misophonia

When someone scrapes their nails down a chalkboard, many of us might feel uncomfortable. For those with the condition misophonia , other kinds of sounds – like slurping, snoring, breathing, and chewing – can draw an equally stressful response. University of Amsterdam psychiatrist Dirk Smit and colleagues analyzed the genetic data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, UK Biobank, and 23andMe databases. They found people who self-identified as having misophonia were more likely to have genes associated with psychiatric disorders , as well as tinnitus . "There was also an overlap with PTSD genetics," Smit told Eric W. Dolan at PsyPost. "This means that genes that give a sensitivity to PTSD also increase the likelihood for misophonia, and that could point to a shared neurobiological system that affects both. And that could suggest that treatment techniques used for PTSD could also be used for misophonia." This doesn't mean misophonia and these other conditions necessarily have shared mechanisms, only that some of the genetic risk factors may be similar. Responses to a triggering sound can range from irritation and anger to distress that interferes with everyday life. People with misophonia can have an intense reaction to triggering sounds. (Cleveland Clinic ) People with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) were less likely to experience misophonia. This was unexpected as those with ASD often have a decreased ability to tolerate sounds. "Our results suggest that misophonia and ASD are relatively independent disorders with regard to genomic variation," Smit and team explain in the study . Smit and colleagues caution that their data were mostly sourced from European populations, so the same links may not show up in different populations. What's more, misophonia was not medically diagnosed in their data samples, only self-reported, which may skew the results. The 772 volunteers completed a questionnaire about potential trigger sounds and their emotional responses, which probed 5 aspects of misophonia: a sense of emotional threat, internal and external appraisals, outbursts, and impact. Responses to a triggering sound can range from irritation and anger to distress that interferes with everyday life. (Andrii Iemelyanenko/Canva) "Our survey captured the complexity of the condition," explained University of Oxford clinical psychologist Jane Gregory when the results were published. There were two key differences between those with misophonia and the general population. Firstly, the negative feelings towards the sounds universally disliked were more often accompanied by anger and panic. They reported feeling trapped or helpless and unable to escape the noise. Finally, people with misophonia were more likely to be bothered by sounds like normal breathing and swallowing, whereas these didn't prompt any reaction in the general population. Gregory and the UK team think their survey may be a useful tool to help other clinicians identify those troubled by misophonia – a term that they report less than 14 percent of their sample population were previously aware of. Studies like these are invaluable for understanding how our perception of the world links with our mind's ability to cope within it.