What are misophonia symptoms?
People with misophonia have decreased tolerance to certain sensory stimuli, typically certain common sounds or visual aspects related to those sounds. Oral and nasal sounds most commonly activate a misophonic response. Some people with misophonia have visual triggers, too.
People with misophonia might feel anxiety, frustration, irritation, disgust, or other negative emotions in response to their ‘triggers.’ They might also experience physiological and behavioral responses, such as muscle tension and agitation toward the source of the stimulus. Most people without misophonia would not react this way.
When a sound or sight activates a misophonic response, it is hard to ignore or shift one’s attention away from the stimulus. For this reason, and for the simple fact that the misophonic response is uncomfortable, people with misophonia tend to avoid their activators. This can impair occupational, academic, and social functioning.
Misophonia symptoms can look like:
Dysregulation of mood
Unexplained withdrawal from classroom or social activities.
Unexplained inattention.
Unexplained anxiety or irritation .
Outbursts that are not characteristic of the individual.
Panic attacks.
Signs of general sensory-overload (e.g. appearing to shut down, or "space out")
Unexplained crying.
Frequent requests for trips to the bathroom or to leave the room.
Frequent requests to see the nurse or to go outside.
Turning of head or body away from specific sounds, sights, or people.
Covering ones ears or using other methods to block sounds, such as wearing headphones often or having background noise such as a fan on constantly.
Or also, staring intently at the source of a particular sound or certain distracting motions.
Excessive tiredness
Read More:
A Consensus Definition of Misophonia: Using a Delphi Process to Reach Expert Agreement [March 2022] by Susan Swedo, David M. Baguley, Damiaan Denys, Laura J. Dixon, Mercede Erfanian, Alessandra Fioretti, Pawel J. Jastreboff, Sukhbinder Kumar, M. Zachary Rosenthal, Romke Rouw, Daniela Schiller, Julia Simner, Eric A. Storch, Steven Talylor, Kathy R. Vander Werff, and Sylvina M. Raver [Frontiers in Neuroscience]
