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“I remember my misophonia really starting during COVID. I think I’ve always been a bit sensitive to noise, but that’s when it became something I couldn’t ignore anymore. Being at home all the time, I was constantly around the same sounds, especially from my family and the people closest to me, and I started noticing how strongly I was reacting.

It started off with things like chewing or sniffling, and at first I thought I was just being irritable or dramatic. But it didn’t feel like normal annoyance. It was immediate and intense, and I couldn’t just “tune it out” no matter how hard I tried. Over time, it got to the point where I couldn’t even sit through dinner with my family. I’d either have to sit there with earbuds in playing white noise, or leave and eat in another room.

That part was really hard, because it wasn’t strangers bothering me, it was people I cared about. And I didn’t want to feel that way towards them. There was a lot of guilt that came with it, on top of just not understanding what was going on. I did try to get help at one point and talked to a psychologist, and the main suggestion was exposure therapy. But honestly, it didn’t really work for me. If anything, it made me realize that this wasn’t something I could just “get used to” with enough exposure.

Eventually, I came across misophonia, and it kind of just clicked. Having a name for it made a big difference, it helped me feel less alone and less like I was overreacting. Since then, it’s become something I’m still learning how to manage, but also something I’ve become really interested in understanding more deeply. This led me to focus my undergraduate research on auditory perception and emotional responses to sound. Through this work, I’ve been able to explore not only my own experiences, but also the broader ways that sound can shape emotion, attention, and well-being.

One thing I’ve noticed and looked into, though, is that my sensitivity to sound isn’t always negative. In a different way, I think it’s also shaped how I experience music. I tend to feel music really deeply, sometimes more emotionally than the people around me, and I’ve always wondered if that’s connected. I don’t fully understand that relationship yet, but it’s something I am interested in and love to research about now.”

We thank Lewa for sharing her misophonia story! Do you want to share your #MisophoniaStory? Share your story with us here.

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