these noises have on us. It is well beyond annoyance or irritation. We feel trapped, anxious, and enraged. It affects our work, our relationships and our general sense of well-being.

  12. My husband loves pistachios and constantly eats them in front of me. The sound of him breaking each shell is like nails on a chalkboard to me. He thinks I’m crazy for feeling like this! Loud voices and eating sounds drive me totally crazy too. I wish I could enjoy a movie with popcorn but seems impossible!

  13. I’ve had this since I was a kid. My cousins knew not to “smack” while at the table with me. I get furious at chewing sounds. Like I spent 20 minutes on a bus convincing myself not to hit/yell at the lady smacking and popping gum nonstop. Always thought it was just me being difficult me. It’s hard to explain the anger and irritation you feel from these noises. I know it’s irrational, but telling myself that doesn’t make it go away.

    1. Next they’ll come up with a name for people who don’t like being stuck next to people who keep farting. Misolfaction? Stinkoflake? Blame the smeller not the farter, right?

      How about a name for the open mouthed chewing sniffling lip smacker?

      Audignoramus? Zoomuncher?

      At the movies it’s a cinemass.

      1. I want to literally murder people eating nuts. Pistachios are the worst because the sound of cracking open the shell. They are banned from my house. Popcorn at movies should be banned. I don’t own a gun because of misophonia. I would kill someone.

    2. Oh my gosh!! I feel your pain!!! Mine started as a very young child!
      I feel like I will explode at any moment when I hear crunching! My poor children have to silently eat their cereal, chips…Unfortunately, they have it too, except theirs is w smacking. Let’s just say we are NOT your typical table eating family! 😂

    3. I feel exactly the same way when I hear smacking, eating sounds, even my dog lapping up water makes me leave the room.

  14. those little sounds like smacking lips or hitting a teaspoon against a coffee cup can be annoying.i’m more annoyed by loud sounds like planes going overhead one right after another while you’re talking or listening, loud talking, or clapping,yelling, loud cars, loud tvs and radios especially if you’re trying to talk to someone.

    1. I have had these same issues. My family thinks I’m just being dramatic (for lack of a better word). I actually stay away from certain activities because of this issue. I have noticed as I get older it has become more intense and I just don’t know what to do. If I have to listen to one more person shuffle their feet.!!!!! Pick up your feet when you walk people!!!!!! Please!
      I’m very glad I came across this article. I’m not alone.

  15. I thought it was just me!!! I live right next to the freeway, then there’s smacking water running, plastic bags. Dragging feet,in house shoes. The list is long, I feel as if I’m going crazy.

  16. A.D.D. known as Attention Deficit Disorder caused Misophonia and Misophonia came from A.D.D. Attention Deficit Disorder, then A.D.D. Transformed to After Death Disorder A.D.D.=A.D.D. Misophonia came to be from 1 single man who had a problem with himself and that man decided to externalize his problem and chose to make someone else the problem because he does not like to look at the mirror and see him in the mirror because his problem is his own reflection. So this man to this day is still causeing problems. And Misophonia came to be from a victim of this man’s problem. So Misophonia false! HE NEEDS TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!!!

  17. F52, I didn’t know there was a name or that this was a “thing” till a couple years ago. Sadly there is basically no information about this or anything that can help with the sounds that trigger. 😕 personally my triggers cause anger at different levels. Sometimes the anger doesn’t go away after the sound stops. The dogs drinking water, some pitches of people voices. Country music (no joke) reflecting back 10-15 years ago I would goto work and the channel was set to country and I would instantly be angry till after lunch, and then would be in a better mood… the channel was changed. Today I live adjusting to what is around so that I am able to avoid some situations. My PCP even told me that he was sorry that they didn’t know what to do.
    Would be willing to participate in a study here in the states..

    1. 5G towers,smart meters???I have this with buzzing and ringing in my ears. It started almost 2 years ago like overnight. One day Icould hear my dogs barking in the backyard next day I couldn’t. Weird some days better then others.

  18. I have a form of it. I hate loud high pitched sounds and loud thumping like that of trains. In NYC both are hard to avoid so I usually just listen to loud music on headphones when traveling in the city.

  19. I have had this since I was a child. I thought it was I had to be really quiet as my father worked shifts which made me so sensitive. The sound of chewing, clicking nails or bones, sniffing are some of the things that set me off. It’s not just mild irritation, I feel angry, especially when the person doing it knows how it affects me. From quite a young age growing up I used to leave the room or stuff something in my ears. It’s hard to cope with if there’s nowhere that it seems reasonable to others, you can go. Others have become angry with me because they think I am unreasonable and making a fuss about nothing.

  20. Same as yours..snack bags,chewing,especially ice or chewy stuff where I can hear like spit and jaw sounds. It makes me feel instant anger and can’t say anything without sounding like an ass.

  21. I’ve known my reaction to sounds was not normal, I’ve thought I might have a sensory disorder, but have never talked to my Dr. about it and certainly did not know it had a name.
    It is a bit comforting to know I’m not alone and I’m not crazy.

    1. I was just thinking the same thing. I’ve been annoyed by repetitive sounds all my life. whistling,people smacking,tapping their fingers or pen or pencil.And I know everyone hates snoring but with me a good smother the person. And the list goes on and on. Like everyone is saying I thought it was just me ,either a sensory problem or bad on my nerves. I’m glad there is a name and I’m not alone. But where’s the cure?

  22. I’m not sure if what I have is misophonia, however, I have suffered for years with an increased sensitivity to low frequencies. Such frequencies cause a myriad of physical and emotional responses. Depending on the frequency and intensity (decibel and amplitude), I experience severe anxiety, fight or flight response, increased heart rate, nausea,confusion, and internal vibrations. I am interested if this could be misophonia and if anyone else is experiencing this type of malady. I have had to independently develop various coping methods as responses from the medical field have ranged from laughter to referrals to psychotherapists.

