Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vog Obaum, and today's episode is a classic from our former host, Christian Segar. This is one that's near and dear to a few of my coworkers in our aggressively open office space. Why do some noises drive me crazy? Hey brain Stuff, it's Christian Seger. Do you want to strangle people who chew with their mouth open? Does the sound of slurping noodles drive you mad?
What about chewing gum, heavy breathing, frequent sighing, or chronic snoring? Does the sound of flatwear dragging and clinking across a plate fill you with unending rage? If so, you might just have miss aphonia and you're not alone. But what is it? There are still a lot of questions about this relatively new diagnosis, but we know that some sounds drive certain people acutely bonkers. And I am not talking
about slight annoyances or just getting irritated. I'm talking about having certain sounds trigger powerful and intense feelings, ranging from panic and anxiety to anger and yes, even arousal. If ordinary irritation would be a three on a one to ten scale, then this stuff is more of a twelve or if you ask someone with miss aphonia, a two million. The list of trigger sounds goes on. Plosive pas like the sounds of pop, kiss, noises, plastic bags, and even
pouring water can all make miss aphonius sufferers furious. So what exactly is going on here? The term miss aphonia means hatred of sounds, and it was made by two neuroscientists, Powell and Margaret Jasterboff. Most experts believe that miss aphonia is a neurological problem, rather than a problem with an individual's hearing system. In doctor Judith Kraudhammer argued that the problem could be traced back to areas of the brain
called the insular cortex and the anterior singulated cortex. A dysfunctional assessment of neural signals in the brain triggers this intense discomfort. Interestingly enough, these areas are also hubs for processing anger, pain, and sensory information. There are competing views of the causes of miss aphonia. A. Gay R. Moehler believes that the dysfunction is in the central nervous system, that it's hardwired in people and is a physiological abnormality
rather than an auditory disorder. Powell Jasterboff believes that people can't be born with miss aphonia, but that there might be a genetic factor in the mix. Currently, experts think it develops in late childhood and early adolescence and worsens over time. Miss Aphonia is also often confused with other ailments such as O, C, D, phobic disorders, or hyperacusis. People with hyperacusis are overly sensitive to certain frequencies or ranges of sound. However, if you have miss aphonia, the
volume of your trigger sound probably doesn't matter. Miss Aphonia can develop from a range of possible factors, and patients with other audio disorders can also develop the condition. According to audiologist Miriam Westcott, tonitus sufferers can also develop miss aphonia over time. Westcott argues that some causes for miss aphonia may include an obsession with sounds that irritated or
scared you in childhood, pointing to a possible psychological factor. So, all right, if we put all of this together, then it seems that experts agree on a few things. One, people with miss aphonia aren't just cranky jerks. They have no control over their reaction to miss aphonia develops over time, and three it may likely be caused by multiple factors. And there's a little bad news at this point. There's
no universally recognized and effective treatment from miss aphonia. So if the sound of snoring, smacking, and other mouth noises turns you into a monster, then you'll be glad to know that research on miss aphonia continues as I'm speaking to you. Organizations in the United Kingdom have launched miss Aphonia Monday to raise awareness for this condition. Today's episode was written by Ben Bolan and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radios How Stuff Works.
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