--- title: Why Certain Noises Drive Some People Totally Nuts description: The condition, misophonia, means 'hatred of sound' canonical: https://time.com/3746331/certain-noises-misophonia/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-20T12:17:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:40.784Z article:section: Health og:title: Why Certain Noises Drive Some People Totally Nuts og:description: The condition, misophonia, means 'hatred of sound' og:url: https://time.com/3746331/certain-noises-misophonia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f7809b02976019f/698783bbe53aba2c3d4d814f/475171663-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 507 og:image:height: 285 og:image:alt: woman-covering-ears og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Certain Noises Drive Some People Totally Nuts twitter:description: The condition, misophonia, means 'hatred of sound' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f7809b02976019f/698783bbe53aba2c3d4d814f/475171663-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Certain Noises Drive Some People Totally Nuts > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=b9267c49-181d-4eb4-8162-305e9b3e34b3&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How $1,000 Could Help Your Health [Watch (HLS stream): How $1,000 Could Help Your Health](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2014-08-22. From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health._ by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Mar 20, 2015 12:17 PM UTC  Distressed woman with head in hands Distressed woman with head in hands Getty Images by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Mar 20, 2015 12:17 PM UTC A primary care physician recently made an unusual confession in the New York Times: Barron H. Lerner, MD, admitted that some of the sounds his patients make, like loud yawns and sniffling, bug him. A lot. He has misophonia—the “hatred of sound”—a condition that causes people to feel irritated, or even enraged or disgusted when they hear specific noises. The most common culprits are eating sounds (think lip smacking), hand sounds (such as pen clicking), and breathing sounds (including any activity in the nostrils). Scientists don’t fully understand why these noises cause angst for misophonia sufferers, but early research suggests a hyperconnectivity between the auditory system and the limbic system, a part of the brain that deals with emotions, explains Dr. Lerner, a professor of medicine and population health at the NYU Langone Medical Center. **Read more:** [10 Things You Should Never Do When You’re Angry ](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20805851,00.html?xid=time-noise-031615) He writes that “one of the most frustrating aspects of misophonia is what I call the ‘incredulity factor.’ For years, I could not believe that my friends and relatives were not getting as upset at what I considered rude behaviors. They were getting frustrated with me for focusing on sounds they did not really hear.” I imagine noise-sensitive folks around the country were nodding in relief as they read Dr. Lerner’s essay and discovered they weren’t alone. In the comments section, hundreds shared their own misophonic grievances, from the crinkling of a bag of chips to the grating scrape of a fork against a plate. The response led the Times to poll its readers on the most cringe-worthy sounds of all. The top five are: 5\. Kunckle cracking (8% of the vote) 4\. Nail clipping (10% of the vote) 3\. Nose sniffling (17% of the vote) 2\. Gum chewing (18%) of the vote) 1\. Soup slurping (25% of the vote) Think you might have misophonia? Dr. Lerner says the website misophonia.com has a sample letter about the condition you can bring to your doctor, and it also has a self-test. **Read more:** [12 Worst Habits for Your Mental Health](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20866947,00.html?xid=time-noise-031615) [_This article originally appeared on Health.com._](http://news.health.com/2015/03/09/why-certain-noises-drive-some-people-totally-nuts/) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] $ 1, 000 can really put you on the road to good health, or at least to better health. A lot of workers say that they're really stressed, unless productive. But half of workers say that stress makes them less productive at work. And there are a lot of studies that show that people who are more stressed have higher medical bills. And that makes sense. If you are stressed you may miss more work. You may go, go to doctor more often. So if you can invest $ 1000, you can really improve your health and lower your own costs. Yoga is a great way to reduce stress. It helps you with deep breathing, relaxation exercises. And a mindfulness that can really reduce your tension. Yoga classes cost about $ 15 to $ 20 each, at, that would get you doing downward dog about twice a week for six months. Acupuncture is another great way to reduce stress. It may be covered by your health insurance, so check that first. If not, acupuncture sessions cost about $ 16 to $ 120. Modern exercise has been proven as a great way to reduce stress. To incorporate it on a regular basis in your busy life, consider riding your bike to and from work. Or, taking a bike ride when you get home from work in the evening. Now, a good bike can cost you $ 1000. But think of it as a long- term investment, a good bike will last you many. If you have 10 thousand dollars, there's a lot you can do to invest in your health. A personal trainer, may give you the motivation you need to exercise, that you might not be able to do on your own. That costs you about 50 dollars a session, which could give you about 100 sessions, that you could spread out over two years. Another great way to. T find someone to motivate you is to consult a nutritionist. A first- time session with a nutitionist will cost about $ 150. But, if you wanna do follow- up sessions, to create say a health plan to see how you're doing, that'll cost you about $ 100. See if your health insurance may cover that, as well. 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