Is there anything worse than a loud chewer? I don’t know about you, but I was always taught to close my mouth when I eat, not only to keep the people I’m dining with to see mashed up food moving around my mouth but also to avoid some of the disgusting noises that come along with NOT closing it. It’s just basic etiquette. If you feel the same way I do and can’t bear hearing people chew loudly, we should feel vindicated because it’s actually a real psychiatric condition.
- The condition is known as misophonia. Misophonia is a disorder in which sufferers seriously can’t stand the sound of other people chewing, eating, or even doing things like breathing loudly or repeatedly clicking a pen or tapping a desk with their nails. The condition was first diagnosed back in 2001, so this isn’t a new thing.
- Our brains are wired differently. According to research published in Current Biology, scans of sufferers’ brains showed pretty big changes when trigger sounds were heard. Apparently, we also have issues with our “emotional control mechanism” which is why we want to fly off the handle when we hear people chewing so loudly. Some sufferers even had increased heart rates and were sweating! I’m not quite that bad, but I can understand where those people were coming from!
- There’s no excuse for smacking your chops like a wild animal. Sure, I get some foods are harder to eat neatly than others — corn on the cob, ribs, etc. — but unless you’re with your nearest and dearest and that person/those people have said they don’t mind you embracing your more feral side, maybe avoid those unless you’re on your own.
- When we get angry, we just can’t help it! If you’re someone who gets enraged by hearing people chomping away loudly like they were raised in a barn, try not to be too hard on yourself. After all, you have a real psychiatric condition! If only everyone would just learn to close their mouths when they eat…
