Most of us are annoyed by the sound of someone eating – particularly if it’s a packet of crisps in the cinema or theatre. But for some, this and other noises can lead to rage, panic attacks and even have a major impact on their lives.
These people suffer from either misophonia also known as Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (an intense dislike of a sound or group of sounds) or hyperacusis (a decreased tolerance for loud sounds). Then there are people who suffer from tinnitus (a ring, roar, hiss, chirping, or similar sound in the ears).
Recent research by a group of UK scientists into people with misophonia has shown some people’s brains become hardwired to produce an ‘excessive’ emotional response. Their research revealed the part of the brain that joins our senses with our emotions – the anterior insular cortex – was overly active in misophonia.
Dr Sukhbinder Kumar, from Newcastle University, told BBC News: “They are going into overdrive when they hear these sounds, but the activity was specific to the trigger sounds not the other two sounds. The reaction is anger mostly, it’s not disgust, the dominating emotion is the anger – it looks like a normal response, but then it is going into overdrive.”
There are no treatments, he said but the researchers hope understanding the difference in the misophonic brain will lead to new treatments.
Hyperacusis, says the NHS, is an intolerance that causes significant distress and affects a person’s day-to-day activities. The condition can vary quite a lot and while some people find loud noises extremely uncomfortable, others find certain noises particularly annoying, some develop a fear of certain noises. And others experience pain when hearing ordinary sounds.
Hyperacusis affects people of all ages and is quite common in children, adds the NHS, saying that there are no specific medicines or operations that can treat hyperacusis, although treating any underlying cause may help resolve the problem.
There are specialist techniques to help reduce sensitivity to noise that may be recommended if no cause is found. These therapies are widely available privately, and may be available on the NHS for people with severe or persistent hyperacusis.
Treatment can include talking therapies which aim to explore and change the way people think about the troublesome noises to reduce distress, change their avoidance behaviour, and help them recover from hyperacusis symptoms.
And this is where clinical hypnotherapy can play a role in providing treatment can change the way people react to sounds – whether they are external like with misophonia or hyperacusis or internal as with tinnitus.
One way in which hypnotherapy can help is to let the sufferer realise they can learn not to notice the sound that bothers them as much.
“As we naturally tune out sounds, so people can learn to use that ability where needed. They can also learn to manipulate that sound so they can change its pitch, for instance, and thus tone it down,” says the National Council for Hypnotherapy.
“Through hypnotherapy, one can learn to train their mind to focus on something else so the tinnitus becomes nothing more than a background noise.”
Hypnotherapy can also be effective in treating the stress, anxiety and panic attacks these disorders cause in some people.
For more information about the National Council for Hypnotherapy, visit their website by clicking here.