    1. I’m sorry that you have not been supported when you brought the issue to the doctor. Sometimes when we get a referral to a psychologist it is because the doctor thinks it is ‘just’ in our head. I have had similar experiences. The reaction to low frequency sounds could very well be a post traumatic response as the nervous system reacts involuntarily to these low frequency ‘predatory’ sounds. Look up the work of Dr Stephen Porges on the Polyvagal Theory and Deb Dana’s work on how to befriend your nervous system. Also Peter Levine’s work in Somatic Experiencing. It can be overcome. Once I started working with my nervous system directly my life changed incrementally for the better. Wishing you new possibilities and all the best.

    2. I too suffer from exposure to low frequency sounds…in particular, modern BASS playing from cars or neighbors televisions/stereo systems…volume can be low but if bass is high it’s almost worse. I get anxious, angry, I feel trapped, there is no escape. Brown noise sometimes helps other times not. I have a headband with earbuds that I wear when it is bad, and brown noise directly in my ears helps to keep out the bass, but is not the most comfortable. The thrum of the bass is torture.

  23. I have a pretty severe case as well …there’s times I’ve often wanted to kill a person for crunching or smacking food. I wish there was an answer or something to help with this disorder

  24. I have this. Humming, whistling, smacking, any repetitive loud noise and I will ball up into a little corner on my knees trying to drown it out. It will cause me so much anxiety I feel ike I was being a child by my reaction. It does make me feel trapped. I did know this was a condition due to me looking it up in the past. Thanks for the article.

  25. I be suffer with this. I’m 75, getting more irritated by loud sounds, noises, high pitched sounds, Makes me very irritated, angry, upset . Can’t bear people clicking gum, slurping , is a huge trigger for m, childhood trauma. Any noise made with the mouth while eating. People whistling, glad I found a term for it. Micophonia. And that people can understand what suffering this us.
    It’s very painful, upsetting, like a severe allergy to these noises.
    It’s getting worse as I get older

  26. I’m glad I found a name for this. I can’t stand the sound of chewing/lip smacking. It makes me irritated and I feel like I want to throw up. My muscles get tense and I can’t enjoy eating with others. I’m going to try some ear plugs to reduce background noise, and I hope chewing is truly a background noise.

  27. I had no idea there was a name for this! Simple background noises or noises from routine tasks are so irritating that I can not focus on whatever it is I’m doing. Bigger noises have a very physical affect on me, and cause psychological distress. I wear noise canceling ear buds often.

  28. Very enligthing article — I had never new there was any knowledge of this subject — just a reaction to certain sounds I felt

  29. I am highly annoyed by buzzing and rattling sounds from vehicles. It doesn’t seem like any mode of transport with loose parts could be safe, but every day, trucks with rattling trailers pass by my house. One person was dragging the ramp down the street! I’m glad to now know that this has a name.

  30. I have this misophonia very bad!! Eating,chewing, digging into a snack bag, cracking open nut shells- will drive me crazy and I border on being violent or yelling. I must walk always if at all possible or put music on to help fade the noise. Can be very disruptive in social gatherings. I can remember this started as a child and has become worse as I have aged. I’m 69 years old.
    Thank you

    1. I understand, believe me, glad to feel no alone with this, it’s a great suffering, creates great emotional anxiety, with these triggers.
      Affects my social life, as I have to keep moving away from these sounds, irritating sounds. Makes me crazy

    2. I am right there with you Mary. I absolutely do not like the same sounds you do. However, I can’t stand snoring and when certain group of people are together they are extremely loud and obnoxious. I actually feel rage. I have to get away or if it’s on TV I have to change the channel. Ugh

    3. Mary, I could have written your reply. I’m exactly the same. Had it all my life too. I’m 70 now. I’m kids think I’m weird. Good to know there are a lot of people just like us.

      1. I want to literally murder people eating nuts. Pistachios are the worst because the sound of cracking open the shell. They are banned from my house. Popcorn at movies should be banned. I don’t own a gun because of misophonia. I would kill someone.

    4. I have a few major irritaters too: piano music, brass instruments, the sound of nail clippers, dogs barking and the tinny sound of music one hears coming from others’ head phones.

  31. Unfortunately my daughter has this condition but there doesn’t seem to be anywhere she can get help dealing with it. Living with her gets worse everyday. Help!

    1. I think there are sounds that annoy me. When I am trying to do something requiring concentration I find other people’s talking makes it impossible. I used to teach school. It drove me crazy trying to get perfect silence from my students. I felt like I was constantly fighting the off-task talking so I could teach.

      On the other side of the issue, one time I was “chewed” out by a woman and her husband for eating popcorn (a big bucketful) in a movie theater! She said I was doing it on purpose, asked me if I’d missed dinner and was I ever going to stop. When I first tried to speak the husband shushed me. Next I defended my right to respond to their issue. I said in an angry but low voice that I had no idea I was bothering them and was certainly not seeking to annoy them. I did not reply to her rude questions. The sound was quite low on the movie, so I figured she could have asked management to turn up the sound, as it probably would cover up my chewing. They also could have changed their seats.

      It was some time later that I heard about the condition of sound sensitivity, without the actual term of misophonia. I also realized that both the lady at the movies and I myself may suffer with this. It does make me angry, as it obviously did to the lady. That said, you might learn how to overcome the panic or irritation by seeing a counselor, perhaps one with certification in hypnotherapy. One such professional often can help you mollify your response to such stimuli, especially if you are on the verge of murdering someone!

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