Misophonia in Thailand?
You are in a room with people. Someone on the left turns up his nose. The one in front of you eats an apple. Someone sneezes behind you. The one on the left turns up his nose again. Someone on the right is slurping tea and the boy with a cold on the left has blown his nose anyway. Can no one act normally? Welcome to the world of a misophone.
misophonia
People who experience the above scene as hell on earth could be suffering from misophonia. Oh, isn't that what you get when you're annoyed by people eating? No, that's not it! Misophonia is about more than being annoyed with. It is a neurological disorder in which specific sounds arouse extreme feelings of anger, disgust or hatred.
I was not familiar with this condition, although in the past I was sometimes annoyed by people smacking food, slurping, picking their nose, etc. I have now resigned myself to it in Thailand. Those unsavory eating habits you see so often now and I can't take my eyes off someone who eats with his mouth open, so you can follow the whole grinding process in the mouth. The Chinese are good at it, Thai too, but if a Westerner eats indecently, I think it's rude.
Meaning
Literally, misophonia means "hatred of sound." The name misophonia was established in 2001 by the American scientists Margaret and Pawel Jastreboff. In the Netherlands, the condition was discovered in 2009 by a psychiatrist Damian Dennis. Misophonia is also referred to as a form of sound intolerance or an impulse control disorder. The term Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (4S) is also sometimes used. Actually, the term misophonia is no longer quite correct because most people with misophonia also suffer from movements. This 'hatred of movements' is also referred to as misokinesia.
misophones
With misophones, all their attention is sucked into all kinds of nasty sounds and immediately - and without their intention - intense feelings of anger, hatred or disgust arise. They can no longer concentrate on what they were doing and prefer to run away or to fight with the person or thing that makes the noise. Someone who happens to be unable to think clearly and calm themselves down at that moment.
Because the feelings evoked are so intense and bad, misophones go to great lengths to avoid those situations. That means simply leaving or avoiding certain people, which can lead to withdrawing from social life altogether.
Misophonia touches many aspects of life. Depending on the severity, most misophones experience difficulties in relationships, school or study, work, parenting, and general health.
AMC
Don't think it's an affectation, the condition is medically recognized and the AMC in Amsterdam has developed a therapy to deal with that misophonia. Many hundreds of people have already been treated or are still on a waiting list. There is now even an Association for Misophonia NL.
Misophonia in Thailand
Based on what I wrote earlier about what we consider to be indecent eating habits, which you sometimes see here, you would not advise a misphone to go on holiday to Thailand. I don't know if misophonia really occurs here, I couldn't find much about it. The only thing I found was on a forum where a dog misophonia was discussed. People, who were green and yellow annoyed by dogs barking in any form. Even a barking dog on TV can cause serious medical complaints in those people.
Finally
Admittedly, the subject may not (yet) have anything to do with Thailand, but I thought it was special enough to say something about it. I wonder if you as a blog reader have experience with this condition, either in your own country or in Thailand.
Read everything on the extensive website of the aforementioned association: associationmisofonie.nl/misofonie-op-internet This site also contains links to many newspaper articles and videos about misophonia
There is an overabundance of PhD students in the Netherlands and people will automatically look for or find a new disorder, illness or more that can be used to graduate. On average, the Dutch suffer from 10 diseases, disorders and more per person when everything is added up and shared by 17 million inhabitants.
An example of annoying noise in Thailand : ice cream van tune
, tune when opening the door in 7-eleven, the continuous croaking of sawasdee kaa in unison and continuously at the Familymart at Suwarnabhumi airport 2nd floor
(all not serious)
I cannot say for sure whether it is misophonia, but at my work there are people who spontaneously get up and walk away from their place if, for example, an apple is bitten. The shivers run visibly down their bodies. Various types of food have therefore been banned from the workplace.
Those who suffer from it know themselves that this aversion is abnormal, but they can do nothing about it. Fortunately, no one has a problem with eating the apple or something outside during the break or something.
In Thailand, it might bother me a little every time I hear someone complain about how 'he/she has it really bad' or about how 'Thai society is so much less than Western society'. Ok, maybe not misophonia, but it can make me pay for my beer and sit somewhere else. Haha.
For years I have been going to Thailand/Cambodia every year for a holiday. Now I am finally retired and plan to spend 8 months a year in Southeast Asia (mainly Thailand and Cambodia). I will hardly miss Holland (like most of you, I think).
One thing, however, is the relative tranquility, and by this I mean the absence of noise. At its worst, I recently experienced it in the Cambodian countryside. I temporarily stayed in a traditional house in a hamlet. Imagine hearing everything at the same time: across the street a kind of karaoke bar with hours a day at pop concert strength people who, often half-satisfied, came to shout along. The neighbor had a large television and was a fan of decibel techno. The Wat in the neighborhood also participated: people could hear far and wide who had donated money for the new temple, plus the daily prayers of course. Those orange paterkes pulled a lot of leather!
