If you want to crawl inside a hole when someone next to you is chewing or slurping, you may have a condition known as misophonia- a heightened sensitivity to some noises.
Even though being part of the unlucky 20 percent of individuals with this condition may not seem appealing, there are some good news associated with it.
According to research team from Northwestern University, people who’re very sensitive to some sounds are considered more creative than others who’re not.
The more influenced the people were by these sounds, the greater their chance of scoring high scores on creativity tests, concluded the study.
A Creative Genius, Really?
So, the next time you’re with someone who’s slurping on their chicken soup, breathe deeply and remember this study.
You may not have it easy as a creative genius, but brace yourself-you can do it!
Misophonia has been recognized as a condition since 2000; however, the research into it has been scarce.
In 2017 however; the team from Newcastle University in the UK discovered that some changes in the frontal lobe of the brain are responsible for our reaction to sounds in case we have this particular condition.
For the purposes of the study, the 20 volunteers who were known to be highly annoyed by chewing sounds were exposed to neutral and repetitive sounds like a boiling kettle, baby’s cry, breathing noises, and loud chewing, among others.
When their physiological and neurological responses were compared with the responses of that from the control group, those from the test group had higher heart and skin conductivity.
The brain scans discovered a distinction in their neurology- the people with misophonia had higher activity in some brain regions, unlike those who didn’t have this condition.
The researchers point out that the people with this condition have brains that find it harder to manage the messages linked with some sounds.
Do I Have Misophonia?
Even though we all may occasionally feel disgusted at the sound of someone’s chewing, having this condition will make this situation seem unbearable because of the link with our brain’s fight or flight response.
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