Toxic noises: 1 in 5 people would be affected by misophonia: phobia of noises such as sound chewing, snoring or very heavy breathing.
Géraldine Zamansky, journalist for the Magazine de la Santé on France 5, is looking today at a double topic: noises that are dangerous for our physical and mental health.
franceinfo: First, according to a British study, one person in five is literally in pain, because of a table neighbor who chews his meal with his mouth open, for example?
Geraldine Zamansky: Yes, this suffering can also be caused by the noisy aspiration of a spoonful of soup, heavy breathing or the clicking of a computer keyboard. These noises annoy almost everyone. But Silia Vitoratou, from Kings’ College London, explained to me that they create anger, disgust or anxiety in some people. Sometimes with very brutal reactions that they later regret. It’s because of a little-known disorder: misophonia – the hatred of certain sounds.
To better understand its importance, Silia Vitoratou and her team carried out a survey on a representative sample of the British population. As a result, one in five people are affected. And the most affected come to isolate themselves socially, to escape it. A repercussion aggravated by incomprehension. They feel guilty and quite alone in the world.
This investigation can therefore at least allow them to no longer hide by learning that it is not so rare?
This is the hope of Silia Vitoratou. Participants diagnosed by the study had never heard of misophonia, let alone possible treatments. However, there are, for example, behavioral therapies to very gradually recreate a tolerance at the source of the phobia. Research is also underway to better understand the causes and mechanisms of this disease. This will allow new solutions to be found.
And another British study shows that noise can trigger a physical illness, hypertension?
Absolutely, the follow-up of 240,000 people for 8 years showed that they were more at risk of developing arterial hypertension if they lived near heavy traffic. Professor Kazem Rahimi, from the University of Oxford, coordinated this study, and explained to me that the risk thus increases by 13% when the noise level of the traffic passes from the equivalent of a quiet restaurant, to that of a vacuum cleaner.
This would be linked to stress hormones whose production is stimulated by noise. And it is aggravated by pollution, which then increases the threat to 22%. Professor Rahimi and his team therefore underline the urgency of better protecting those who experience this noise pollution, sometimes day and night.
>>> To read
Misophonia study
Traffic noise and hypertension study