Going deeper into misophonia

So I decided to go deeper into the whole misophonia thing after a thought occurred to me: whenever I encounter certain smells, I have the same reaction that I have when I hear certain sounds, my brain does the same thing. Like being hit by a wave of ice cold water on an already cold day. First there’s the initial slap in the face shock. Then the wave washes over, completely soaking me. Now I’m left cold and wet for the rest of the day and want to deflate like a balloon, slowly sit down, head in hands, eyes tightly shut, face screwed up. Annoyed, maybe a little angry in the immediate aftermath, then mostly deflated for a while afterwards.

My first port of call was to search for “misophonia olfactory” I found a few results, all academic papers. A few references to autism.

I then tried a less scientific search “misophonia smells” (why yes it does, figuratively speaking, but that’s not what I meant!)



Looks like I’m not the only one. I found many firsthand reports with this search, with many mentions of autism.

I discovered the term hyperosmia, sensitivity to smells, but like hyperacusis, it merely describes heightened sensitivity rather than the annoyed and disgusted reactions.

I noticed the umbrella term sensory processing disorder being used a few times. This term is accurate and describes a lot more, even way outside misophonia, but it is too broad for what I was looking into.

Then I found a great resource:

https://misophoniainstitute.org

It covers everything. Triggers (including extensive lists), reflexes, guilt, how it develops, how triggers spread, a test, and so much more. Curiously, no mention of autism.

It mentions olfactory triggers as being related, but I discovered something way more interesting that I hadn’t considered before: visual triggers. This instantly made complete sense to me and perfectly described another related aspect of my misophonia. In short, seeing the action that produces a sound has the same (or similar) reaction as hearing the sound itself. Seeing someone rubbing their clothes annoys me in the same way as hearing it. Seeing someone hold a spoon in a certain way becomes a visual trigger because it is now associated with a sound trigger. Seeing someone doing something silently is almost as bad as hearing them make the noise itself.

I’m still the most sensitive to sound, though, out of all the senses. I have a less severe reaction to light, yet my misophonia is still linked to visual things as well as sound.

So in the end I ended up even more educated, and right back where I started! Despite discovering hyperosmia and accurate descriptions within sensory processing disorder, misophonia is still the term I like to use the most. It feels the most accurate overall.

Hyperacusis/hyperosmia – accurate, but more to do with heightened perception and physical pain.

Phonophobia – more to do with anxiety.

Sensory processing disorder – accurate, but too broad.

I’ll end with this, a collection of research articles for anyone who would like to go down a misophonia rabbit hole:

Collection of Research Articles from our “New Research” Section | Misophonia Association

I've had this sensitivity my whole life. Some smells are painful to me, just like some sounds. The smells that hurt are commercial perfumes and deodorants, especially from 16 to 20 year olds that spray half a can of stuff over themselves but from a lot of other people too. I react as if someone's trying to shove a couple of pencils up my nose because that's what it feels like. I tend to avoid using public transport for that reason.

Last time I lived in Melbourne I lived less than a kilometre from the beach so on a really hot day I decided to walk to the beach and go for a swim. I stopped a few hundred metres short when the smell of sunblock and coconut oil hit me in the face. And when I looked out over the water packed with people I could see an oil slick surrounding them, that revolted me. I went back home and turned the aircon on instead.

Outdated said:

The smells that hurt are commercial perfumes and deodorants,

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Those are the worst. And old frying oil. And mould.

I thought one of the Misophonia Institute articles was interesting in pointing out that sometimes the best treatment for misophonia is to add sound to the environment. I do spend a lot of time blocking the sounds out altogether with noise canceling headphones and white noise, but it was interesting to read about how open ear headphones and white noise may be a better approach to dealing with inescapable sounds. I understand better why I like having my fan on so much.

It is a fine line to walk where total avoidance isn’t possible, but increased exposure to unpleasant sounds certainly doesn’t lessen their impact over time.

