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When we open a bag of chips, it is just a given that it is going to make a noise. Then when we bite into a chip, the crunchy noise is music to most people's ears. However, for some people they might avoid chips and other food and eating noises altogether because it just gets them very upset. When you know the reason why this happens, it may leave you speechless!

The Reason Why Some People Get Angry About Eating Noises Is:

Misophonia is defined as a “hatred of certain sounds,” which essentially means normal and everyday sounds irritate the listener. It includes chewing and eating noises and also sounds like heavy breathing and lip smacking. The term was first coined in 2001 by Margaret M. Jastreboff and Pawel J. Jastreboff of Emory University in a paper about hyperacusis — a condition where people are sensitive to certain sound frequencies.
Why some people loathe such noises and others don't eluded scientists for some time, but now researchers from U.K.'s Newcastle University have a scientific explanation. According to the team, who published their findings in the journal Current Biology, those with misophonia have different frontal lobe activity than those without misophonia.

In the study, the researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine to see the brain activity in subjects with misophonia and those without the condition while they listened to an array of noises.

The researchers found that participants with misophonia had different brain activity that non-sufferers when “trigger” noises were played that resulted in “heightened physiological response with increased heart rate and sweating.”

Specifically, there were “abnormal connections” between the frontal-lobe area and the anterior insular cortex (AIC) — located in the grey matter and involved in processing emotions. Those with misophonia had increased activity in the front-lobe area and the AIC when presented with trigger sounds, while their non-misophonic peers only saw an increase in the AIC and a decrease in the frontal region.

For skeptics and doubters out there, the study confirms misophonia is a real condition.

 

It turns out that people with misophonia have different activity that happens in their brain when they hear triggers like eating noises. People with this condition have a real fear and  hatred for these noises. Do you get angry every time you hear eating noises?

Let Us Know Your Thoughts!

For more information about misophonia, you can visit:  

The Kitchn