Unpacking Misophonia: When Chewing Feels Like a Trigger

When everyday sounds like chewing, breathing, tapping turn unbearably triggering, it’s more than a simple annoyance. Misophonia is a disorder involving intense emotional or physical reactions to specific sounds.

In this guide, we’ll explore what misophonia is, how it differs from general sound sensitivity, what causes misophonia, how to assess whether you have it, and evidence-based misophonia treatments that can help you find relief.

If you’ve come here for answers, you’re not alone, and there is hope.

At re-origin, we understand that conditions like misophonia aren’t “all in your head”; they’re patterns your brain has learned in response to stress, threat, or overload. Our mission is to help you reset and rewire those patterns using the science of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and heal itself.

Through step-by-step video lessons, guided practices, and community support, the re-origin program teaches you how to calm an overactive stress response, regain a sense of safety, and retrain your brain to respond differently to triggers like sound, light, or movement.

You don’t have to live in a constant state of alertness. With the right tools and consistent practice, your brain can relearn calm, confidence, and balance, no matter how long it’s been stuck in survival mode.

Learn more about how re-origin’s brain retraining program helps people overcome sound sensitivity and other limbic system challenges.

What is Misophonia?

The term misophonia comes from the Greek, meaning “hatred of sound”.¹ It describes a heightened emotional and physiological reaction to certain trigger noises, often repetitive, subtle sounds such as chewing, slurping, or tapping.

Unlike hyperacusis, which is sensitivity to volume or frequency, misophonia is a conditioned response to specific sounds rather than loudness itself.²

It’s not rare. Research estimates that up to 20% of people experience mild forms of misophonia, while a smaller percentage face symptoms severe enough to affect daily life and relationships.³

Misophonia Symptoms

When trigger sounds occur, the brain activates its threat response system even though no real danger exists.⁴ The result can be overwhelming emotional and physical reactions.

Emotional Responses

• Sudden irritation, anger, disgust, or panic
• Anxiety, dread, or emotional flooding
• Urge to escape or confront the source

Physical Reactions

• Accelerated heartbeat or sweating
• Muscle tension, jaw clenching, or adrenaline rush
• Feeling “hijacked” by sound

Common Misophonia Triggers

• Mouth sounds: chewing, gum popping, lip smacking.
• Breathing sounds: sniffing, heavy breathing, throat clearing
• Repetitive noises: typing, pen clicking, foot tapping

Over time, these reactions can make daily environments feel unsafe, meals stressful, workspaces difficult, and social interactions exhausting. Many individuals begin to withdraw or structure their day around avoiding triggers.⁵

What Causes Misophonia?

While research is ongoing, misophonia appears to involve hyper-connectivity between the auditory cortex and emotional centers of the brain, especially the anterior insular cortex.¹ This means the brain misinterprets certain sounds as threats, activating fight-or-flight even when no danger exists.

There isn’t just one cause of misophonia; it’s usually a combination of biological factors and personal experiences. Research suggests that some people may have a genetic predisposition toward heightened sensory sensitivity, especially in families where conditions like anxiety, OCD, or sensory processing differences are common.⁷

Life experiences can also play a role. Chronic stress, early trauma, or periods of prolonged overwhelm can make the nervous system more reactive, increasing the likelihood of sound sensitivities over time.⁸

And because the brain’s emotional and sensory circuits are closely connected, misophonia often appears alongside other conditions such as anxiety, OCD, tinnitus, or general sensory processing challenges.⁹ These overlaps don’t mean one causes the other; they highlight how interconnected our stress and sensory systems truly are.

Although misophonia, hyperacusis, and tinnitus share traits, they are distinct conditions each involving different neural pathways and treatment approaches.¹⁰

Do I Have Misophonia? Test

While this isn’t a medical diagnosis, this misophonia test can be used for reflection on the presence of symptoms. If you report moderate to severe misophonia symptoms, it’s a sign worth exploring further with a qualified audiologist, neurologist, or mental health professional experienced in sound sensitivity disorders.¹¹

Please note: This self-assessment is not intended to estab­lish a physician-patient rela­tion­ship, to replace the ser­vices of a trained physi­cian or health care pro­fes­sional, or to otherwise be a sub­sti­tute for pro­fes­sional med­ical advice, diag­no­sis, or treatment. The aim of this quiz is to provide education about the condition. By using this self-assessment, you acknowledge that you’ve read and agree with this statement and agree to re-origin’s Terms & Conditions.

