Dealing With Misophonia

Jessica L. Lawson

HS 3300

March 13, 2014

Prof. Westbrooks

Dealing with Misophonia

For this assignment I went on an outing with one of my very good friends named Kelsy Burke. Kelsy has been suffering from a newly diagnosed disability called Misophonia. Before diving into how this disability has affected Kelsy in general and during our outing it is important to first understand what it actually is.  Misophonia is a rare sensitivity to sound that triggers a reaction in the brain that can result in anger, aggravation, and sometimes violence. It is caused by a hypersensitivity to specific sounds or visual stimulation of those sounds being made. Basically this translates into hatred of sound.  I have known Kelsy for a long time but because I had not seen her and so long I forgot just how much her disability affects her life even though she has found some help with the use of hearing aids that act as buffers for “trigger sounds.”

For our outing I drove back to my hometown of Warner Robins. They were having a small carnival while we were down and I thought it would be the perfect place to go and have fun but also gain a good grasp at just how much my friend’s disability impacts her every day life. When we first arrived we were both starving so we went ahead and decided to sit down at one of the old picnic tables to eat our oversized turkey legs and corn on the cob.  Mealtime proved to be very affective as far as sensory stimulation goes. Smacking is one of those “trigger” sounds discussed earlier and there’s nothing Kelsy hates more than smacking. I watched her as she clenched her fists and grabbed her hearing aids to put in so that she could try to finish her meal.

The hardest thing about having Misophonia for Kelsy is control. She has no problem telling me to stop smacking or making noises but she would never cross the line by walking up to a stranger and ask them to stop doing whatever there doing, even if that’s what she really wanted to do.  Instead of confronting the situation because she knows she is the only one there who is bothered she leaves the situation.  For example crowding is a big issue with Misophonia. Remember when I said there is nothing Kelsy hates more than smacking, well correction, there’s nothing Kelsy hates more than chewing gum. We were in big line to pet some of the animals in the petting zoo and a little girl right behind us was popping her chewing gum continuously. Kelsy looked at me and said, “I cant,” so we decided to move to the back of the line and try again. I’m happy to say that the next time around we were able to see the animals.

Misophonia is more of a hearing disability that affects Kelsy’s inner ear and neurological functioning when certain sounds are presented so fortunately accessibility is just as available to her as everyone else. She decides not to partake in certain activity because she knows the likelihood or intensity of trigger sounds may be ongoing. After the carnival we decided to go back to Kelsy’s house and watch some TV while we painted our nails. In the privacy of her own home, Kelsy was finally trying to relax. Not that she did not have a good time she just was comfortable knowing she could take out her hearing aids and relax, with the exception of her having to stop me from biting my nails a few times. Misophonia has brought a lot of new meaning in Kelsy’s life that has proved to be very challenging and has created many obstacles for her to go through.

While doing our nails we got to talk about the things she has had to change in her life in order to accommodate her disability. One example we discussed that has affected her sociality was school. Kelsy has not stepped foot into a classroom in over two years and is getting her college degree entirely online. Another, challenge has been road trips with multiple people. Even though I have found myself frustrated when she wont let me sing to some of my favorite songs in the car, I am very happy to say Kelsy is one of my very best friends and I love her, Misophonia, or no Misophonia.