Everyone is bothered by certain sounds – chewing noises, dogs barking, babies crying, leaf blowers, but 20% of the population could have a very different, more visceral reaction - anger and panic! These intense reactions are attributed to a real condition called misophonia and it’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how noise is increasingly driving us insane. Really, no really!
In a previous episode (S1/E15) Jason discovered that Peter has misophonia, defined by WebMD as a disorder in which certain sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses that some might perceive as unreasonable given the circumstance.
Jason and Peter wanted to better understand what this condition is since it affects so many people, so they sought out Dr. Jane Gregory, a clinical psychologist and researcher based at the University of Oxford. She is a leading expert in therapy techniques adapted specifically for misophonia and set up two of the first NHS psychology services for misophonia in the UK. She’s also the author of the forthcoming book, “Sounds Like Misophonia: How to stop small sounds from causing extreme reactions.” And she really hates the sound of her husband* eating and breathing.
Some of the topics they discuss:
- The proliferation of noise pollution and its dangerous effects on society.
- Ways to tell if you have misophonia.
- Why Queen Elizabeth only allowed rounded ice cubes.
- Can misophonia cause road-rage and other extreme behavior?
- Why more Americans have become more sensitive to noise.
- Techniques sufferers can adopt to help cope with this condition.
- How environmental sounds create anxiety and stress in the body.
- How noise levels are affecting birds, frogs and other animals’ patterns and mating habits.
- The quietest place on Earth.
Learn more about Dr. Gregory:
WEBSITE: SoundsLikeMisophonia.com
Instagram & Twitter: @SoundsLikeMiso
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*They are doing fine.
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