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Misophonia- What It Is (& How You Might Have Never Known You Had It)

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at WVWC chapter.

Does the sound of people eating, swallowing, or even breathing just a little bit too loudly inexplicably get under your skin?

These are actually symptoms of a typically self-diagnosable brain abnormality which consequently leads to the exaggeration of the typical emotional response to trigger sounds, which may be unique among individuals. This condition was first given a name, Misophonia, in 2001, and has since been debated among medical professionals and scientists regarding whether or not it constitutes as an actual disorder. However, new research conducted by Newcastle University in the United Kingdom suggests that people with Misophonia actually have functional differences in the frontal lobes of their brains, as compared to people without the condition. When particular “trigger sounds” are heard, people suffering from Misophonia are found to respond physiologically with more rapid pulses and increased, even profuse, sweating. Among the goals of this new research is to be able to convince medical professionals, as well as those who suffer from Misophonia, that it is a legitimate diagnosis which can generate very real and legitimate feelings of irritation and frustration that should not be ignored or made to seem exaggerated or insignificant.

Pictures Courtesy:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-4198142/CRAIG-BROWN-enduring-e…

 

Just a small town girl living in an even smaller college town. I'm an Accounting major at WVWC in hopes of someday going to law school. I enjoy coffee, jumping in puddles, & petting the locals' dogs when they take them for walks on campus.