Instructions

To better understand whether your reactions to everyday sounds may reflect misophonia or sound sensitivity disorder, follow these steps:

1. Read each question carefully and reflect on your experiences over the past few months.
2. Select the answer that best describes how often each situation applies to you:
   • Never +0
   • Very rarely +1 
   • Rarely +2
   • Occasionally +3
   • Frequently +4
   • Always +5
3. Assign the corresponding points (0–5) to each response and total your score at the end.
4. Refer to the Scoring Guide below to understand where you fall on the spectrum of misophonia and how brain retraining may help you rebalance your nervous system.

Misophonia Test Questions

1. How often do everyday sounds like chewing, breathing, tapping, or swallowing trigger a strong emotional reaction?
2. How often does your body automatically respond to certain sounds with tension, heat, or the urge to escape?
3. How often do these sounds make it difficult to focus, relax, or stay present in social situations?
4. How often do you avoid certain environments, people, or activities because of sound triggers?
5. How often do you find it hard to calm down or stop thinking about a sound after being exposed to it?
6. How often do you feel anxious or “on edge” in anticipation of hearing certain sounds?
7. How often have sound triggers affected your relationships, work, or overall quality of life?
8. How often does your body react to sounds even when you know they’re harmless?
9. How often have your reactions to sound become stronger or more frequent over time?
10. How often do you feel exhausted or emotionally drained after being in noisy or unpredictable environments?

Scoring Guide

Mild Sensitivity (0–17 points)

You may have some mild signs of misophonia, such as occasional irritation or discomfort with certain sounds, but your nervous system generally returns to balance quickly. For example, you might notice triggers only in specific situations (like loud chewing or repetitive tapping). These reactions don’t dominate your day or cause lasting stress.

What this means: At this level, your brain’s threat response system may be mildly sensitized but still flexible. Light mindfulness, relaxation, or brain retraining exercises can help you stay calm and prevent stronger responses from forming over time. Learn more about re-origin’s brain retraining program. 

Moderate Sensitivity (18–34 points)

You’re likely experiencing moderate misophonia, where sound triggers are affecting your focus, comfort, or mood more frequently. You may feel tension, irritation, or anxiety when exposed to common sounds like breathing, swallowing, or tapping. These reactions might make social settings, work, or shared environments draining or unpredictable.  

What this means: Your nervous system may be caught in a learned stress loop, which is a pattern where the brain associates certain sounds with danger or discomfort. This can lead to heightened vigilance and overreaction. With brain retraining, you can begin to calm your limbic system, break this learned association, and restore your brain’s natural sense of safety. Learn more about re-origin’s brain retraining program. 

Severe Sensitivity (35–50 points)

You’re showing signs of severe misophonia or sound hypersensitivity, where your nervous system reacts strongly and automatically to everyday sounds. Even harmless sounds can feel overwhelming or physically painful. You may find yourself avoiding certain environments or relationships to minimize triggers. Recovery or relaxation after exposure can take hours or days.

What this means: Your brain’s protective systems are working overtime. This doesn’t mean you’re broken; it means your brain has learned to stay on high alert. Through brain retraining, you can teach your brain and body that these sounds are safe and gradually regain ease in daily life. Many people with misophonia have seen major improvements using neuroplasticity-based approaches like re-origin’s program. Learn more about re-origin’s brain retraining program. 

Misophonia Treatment Options

There’s no single “cure” yet, but several effective approaches can help manage and reduce symptoms:

• Sound therapy: Gradual desensitization using neutral background sounds.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Changing thought and emotional patterns around triggers.¹²
• Exposure or tinnitus retraining therapy: Useful when misophonia overlaps with tinnitus or hyperacusis.
• Medication: For co-occurring anxiety or obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
• Brain retraining programs: A promising approach that targets the underlying neuroplastic pathways driving misophonia.

