Did Edgar Allen Poe have Misophonia?

American poet and writer, Edgar Allan Poe [ 1809-1849 ], is often mentioned in articles about famous people with misophonia. However...

There is no way of officially knowing.

Poe died 152 years before misophonia became recognized.

It's impossible, and likely unethical, to diagnose someone postmortem and in absentia.

Poe is known for his literary use of sound and some of his stories include a character who is driven mad by noise. A well-known example is The Tell-Tale Heart, among others.

from ‘The Bells’

How they clang, and clash, and roar!

What a horror they outpour

On the bosom of the palpitating air!

Yet the ear it fully knows,

By the twanging,

And the clanging,

How the danger ebbs and flows;

Yet the ear distinctly tells,

In the jangling,

And the wrangling,

How the danger sinks and swells,

By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells—

Of the bells—

Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,

Bells, bells, bells—

Poe’s frequent usage of onomatopoetic language in his works was effective at creating tension and unease, perhaps based on his personal experiences with sound. While we can never know if Poe had misophonia officially, it makes for an interesting topic of speculation.