The karaoke bar also had six dogs, who were at war with each other, and were also at odds with the neighbors' three dogs…. Added to that is the daily parade of agricultural vehicles. Of course, workmen who came to refurbish the house did not have a towel over their hammer.
Earplugs didn't help, of course. Well, two teacups that I put over my ears and held in place with a scarf, but yes, just go out into the street!
Who knows a solution, except to fill my ears with cement or to have my auditory nerves partially severed?
Tests have recently been carried out with anti-noise, but I have not yet been able to find anything on the market.
Regards,
Maurice
Ps We're not talking about roosters crowing and electricity generators….
----
I wrote the above about half a year ago on this forum.
In general, the reactions were: you just have to be able to handle it, this is Asia.
Someone advised me to purchase custom earplugs. I will too, before I leave again. A nice solution, according to someone, was to have me hypnotized regularly by a Thai beauty. Do I still have to do.
I have already packed my hearing protection, which looks like a somewhat heavier pair of headphones…..
Let everyone think I'm a DJ or something, it's quiet in my ears!
For years I thought I was the only one who was bothered by sound / noise. At least I can now say that I suffer from an interesting, recognized disorder that also has a name.
Greetings everyone
Tests with anti-noise are, in my opinion, more intended for tinnitus sufferers. To overburden the continuously annoying whistling sound, one puts on headphones with music, then one no longer hears it. In my opinion, complaints such as yours about noise nuisance do not fall under the definition of misophonia. Every normal socially aware person is disturbed by the noise you have given as an example. Well, you could of course bring a large ghetto blaster as anti-noise. Misophonia rather refers to low decibels that should not really disturb but still disturb, such as smacking, for example.
What strikes me in apartments in Bangkok is that the Thais are remarkably quiet there. I have often had neighbors above me at various locations in the Netherlands. Always a nuisance. If only because one does not stretch one's and especially one's shoes. Tock tock tock. Thais are also not constantly drilling and hammering in those flats. The Gamma Terror. I visited several Thais in their apartments in Thailand and often slept there. Hardly ever to hear anything except the eternal traffic of course. The tourist areas will of course roar towards you invitingly. Seems to be part of tourism. Moreover, tourism attracts many poorly educated people from Isaan, where people think differently about noise.
What annoys me the most is that people who make a lot of noise don't (want to) realize that they are disturbing others, as if they were alone in the world. The idea that in your behavior you also think about the impact that this can have on the other (an important Buddhist rule, but also in other beliefs) is unfortunately completely unknown to many.
Good article, it's a tricky thing, for example, having a nice meal together and then being annoyed by the tapping of a spoon or someone stirring his spoon in a tea cup or the swallowing sound of swallowing liquids, a hell of a job, nice that the AMC pays attention to this, again a shame about the waiting lists, hopefully more AMCs will jump in?
Apparently I suffer from this condition, because I absolutely cannot stand the sound of someone biting a piece out of an apple. I also can't stand the sound of nibbling chips or nuts (under my breath). I generally avoid people eating, not only because of the sounds they make, but sometimes also because of the attitude. In Ghent, Flanders, for example, I was crossing the street when I saw a student approaching and eating a bag of chips while walking. A sandwich, so much, but chips on the street? Chips are not lunch, they are a snack you eat while watching TV.
However, as soon as there is background noise, such as music or traffic or a buzz, I no longer 'hear' it. Only when it is otherwise quiet can I not handle those sounds, I am completely overwhelmed by them and feel a anger rising. I realize it's not normal, but can't help it except literally distance myself until I can't hear it anymore. Or say something about it. Doing nothing and swallowing it is really not possible. it's just unbearable.
I remember having it as a child and also my mother having it with me, when I ate juicy oranges and made the accompanying eating/drinking/swallowing sounds. Although I don't think she found it unbearable, because she didn't have to leave and didn't get angry or anything.
Also strange: it annoys me more when it comes from acquaintances than from strangers. A company of smacking Thai won't arouse the feeling. And disgusting Chinese, yes, that's something else I think. It's not me, it's the Chinese.
My girlfriend eating a piece of fruit while standing next to me when I'm at the computer can give me a nervous fit in 1 moment (in a manner of speaking, of course). A friend smacking while eating his ice cream brings 'murderous' thoughts to my mind. But I always ask nicely if they can eat a little less noisy or better: a little further away. Or if the radio is on.
In a general sense, I certainly don't hate noise: music from partying neighbors has never bothered me, barking dogs usually don't, although there is one that continues on its own when the others have been going crazy for a long time. I'm already used to the roosters that crow here every few hours throughout the day, and I don't even wake up from them anymore.
Much can be solved psychologically, I'm sure. If anyone feels the need to talk about it [email protected] (no pun intended)