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Your Yawning Makes Me Want to Punch You
Why some people get irrationally angry at minor noises — and what you can do if you are one of them.
Did you just yawn? That’s so annoying.
I have a confession to make: every time I hear someone yawn I become irritated. Enraged even. In fact, there is a direct correlation to the loudness of a person’s yawn and how much I want to punch them in the face.
Also, if someone chews their food too loudly, or groans when they get up, or breathes too loudly, or makes any other body-related noises, it’s all I can do not to start screaming at them.
If these types of noises don’t bother you, it likely sounds completely irrational and unfair when I share that certain noises impact me so much.
I am not normally an angry person, but certain noises drive me crazy. I am not alone. Many people experience overwhelming sensations of irritation at hearing common noises. This is caused by an affective sound processing disorder called misophonia, also called “selective sound sensitivity syndrome”.
While most people experience slight annoyance at particular sounds, those of us with misophonia feel a much higher level of reaction to sounds that we deem annoying.
