Omnivore - More on misophonia

The agony of chomping and smacking



This request for help arrived a few days ago at my email address for my work in psychology. It pertains to misophonia, a brain disorder that makes some people, myself included, hypersensitive to certain sounds, especially while eating:

I know you’ve written about misophonia in the past. You said you’ve had it all your life but only recently learned that it’s a real disorder. I’m watching my 10-year-old daughter leave the dinner table angry if she hears any of us eating loudly, at least to her ears. I’m wondering if you know any treatment for this.

Funny you should mention this. I was at a communal table at Starbucks last week, when a psychologist friend sat down. Another friend nearby started noisily eating potato chips. Apparently, I shot him some annoyed looks, because he set the chips on the table and asked me, “What?”