Pet Peeve

What is the most annoying thing in your life? Everyone has their own list, and there are probably thousands of things you already hate. Did I say hate?? Yes, I did and that is one word I've always taught our children never to say. However, when I read a recent article, I felt the need to add a few of my own thoughts: I consider myself to be a pretty tolerant person. I'll eat just about any food you place in front of me. I'll read any book genre. I'll listen to any musical artist someone plays for me, even if I dislike it. But there's one teeny little thing that will set my teeth on edge. . . the tick, tick, ticking of a clock!

I'll sit, transfixed, unable to pay attention to the task at hand, my blood boiling and heart racing. I want to run. I want to scream but my dear husband hears nothing! And . . . as I type this entry, that blooming clock on the wall is ticking!

I want to get a hammer!

However, I sit and try to calm my nerves, counting one, two, three...all the way to ten fingers.

After ten, I know it's over. I can't stand the sound of a ticking clock! What do I do? I hide it in a place where I can't hear it and I've found the very best place in our tiny little apartment . . . in the fridge!! Did I say fridge? Yes! Ahhhh . . . then I sit back and sigh relief until Garth puts it back on the wall.

Misophonia, or decreased tolerance to (in many cases, hatred of) certain sounds, is a newly-recognized phenomenon that remains poorly understand. Sufferers are driven to distraction—even rage—by such insignificant sounds as chewing, tapping, breathing, whistling, scratching, humming, and footsteps. Worse yet, there is almost no research on the topic. How common is this mysterious condition? It's not clear. Studies report prevalence of anywhere from 10% to as much as 60% among those who also suffer from tinnitus, or "ringing in the ear." What's becoming somewhat clearer is its coincidence with certain anxiety disorders. A study published earlier this year reported that 52.4% of their misphonia sufferers met the criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder. So is this me? Is this why I lose my patience, particularly in the middle of the night? Is this why my husband's snoring drives me up the wall?

Experts say the condition almost always begins in the early teens and worsens over time (oh, dear . . . I'm over 70!) where annoyance of one sound may expand to three or four sounds. Some also develop intolerance to watching others fidget or make repetitive movements out of the corner of their eyes. Oh, no . . . Garth is chomping on potato chips . . . it's driving me nuts! Should I put him in fridge? Thought for the Day: “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” ― Abraham Maslow