You are not alone. Misophonia is a disorder marked by “a hatred of sounds such as eating, chewing or repeated pen clicking.” It’s not well understood, but the known universe just got a lot bigger thanks to a team of researchers from Newcastle University who have evidence that enraging noises are caused by a brain connection overdrive.
The lead researcher, Dr Sukhbinder Kumar of the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University and the Wellcome Centre for NeuroImaging at University College London, said that, “[f]or many people with misophonia, this will come as welcome news as for the first time we have demonstrated a difference in brain structure and function in sufferers.” With this news suffers may see the end of one problem they often face; namely, the casual dismissal of their complaints by medical professionals. As Dr. Kumar notes, “[t]his study demonstrates the critical brain changes as further evidence to convince a sceptical medical community that this is a genuine disorder.”