Samantha suffers from misunderstanding and can’t stand the sounds of eating. Every day she tries to find a balance between avoiding these annoying sounds and finding ways to cope with them. “The worst thing for me is that people think I have hypothermia. I hope my story can change that.
“As someone who has suffered from misophonia for years, there is one thing I really want to do but really can’t do, and that is eat out.” A pleasant evening at a restaurant is a wonderful and relaxing experience for most people, but for me it is a living nightmare. Noises that others may not notice are unbearable to me.
Someone hit a nearby table.
I keep trying and sometimes I can’t get out of it and I have to keep going. Special occasions, my best friend’s birthday; of course I don’t want to miss that. When I go out to eat, it’s not just the usual sounds of cutlery clicking on plates or people talking quietly. No, it’s the little things, like someone hitting the next table, or a glass moving, or even the sound of someone breathing while chewing. These sounds, no matter how innocent they seem, can drive me absolutely insane. My heart starts beating faster, my breathing quickens, and I feel a wave of anger and fear coursing through my body. Everything inside me wants to jump off the table and shake whoever made the terrible noise. It’s really insane.
Precautionary measures
Every time I try to eat out, I prepare as best I can. By choosing tables farther away from other guests, by choosing a table outside where the noise is less, or by wearing earplugs that muffle the sounds somewhat. But even these precautions aren’t always enough. Sounds always find a way to reach me, and before I know it, I’m on the edge of my seat, ready to run.
feeling guilty
It’s hard to explain to friends and family why I keep canceling when I have plans to go out to dinner. How do you explain that something that’s so normal to them is often torture for me? I often feel guilty that I have to disappoint them, but the thought of spending another evening at a restaurant fills me with so much anxiety and stress that I simply can’t handle it. A friend recently suggested going to a restaurant that caters to people who can’t stand the noise of a restaurant. It’s a serious problem in the catering industry, and one that few people are aware of. Of course, it’s no fun at all if you can’t stand all that fun noise from going out. You’re often seen as a “dumb,” or a “boring box.”
Serious condition
And that’s the saddest thing about misophonia: it’s a condition that’s not always taken seriously. People often think I’m exaggerating, that I’m more sensitive to sounds than other people. But it goes so much further than that. Misophonia has affected my life in countless ways, and the ability to go out to dinner is just one of the things I’ve had to give up. I can’t eat at the table with my family, I can’t have lunch at the office. On vacation, I eat alone in the cart. Misophonia is not an allergy, it’s a serious condition.
Enjoy a restaurant without fear and stress
However, the desire to have a normal social life, including eating out, is always there. I hope that one day there will be a way to better manage my misophonia, so that I can enjoy myself in a restaurant, surrounded by friends and family, without fear or stress. But until then, I will continue to struggle with the fact that my misophonia robs me of one of life’s simplest and most enjoyable experiences.
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Samantha’s name has been changed for privacy reasons. Her real name is known to the editors. Would you also like to share a personal story (anonymously!)? You can email us at [email protected]
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