Auditory purgatory: Why some sounds drive us up the wall
It can be the sound of a mosquito buzzing around your ear, something clattering in the boot of your car while you're driving, or the loud creaking of a door - and it's making you annoyed, stressed and maybe even angry. Why?
There are various possible reasons that a common sound gets on your nerves. Sometimes it's simply the pitch, because high-pitched sounds seem louder to us than low-pitched ones, says Eberhard Schmidt of Germany's Federal Guild of Hearing Aid Professionals (biha).
"Consequently, shrill, screechy sounds in a high-frequency range are often perceived as unpleasant," he remarks: a metal fork scraping across a porcelain plate, for instance.
People's feelings about sounds differ, and they're informed in part by personal experiences. "Someone may find a sound hard to take because it reminds them of an unpleasant experience," Schmidt says. Your neighbour drilling a hole in the wall of the adjoining flat may evoke your recent root canal treatment, for example.
Tinnitus ("ringing" in your ears) sufferers not uncommonly suffer from hyperacusis as well, a hearing disorder in which ordinary sounds are perceived as uncomfortably - and often unbearably - loud. The causes of hyperacusis aren't fully understood.
Then there's misophonia, extreme aversion to sounds that don't bother most other people. Typical triggers are sounds of other people eating or nose/throat sounds, such as chewing noisily, slurping, lip-smacking, throat-clearing, gurgling or sniffing.
Misophonia sufferers aren't merely annoyed by certain sounds, but have strong emotional responses such as anger, disgust and aggression, according to researchers at Germany's Bielefeld University, where psychologists have been studying misophonia since 2014.
Its cause isn't known, but experts suspect factors including brain structure differences, genetics and conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and anxiety disorders.
While not officially recognized as a distinct disorder, misophonia can severely impinge on your life. You may try to avoid certain everyday situations, such as eating together with others. This can cause you to become increasingly withdrawn and result in - or reinforce - social anxieties or depression.
If you think you're abnormally sensitive to common sounds, a first step to take is to find out whether there's anything wrong with your sense of hearing. An ENT physician or audiologist can test you. If you suspect you have misophonia, it's a good idea to seek psychotherapeutic help.