Brain Retraining for Misophonia

Because the brain is neuroplastic, capable of forming new connections throughout life, it can unlearn misophonic responses. Brain retraining focuses on helping your brain reassociate trigger sounds with safety rather than threat. Through gentle, repetitive practice, the nervous system learns to calm itself even when triggers appear.

At re-origin, our neuroplasticity-based program combines cognitive, somatic, and emotional regulation techniques to help people rewire chronic stress and sensitivity responses. Participants gradually regain calm, confidence, and freedom in their environments.

We’ve also written about how somatic practices (like yoga nidra, body tracking) deepen healing by working both “top-down” and “bottom-up.” Read related blog post: From Brain to Body: How Somatic Practices Deepened My Healing Journey with re-origin

Housebound No More: How I Healed Sound Sensitivity with Brain Retraining

What happens when your world becomes too loud, and too overwhelming to bear? In this powerful conversation, re-origin’s neuroplasticity expert (previously Head Coach) Katie, shared how she went from being housebound and hypersensitive to light and sound to regaining freedom and confidence through brain retraining.

Katie opens up about her journey with chronic illness and misophonia, and how understanding the limbic system and brain retraining helped her heal from sound sensitivity. 

Watch the video below to hear how brain retraining helped Katie with her sound sensitivity.

Is Brain Retraining Right for You?

If you’ve been living on edge because of misophonia or sound sensitivity, you may have noticed that avoidance alone doesn’t bring lasting relief. That’s because these reactions aren’t caused by damaged ears, they’re the result of neural pathways in the brain that have learned to associate certain sounds with danger.

Brain retraining utilizes the science of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and form new connections, to help you reprogram those automatic responses. Through guided repetition and gentle exposure, you can teach your nervous system to interpret everyday sounds as neutral again.

Read: 10 Impressive Facts You Should Know About Brain Retraining Programs

The re-origin program is built around this principle. It combines step-by-step video lessons, practical exercises, and community support to help you calm an overactive stress response and restore balance to your auditory and emotional systems. Participants report feeling more relaxed, focused, and free in environments that once felt overwhelming.

Misophonia doesn’t have to define your life. By recognizing triggers, understanding your brain’s responses, and applying neuroplasticity-based tools, you can help your system reframe what is safe rather than threatening.

Next steps you can take:

• Try the misophonia test above
• Explore brain retraining as a complementary tool
• Watch the re-origin program tour video to see how it works
• When you’re ready, consider enrolling in re-origin’s neuroplasticity program

Let this be your invitation: work with your brain, slowly opening new pathways of calm in a world full of noise. Brain retraining isn’t about suppressing emotions; it’s about retraining your brain to interpret sound through safety, not fear.

References

1. Kumar S, et al. The Brain Basis for Misophonia. Current Biology. 2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28162895/
   
2. Schröder A, et al. Misophonia: Diagnostic Criteria for a New Psychiatric Disorder. PLoS ONE. 2013. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23372758/
   
3. Rouw R, Erfanian M. A Large-Scale Study of Misophonia. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2018. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28561277/
   
4. Edelstein M, et al. Physiological Evidence of Misophonia. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23805089/
   
5. Dozier TH, Morrison KL. Phenomenology of Misophonia. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312166994_Phenomenology_of_Misophonia_Initial_Physical_and_Emotional_Responses
   
6. Cavanna AE, et al. Neuroplasticity and Emotional Regulation in Sensory Disorders. Neuroscience Letters. 2021.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12346777/
   
7. Daniels EC, et al. Genetic and Environmental Influences in Sensory Sensitivity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30639671/
   
8. Schröder A, et al. Misophonia: Clinical Features and Comorbidity. J Affect Disord. 2014. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7159231/
   
9. Aazh H, et al. Differentiating Misophonia, Hyperacusis, and Tinnitus. Hear Res. 2018. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9846162/
   
10. Edelstein M, et al. Physiological Evidence of Misophonia. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2013. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00296/full
    
11. Jastreboff PJ, et al. Sound Therapy and Habituation in Tinnitus and Misophonia. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16514259/
12. McGuire JF, et al. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Misophonia. J Anxiety Disord. 2018. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8359510/