Nails on a chalkboard, a shrill fire alarm and lip smacking; some people might think that one of these sounds is not like the other, but to me they are all the same.

The sound of someone chewing with their mouth open makes me furious. And when I say furious, I mean it. Even thinking of the sound makes me angry.

I have misophonia, which is literally “the hatred of sound.” Misophonia is a newly recognized condition which causes the sufferer to experience intense feelings of anger or disgust when they hear certain sounds. As with all conditions, there are various levels ranging from simply having a trigger but feeling no discomfort, to violent outbursts when the trigger is heard.

Because this condition was only discovered recently, there is still little information on it. However, a study done by Arjan Schröder, Nienke Vulink and Damiaan Denys found that the triggering sounds were all produced by humans; animal sounds and sounds made by the subject did not cause any distress. The three found that the most common triggers were “eating-related sounds” such as lip smacking, loud breathing or nose sounds. Some of the sufferers were triggered by the sound of typing on a keyboard or pen clicking; the symptoms could also be caused by watching someone perform some repetitive movement, such as someone bouncing their leg, which is called misokinesia (the hatred of movement).

All of the triggers caused an immediate aversive physical reaction, which started at irritation or disgust and immediately became anger. Some of the sufferers responded to the sound with verbal or physical aggression directed at the person making the sound.

Researchers are only just beginning to understand the science behind this condition. Early data from Margaret and Pawel Jastreboff, pioneers in this field of study, suggests that it could be caused by hyper-connectivity between the auditory system (responsible for hearing) and the limbic system (responsible for emotional response).

Like most people with this condition, I had the symptoms long before I ever heard of misophonia was. It was infuriating having people around me not responding the same way to the sounds that triggered me. I don’t know how many times I’ve told my brother to chew with his mouth closed because the sound would drive me crazy, but my mom would say “just ignore it” or “why are you so angry about that? It’s not a big deal.” To me, it was and is a big deal. It is not something I can ignore because the sound is equivalent to nails on a chalkboard to me.

But when I find people that understand and have similar triggers, it is a bonding experience. I know that they are aware of it and that when I say that something bothers me, they won’t just brush it off like the majority of my peers.

Jasmyn Guzzetti is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at [email protected].