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30th May 2025
12:28pm BST
People have been warned to look out for symptoms of misphonia ahead of getting into a relationship due to the negative impacts it can have.
It's easy to glaze over the little things while in the early stages of a relationship, but it can have toxic effects further down the line.
If your partner suffers from misophonia, you may find they will struggle to spend time around you, and in some cases it may even lead to them ending it.
With up to one in five people suffering from the disorder, there's a high chance of your partner (or potential partner) having it.
WebMD defines misophonia as "a disorder in which certain sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses that some might perceive as unreasonable given the circumstance."
Noises such as chewing or coughing can trigger sufferers, and give them what is known as 'sound rage'.
Although the most reported trigger noises are oral sounds, they can also include things like tapping on a keyboard or the tapping of someone's foot.
These sounds can trigger a wide range of responses in people who have the condition, with many struggling to contain their response.
Dr Jane Gregory, a clinical psychologist from the University of Oxford, studies the condition and says that many sufferers fail to understand their own condition.
She estimates that 18% of British adults have misophonia, and that many struggle to discuss it with their loved ones.
"You are essentially telling someone ‘The sound of you eating and breathing – the sounds of you keeping yourself alive – are repulsing me'. It's really hard to find a polite way to say that," she said.
Understandably, this can lead to the breakdown of a relationship when not discussed. Equally, a lack of understanding from your partner could also ruin a relationship.
