A Triad researcher is taking a deep dive into a little-known condition that revolves around our reactions to noise.
For many, the sound of people loudly chewing their food or slurping their drinks can be annoying. But for a small group of individuals, those same noises, along with the rattling of metal utensils, the clicking of a computer keyboard, and others, may cause significant impairment.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro graduate researcher Caitlin Stone says currently there’s no treatment for the condition.
"For people with misophonia, it's not just the sounds themselves —it can be a physical sensation, get their hearts racing, it can be physiological in that — but it's also all the things that they're then going to avoid because of it," says Stone.
Stone says her research, inspired by the work of Duke clinical psychologist Mark Zachary Rosenthal, looks at how early childhood impacts the development of the disorder.
Among the factors she’ll monitor will be social engagement, home environment, and brain scan data from childhood, adolescence and adulthood.