6 ms·

I have a strong, strong, flight or fight aversion to the sounds of people eating with their mouth open. Like, measurably increases my heartrate, adrenaline spik

I have a strong, strong, flight or fight aversion to the sounds of people eating with their mouth open. Like, measurably increases my heartrate, adrenaline spike. It's not rational, it's not something I have control over. It's something I deal with and largely have built techniques to try and lower the stress of. I'm aware this is fundamentally a "your brain is wired different" issue, and so I'm never sure what the etiquette should be on asking others to chew with the mouths closed. Many cultures don't have any concerns around slurping/chewing with mouth open, so meal times in mixed company are often quite hard for me. Add on the stress of trying to figure out whether I should even mention something (and make everyone else uncomfortable) is bonus stress on top.

postsantum 3y ago
Same but with snoring. If I can hear someone snoring I won't fall asleep due to irrational hatred towards that person. The only exception to this rule is people who snore at hostels. I hate them rationally
- thefz 3y ago
  Make it their problem and wake them up. No reason to suffer in silence.
  - postsantum 3y ago
    I don't stay in hostels anymore but honestly don't understand this mindset "I'll spoil other's sleep to save a few dollars". If someone reading my comment does this, please know that in every dorm there could be people fantasizing about your death
echelon 3y ago
Same. This drives me insane to the point of internal anger and disgust, but there's litte I can do about it. Nobody else gets it when I politely ask. I just have to bear the pain. I'm susceptible to a few types of sounds I loathe: - food/eating/mouth noises - off-key singing - chalkboard scraping (I think most people have an aversion to this) The strong feeling of displeasure for these sounds has been with me since a very young age and has never gone away.
StrangeATractor 3y ago
> I have a strong, strong, flight or fight aversion to the sounds of people eating with their mouth open. Like, measurably increases my heartrate, adrenaline spike. Same, except I can feel hatred bubbling up from the pit of my soul. Also, when people talk and you hear their tongue moving around, touching the saliva coated interior of their mouths. The old people in Ken Burns' WWII documentary were the worst about it.
- lostlogin 3y ago
  When you work in a hospital, encounters with staff that manage airways often cracked me up. Any gross noises from the patients and they attack the patient with suction and then watch with satisfaction as the phlegm/saliva fill the transparent suction tube.
wara23arish 3y ago
The worst for me is when people’s teeth bite down on silverware. Its exactly how you described
copymoro 3y ago
[flagged]
- EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
  Yes and no. There's some degree of nurture here, for sure. But there's some degree of nature. Misophonia is common in folks with autism, for instance. While there are techniques and strategies for living with autism, it's simply not something one can learn their way out of. Some of us do have neural connections that have hard wired responses to certain stimuli.
  - copymoro 3y ago
    [flagged]
- catiopatio 3y ago
  > My point is that it's a learned response What made you think it’s a learned response? It’s unequivocally not.
antiterra 3y ago
I had this issue show up suddenly, but atter the past 10 years or so it has gotten a bit better. I know longer am managing rage if I know the person is stuffed up or following their cultural norms. I think it is very similar to road rage, which can normally be defused by communication or sympathy.
throwaway22032 3y ago
Chewing with your mouth open is just bad manners. What are the uncivilized cultures that accept that? Is this like one of those "some people go to Walmart in pyjamas" things? That honestly sounds ridiculous to me.

postsantum 3y ago

Same but with snoring. If I can hear someone snoring I won't fall asleep due to irrational hatred towards that person. The only exception to this rule is people who snore at hostels. I hate them rationally

thefz 3y ago
Make it their problem and wake them up. No reason to suffer in silence.
- postsantum 3y ago
  I don't stay in hostels anymore but honestly don't understand this mindset "I'll spoil other's sleep to save a few dollars". If someone reading my comment does this, please know that in every dorm there could be people fantasizing about your death

echelon 3y ago

Same. This drives me insane to the point of internal anger and disgust, but there's litte I can do about it. Nobody else gets it when I politely ask. I just have to bear the pain. I'm susceptible to a few types of sounds I loathe: - food/eating/mouth noises - off-key singing - chalkboard scraping (I think most people have an aversion to this) The strong feeling of displeasure for these sounds has been with me since a very young age and has never gone away.

StrangeATractor 3y ago

> I have a strong, strong, flight or fight aversion to the sounds of people eating with their mouth open. Like, measurably increases my heartrate, adrenaline spike. Same, except I can feel hatred bubbling up from the pit of my soul. Also, when people talk and you hear their tongue moving around, touching the saliva coated interior of their mouths. The old people in Ken Burns' WWII documentary were the worst about it.

lostlogin 3y ago
When you work in a hospital, encounters with staff that manage airways often cracked me up. Any gross noises from the patients and they attack the patient with suction and then watch with satisfaction as the phlegm/saliva fill the transparent suction tube.

wara23arish 3y ago

The worst for me is when people’s teeth bite down on silverware. Its exactly how you described

copymoro 3y ago

[flagged]

EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
Yes and no. There's some degree of nurture here, for sure. But there's some degree of nature. Misophonia is common in folks with autism, for instance. While there are techniques and strategies for living with autism, it's simply not something one can learn their way out of. Some of us do have neural connections that have hard wired responses to certain stimuli.
- copymoro 3y ago
  [flagged]
catiopatio 3y ago
> My point is that it's a learned response What made you think it’s a learned response? It’s unequivocally not.

antiterra 3y ago

I had this issue show up suddenly, but atter the past 10 years or so it has gotten a bit better. I know longer am managing rage if I know the person is stuffed up or following their cultural norms. I think it is very similar to road rage, which can normally be defused by communication or sympathy.

throwaway22032 3y ago

Chewing with your mouth open is just bad manners. What are the uncivilized cultures that accept that? Is this like one of those "some people go to Walmart in pyjamas" things? That honestly sounds ridiculous to me.