This is a question out of genuine curiosity and not intended to minimize misophonia in any way:
I do not see any examples of a "naturally occurring" sound there. Is the sound supposed to be human generated in some way? That would feel a bit incongruent with my understanding of it as a pure stimulus response situation.
Yes, natural sounds do trigger it (for me). The difference is that if it is a natural sound, it becomes a problem to be solved - intermittent dripping from taps, the noise of the wheel in my daughters hamster enclosure, or something tapping a window are specific cases I can cite. Those incidents resulted in a) me learning how to replace a leaking faucet assembly (the taps and faucet were one unit) , b) upgrading to a better, quieter hamster wheel, and c) trimming a tree.
When people are the cause it becomes more challenging. People feel attacked when you tell them they are chewing loudly, or they think you are weird when you complain about the sound of the specific pen they are using makes when they are writing on the paper bothers you. Couple misophonia reactions with ADHD justice sensitivity and the emotional reaction can overload my rational comprehension that it is quite normal to make, tolerate, and ignore those sounds to make the stupid fucking meat between my ears feel like I am being targeted by whoever is making the noise. 95% of time I can manage it, but when it gets overwhelming my reactions can be suboptimal (like, wildly inappropriate when I was a kid, but as an adult pulling an Irish goodbye and just leaving, which can be a career limiting move when you are in the workplace).
Not sure whether you'd consider it natural, but I first noticed this with the sound of running taps. The bathroom was next door to my bedroom and I'd often get up and turn the taps off if someone left the bath running... not sure if anyone ever noticed!
Not sure if it's the same for everyone, but for me it's caused by an over-focus on the sound. Once I've noticed it, it's like the sound gets louder and louder...
[edit] I'm fairly sure my Dad was on the spectrum, and the sounds young kids make would make him very distressed, shouting or banging etc. so I don't think it's synthetic vs natural sounds.
interesting observation your sibling also made. its commonly described as making the sufferer IRATE at the person causing of the sound which matches your comment
anyone who experiences willing to shed light? id guess if the sufferer expects we all dislike certain sounds, causing them intentionally is especially hateful?
Another observation is that they're either idle sounds (pen clicking, finger tapping) or necessary secondary sounds made during some activity. It's literally impossible to unwrap a piece of candy without making some noise, and damn near impossible to stir a liquid without the stirrer hitting the container once.
>id guess if the sufferer expects we all dislike certain sounds, causing them intentionally is especially hateful?
I think it's pointless to attempt to look at it rationally, given the reactions I've heard seem entirely irrational and disproportionate.
I remember one time I was at work and a coworker on the opposite end of the room was using what I thought was the exact same model of mechanical keyboard I was using, with blue switches. I had never realized just how loud those things were until then. I kept glancing at him and could feel myself getting unreasonably annoyed, but I really had no grounds to say anything under any circumstance, given I had been using those very same switches in that same office very recently. What really struck me was how the same noise would sound pleasing when I made it and annoying when someone else made it, and I wondered if I had bothered someone with my typing, or if it was just me. I don't know if I'll use my own keyboard with clicky switches if I share an office with someone again.
I wanted to repair a HyperX mouse, but the switches I needed weren't available. I bought ones on a gamble because they were cheap, but they didn't fit, so I gave them away to a friend, and he used them to mod a cheapo mouse. It felt wrong to me for the clicks to make so little noise. He seemed happy with it, though.
Right, there is definitely a short learning curve where you have to get used to the fact that your mouse button is not making any noise. It almost feels like it must be faulty, but it's not, it's just silent.
This was an interesting piece on misophonia. It seems like it goes beyond just the sounds alone and it may depend on a perception of intentionality behind the sound.
My SO has misphonia, and strongly reacts to many sounds I make like smacking while eating or tapping my foot while thinking. She can also react strongly to noises outside the home, like if a car idles loudly outside.
She works in a kindergarten, and so I asked how she tolerates all those kids making noises while eating and such, given how adverse she is towards the sounds I make.
She said it didn't bother her the slightest as she knew the kids couldn't help it, and the reason my smacking annoyed her for example was because she knew it could be avoided if I just were more careful.
great share. the authors so introspective it almost seems like a straw man vehicle. i mean that in a good way, i think? not used to people writing about their shortcomings matter-of-factly like this
Does everyone have this to some extent? Or is it really only a thing neurospicy folks experience? I have to run away from my wife when she's chewing loudly sometimes, the rage is real.
