Misophonia and Visual Triggers

Recently, there was a segment on the Today show where Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford ridiculed a rare brain disorder, simply because they did not fully understand it (Today.com, 2015). How could they, it is a real troubling disorder of the brain that was recently identified. It also has connotations to a type of “lazy person’s” mentality. This is so not true. Misophonia is a disorder that causes fear, anxiety, and sometimes downright angry rage that has been classified by many doctors as a growing problem that no one seems to either care for or even want anything to do with it. Yet many people suffer from this disorder set that not only includes sight but more importantly, sound. For the sake of this blog post, the focus will remain on sight. Sight and visuals are real issues within this disorder, and how the affected perceive advertising imagery.

A lot of folks have an idea of what it is when advertisers do their thing and post imagery onto billboards, flyers, mailers, catalogs, etc. But did you know that there are some people that have a brain disorder that when they see certain images, (called “triggers” in this case) that can set them off into an angry rage? It is true, and doctors are scrambling to find answers to a pretty interesting problem of the mind. Misophonia’s literal translation is that it is the “hatred of sound” (Misophonia.com, 2016). But there is far more to it than that. Take, for instance, two people are in a car and they are driving down a major highway. The passenger looks up to see a billboard sign that caught his eye, but then cringes when he sees a fork in the food advertisement, the fork upside down and facing the food on a plate. Although, to some people, they may think that is a really nice and harmless advertisement, but to an individual who suffers from visual Misophonia, they may take issue with it. It is not that the advertisement hurt them physically; it is the impact the image has with the individual.

It is not the most glamorous feeling in the world if you suffer from Misophonia, and as one may have deduced, it can also hurt relationships as well. There are doctors that are trying to come up with solutions, but because this is a relatively new disorder that was named in 2001 (Misophonia.com, 2015), it will take years to develop some kind of counterbalance to it all.

It will be interesting to see what transpires within the next few years, since there has been a ton of promoting of the disorder, possibly to see just how many people “come out” with having it. Anyone can go to the website and self-diagnose themselves, but to get a real diagnosis, there will need to be doctor visits abound. One may have to go to several specialists, but in the end, there may be something that can help since some sufferers only have mild forms. Soon there will be complete answers.

References

Misophonia.com. (2015). Symptoms and Triggers. Retrieved from http://www.misophonia.com/symptoms-triggers/

Today.com. (2015). Munch munch: Do certain everyday sounds drive you nuts? Retrieved from http://www.today.com/video/munch-munch-do-certain-everyday-sounds-drive-you-nuts-509412931554