A recent study by Curry’s PC World asked 3000 people across the UK if chewing is the worst sound they have to hear. Of those who responded, 49 per cent said chewing is their least favourite sound. Meanwhile, 43 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women found the sound the most irritating.
Misophonia
Misophonia can be extremely disruptive to a person’s life. Its causes are often different for each individual and can change over time. Many people experience a sudden onset and can’t control their reactions on their own. However, there are treatments that can help those suffering from the disorder.
Misophonia is a condition in which a person’s nervous system has an excessive response to a sound. The effects of this condition are very unpleasant, but luckily, the symptoms can be managed. New treatments are now available to help people with misophonia. For example, it may be possible to train the mirror neuron system, which breaks the association between sound and distressing effects.
The cause of misophonia isn’t completely understood, but it is believed to be part mental and part physical. Researchers believe it may be linked to the way sound affects the brain and triggers automatic responses. It’s also important to note that misophonia is often mistaken for disorders like anxiety, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Because of this, it’s important to get a proper diagnosis from a doctor.
Trigger sounds
If you are wondering why chewing is so loud, you’re not alone. Many people also experience similar feelings of anxiety when they hear loud sounds. The cause for this heightened anxiety is still unknown, but there is a possible cause: a specific type of neural circuit called the anterior insular cortex. This part of the brain plays a major role in emotional processing, including the ability to trigger memories.
Research has shown that certain noises trigger a heightened emotional response in misophonia sufferers. Essentially, these noises trigger a fight-or-flight response in the brain, making the sufferer feel the urge to flee. However, few people are aware that they are affected by misophonia. Many sufferers feel ashamed to even mention it, which severely impacts their social life and functioning.
Treatment
Treatment for chewing being loud involves learning how to control your behavior and how to deal with your emotions. The repetitive sounds you hear are usually the source of intense negative emotions, and they can make you avoid certain situations. For example, you may have to stop eating in public places. If your misophonia causes you to chew loudly in public, you may want to find a way to calm yourself down and control your behavior.
Although there are no proven effective treatments for misophonia, protective equipment and quiet-zones can be helpful. However, these treatments should not be used as the sole treatment strategy. Cognitive behavioral strategies and other interventions are more beneficial and will help the patient develop new distress tolerance and adaptive skills. Nevertheless, treatment for chewing being loud may be challenging if the symptoms are severe and it interferes with everyday life.
Family rifts
Families are built around the activity of eating together. If someone in the family hates the noise of someone chewing, it could be a sign of misophonia, a disorder that causes extreme reactions to everyday sounds. This disorder can lead to severe rifts in families.
Symptoms
Loud chewing is one of the most annoying habits people can have. It can cause a person to experience fear, irritation, or even rage when they hear loud chewing sounds. Often, these people may act out towards the source of the sounds. However, there are some things that you can do to prevent loud chewing from becoming a habit.
If you are constantly making loud chewing noises, you may have a condition known as misophonia. It is a condition where individuals are very sensitive to certain sounds, such as chewing or water dripping. This condition causes intense discomfort and often results in a pronounced impairment of function.
