About an hour ago I was deeply involved in a quadratic equation (boo and hiss), when Rich decided he would do some gaming a few feet away from me. This wasn't a problem, but my fury began when he started eating and munching on some bread stuffing while he played. The stuffing was extra loud because of some crunchy celery bits that are mixed in.
The wave of anger that I felt due to his chewing was nothing new. Some of my earliest memories include being irritated by my father who is a textbook case soup-slurper. In the second grade I sat next to a mouth-breather named Jerry. When someone's nose whistles at work, I lose it. What I feel is beyond a mild agitation, it is full blown rage. Under all other circumstances, I tend to be patient and slow to anger even in extreme situations. This phenomenon really makes me uncomfortable. I can feel my blood pressure elevating just thinking about it! All of these years I thought I was just being a nitpicky bitch and would feel guilty after my rage subsided, but today I Googled "angered by eating noises" and found something incredible.
www.hyperacusis.org
I have 4S!
Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome or 4S, A.K.A Misophonia is a "strong negative reaction to soft sounds, in particular, sounds associated with eating, breathing, speaking, or lip smacking. Noises that are identified as bothersome or extremely annoying most often relate to noises associated with the mouths or noses of other people. Biting, chewing, forks clicking on plates or teeth, tongues licking lips, lips smacking when opening or shutting, "sssss" sounds or other high frequency sounds, fingernail biting, or breathing sounds. In many cases, it can be one particular person that presents the most difficulty for the sufferer. Emotional reactions are closely related to this syndrome: victims may cry, yell, strike out, retreat, scream, withdraw, abuse others verbally or physically, in an effort to remove the negative stimulation."
I feel so vindicated! It isn't just me who feels moved to kill their loved ones! I immediately reported my findings to Rich and all he said was "yeah, great, you better hurry up and update your Facebook status". This was sarcasm.
My excitement over these findings has kept me up too late. I wish I could call in sick tomorrow because of my 4S.
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