People Chewing Drives Me Insane

Why do some people make loud smacking noises while chewing food?

I really couldn’t tell you but oh my God is it annoying! I can not stand it. I can’t notice it at school because of the loud setting, but when I’m at home sitting across from my mother who is a pretty loud chewer, I have to dig my nails into my leg.The sound is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Loud chewing, along with actual nails on a chalkboard, and snoring, are probably the most insufferable sounds for me.

The sound of chewing drives me insane. It annoys me, makes me mad, and makes me feel like I'm going to cry. I can’t control it and know I’ll have to live with it all my life. What can I do to not be as effected by it?

I’ve had this problem my entire adult life. It’s called misophonia and according to Wikipedia and articles I’ve read over the years their are many suspected reasons sufferers feel severe distress from noises most people barely notice. My most torturous sound to endure is someone swallowing a liquid.What I’ve been doing to cope with sounds that I cannot escape at a dinner table or in a car is to try and put my mind elsewhere. I try to think of a scene in a movie or a pleasant past experience. Anything to get my attention away from the sound that is insufferably torurous to my ears. If I’m in a car and someone is chewing gum I turn up music or put tissue in my ears.There’s never been a “cure” for my misophonia but my evading exposure to the sounds has become so second nature the condition is not much of an issue anymore. Good luck.

Why am I disgusted by the noises people make while chewing their food?

It's called misophonia. It's actually considered a disorder but it is rarely diagnosed. You experience negative emotions based on specific sounds. Usually it's things like lip smacking, mastication sounds, sucking sounds, or other mouth related/eating related sounds, but any small sounds that most people probably don't enjoy but can easily ignore can trigger this. The emotions experienced include anger, fear, and disgust and are generally out of context or proportion with the triggering stimulus. It is thought to be neurological but it could also be learned behavior. I know that with me it became something I really noticed while sitting at the dinner table with an aunt whose eating sounds were overtly sexual. Now I can't stand the sound of people eating and I can hear it over any other sounds in the room at the time. Like I've focused on it. Other small sounds annoy me, too, usually keeping me from being able to concentrate on anything I'm doing. I have a lot of trouble focusing when I'm in a classroom setting, especially during tests. I hate whispering or the sounds of clicking pens or a lot of other things people think they're doing quietly but the sound seems to amplify for me.

Whenever I am around people who chew loudly or make other annoying noises while eating, I suddenly get a burning hatred and extreme level of annoyance for that person, even if they are a friend or loved one. Is this some sort of disorder?

Though some may figure this form of annoyance is definitively instinctual, there is evidence to support a theory that this sort of reaction is decidedly psychosomatic in nature. Consider this:a) Advanced levels of stress in one's everyday life can contribute to a significantly lowered tolerance towards audible mastication. Avoidable situations, like common, everyday human interaction and vocal communication, can lead to a pointedly higher threshold in regards to withstanding these noises. b) Rid your life of stressful affiliations. While some may consider the loosening of ties to unhealthy relationships as an adequate step forward, it's often not proactive enough. Bridge-burning, or lighting fire to strained associations, can rid you of any future toxic encounters. Consider using categorically explicit language while ending said relationship(s), piling on as much personally sensitive information as possible. The goal is to encourage this person to hate you on a cellular level, despising the very suggestion of you. That leads directly to...c) Don't be afraid to amass enemies. A large part of letting go is embracing other's disdain for you, so inspire rapid and odious loathing. Can you encourage your former allies to become physically ill when you are present? This is an important breakthrough.

How do I politely tell people to stop chewing with their mouth open and not make sound while chewing?

My sister is incredibly sensitive to sounds. In fact, she suffers from misophonia, which literally means “hatred of sound.”Most days, you will find her secluded. Her favorite activities include: alone time, alone time, and time away from others.I mention this because these are her coping mechanisms for dealing with her sensitivity to sound because it is not other people’s problem.Sure, it is incredibly annoying to sit across the table from someone while they’re food rolls around in their mouth, right before your eyes. And yes, it is certainly frustrating to listen to every crunch, squish, scrape, and swish they make while they consume their food (I cringed just thinking about it).But that doesn’t mean that they are the problem. I’m not saying you are either, but I do think that you may be playing it up in your head more than you realize.Next time you find yourself wanting to correct someone’s bad manners, follow these steps:Open an internal dialogue: How am I feeling? Bothered? Annoyed? Agitated? Is this a situation I have any control over? Do I have any recourse here? If your answer is “No,” then quietly accept your defeat and wait for them to finish their meal. If your answer is “Why, yes, of course, I can ask them to please chew with their mouth closed,” then proceed to Step 2.No. You absolutely should not correct the manners of another. It is rude, and it is infantilising. You are not their mother, you do not have the authority to correct their behavior, and you absolutely would not appreciate if someone started commenting on your unconscious behaviors (like tapping your fingers on the desk, breathing more heavily and noisily than the average person).You have to remember they were raised this way. They have probably eaten this way their entire lives. They should not have to change that about themselves just because you don’t like the sound.I’m sympathetic. I am. It’s not a secret to my hubby that I don’t like being around him while he eats. That is not because I harp on him to change his eating habits. When I simply cannot listen to it anymore, I will quietly excuse myself to the restroom (or elsewhere) and take a minute to compose myself, while calling on the advice of my misophonic sister:“This will not last forever. It will be over soon. I can manage this, I will be okay. It will be over soon.”