I continue to struggle with this one, though I find my aversion to smells much harder to deal with. I have not yet found any ways to manage smells that I cannot avoid and the introduction of new and distracting smells does not seem to work at all. It just creates a whole new awful mix of smells. The concept of adding sound to distract from other sounds works better for me.

vergil96 said:

Those are the worst. And old frying oil. And mould.

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This is a bad one for me as well. Cooking oil hits the back of my throat. It’s the cheap sunflower oil that does it worst. I call it “the catering smell.” School, hospital and workplace canteens smell strongly of it. I don’t have issues with olive oil.

Rodafina said:

It is a fine line to walk where total avoidance isn’t possible, but increased exposure to unpleasant sounds certainly doesn’t lessen their impact overtime.

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Right, the concept of desensitising oneself just doesn’t work with autism.

Rodafina said:

I continue to struggle with this one, though I find my aversion to smells much harder to deal with. I have not yet found any ways to manage smells that I cannot avoid and the introduction of new and distracting smells does not seem to work at all. It just creates a whole new awful mix of smells. The concept of adding sound to distract from other sounds works better for me.

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Yes, white noise gives the best of both worlds. A soothing noise that covers up the unwanted one. Whereas with smells, a scented candle for example just replaces one problem with another. Baking fresh bread helps but doing that on demand is too inconvenient.

When we have raked our yard, the cement driveway part being raked bothers me. It seems to be worse when I have been the one to use the rake on the driveway myself. In fact it then makes me nauseous. By the time I finished the task those times, it was almost surprising that I had not actually vomited I felt so sick. I wonder if that was misophonia. I lot of the common triggers listed in an article I looked at don't bother me though. For example, I actually like to click an inkpen repeatedly.

FayetheAspie said:

the cement driveway part being raked bothers me.

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That bothers me as well, the sound of stiff brush bristles on cement. I have to use softer brushes to sweep my workbench and work areas.

FayetheAspie said:

I lot of the common triggers listed in an article I looked at don't bother me though. For example, I actually like to click an inkpen repeatedly.

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I think the triggers are almost random for a lot of people. Someone scratching their skin doesn’t bother me, but scratching themselves through their clothes does.

Angular Chap said:

That bothers me as well, the sound of stiff brush bristles on cement. I have to use softer brushes

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I was referring to a rake with metal prongs on cement.

Smells really affect me; especially synthetic ones. I dread doctor appointments, because when I enter the building where my doctor's office is, there is always a pocket of really strong scent; someone told me that the building people deliberately do something so that scent permeates the air. They think that it will relax people but it makes me ill. Even worse, are people who use scented laundry products then leave their scent on furniture. When I get home, I have to change my clothes because they will then smell like everybody who sat on the waiting room chairs.

Chronic stress affects the way mice perceive loudness

"Chronic stress, in particular, has been linked with
many negative health outcomes—and a new study
published February 11 in PLOS Biology
finds that in mice, at least, it can also affect the way
in which the brain processes sound. "

I wanted to report back to this thread with some success that I've had with a new pair of headphones. Because of this thread, I started looking more into the strategy of adding sound to disturbing noises rather than trying to block things out. I ended up taking a chance on a pair of headphones that allow sound to pass through. For reference, these are them: Bose Open Ear Buds

I play different types of sounds in the headphones and have been experimenting with which ones are the most effective for dealing with difficult noises. Different types of running water sounds seem really effective as a distraction to chewing noises whereas a rhythmic train sound is useful in grocery stores or other crowded places. Another benefit is that I can use them during conversation with someone. This has significantly improved my ability to focus on a conversation in certain circumstances.

I am not at all renouncing my NC headphones as an integral piece of the arsenal to fight offensive sounds. But, just wanted to share that this other approach of adding sound has been really interesting and surprisingly effective. The distraction method works especially well when I am also able to remove the visual stimulus as mentioned in the original post. The combination of removing the visual and adding a distracting noise is frequently enough for me to be able to maintain my focus on what I want instead of on the distressing noises.