Let us find out why ASMR makes me angry. My skin crawls at the mere mention of these noises, and not in a pleasant way.

When I first learned about ASMR, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I liked the ones with a rewarding element. Autonomous sensory meridian response, often known as ASMR, is a phenomenon that can trigger tingling sensations all the way down your spine and neck. It’s a treat to experience in this way. It’s similar to receiving a shampoo at a salon or having someone gently brush their fingers through your hair. I have a few favorite sounds that can keep me fascinated for hours. You can hear footsteps on the ground, stones crunching beneath your feet, and a knife slicing through the sand.

Even if I appreciate such tones, they don’t make me tremble. However, there are some noises that irritate me to the point of wanting to hit the person who is making them. Mouth clicks, chewing noises, and wet mouth noises are just a few of the sounds made by radio and television artists. I’m prepared to lash out at any of these individuals. This is known as a misophonia response. Some noises might make a person feel annoyed, nervous, or even motivated to fight or flee.

What Is Misophonia?

There isn’t a lot known about misophonia. No one can pinpoint an exact cause for it, but stress seems to trigger the condition.

In some cases, it could be hereditary. Think of this as a personal warning from your parents that you had better not annoy them because they just might hit you! The most common sounds associated with misophonia are eating noises and breathing patterns.

It’s easy to understand why these are considered problem areas for certain people, though there are other sounds that seem to set someone off out of the left field. For example, fidgeting with pens or pencils is particularly irritating for some individuals. The lack of explanation makes the outright phenomenon even more frustrating.

Here’s Why ASMR Makes Me Angry

Strange ASMR Sounds

Certain ASMR noises just do not work for me. Slime squishing or a person speaking into a microphone are examples of this. These noises do not bother me, but they also do not assist me.

I’m baffled by Zoe Kravitz’s ASMR whispering advertisement and the success of other female whisperers on YouTube.

Some bizarre films just use found audio to generate their visuals. She is the same person that does pickle films, and she also produces films about her typing. You can hear the sound of acrylic nails hammering on the keys of a keyboard.

Individuals post videos of themselves crumpling mylar or cellophane, brushing nails on cactus needles, and even caressing their palms.

A lady runs her flat fingertips over empty lotus pods in one video. That irritates me. Perhaps if she broke them up and squished them between her fingers, I would feel better. However, this is not the case.

Could You Perhaps Stop Chewing In That Manner?

I can’t be near certain folks when they’re eating. One of them is my husband. It’s awful, but I have to be away from him when he eats salad, submarine sandwiches, or anything else that needs him to use both his tongue and his lips at the same time.

I know it seems like I’m making a mountain out of a pickle, but I can’t tolerate hearing him chew. It irritates me, and there’s nothing I can do about it except removing the sound from within earshot.

It’s ironic that I enjoy the term damp, but it’s one of the most despised in the English language. You may tell me that all day. However, the sound of wet tongues making sounds… Please just put sharpened pencils in my ears.

The Pickle-Eating Nightmare

In terms of sound, this is the most horrifying, unsettling video I’ve ever seen.

I stumbled upon this video one day while slipping down the rabbit hole of Facebook videos. Among the humorous fail videos and amusing puppy videos on autoplay, this one attacked my ears unexpectedly.

Not only was I unprepared, but the video’s comments were divisive. While some lauded the video’s sonic onslaught, others emphasized the absolute anguish of my emotional condition.

How is this sound enjoyable to anyone? It’s as though someone has pushed rusty nails beneath my flesh. It resulted in the onset of my misophonia.

Who Is Having Fun With These?

I’m not a fan of any of these noises except for the crunching sounds generated by sand, gravel, and rocks. So it brings up the question: who is listening to these tunes? Most of them sound like static on a television. Only for a few minutes before I had to turn the thing off.

But what about the tingling sensations caused by these sounds? I’m at a loss. It’s possible that my brain is wired differently. Scientists believe that certain personality traits may prevent certain people from experiencing. That makes sense to me.

Listening to someone chew pickles or having someone massage my scalp for tingles is not an option for me.

Connection of ASMR and Misophonia

The connection between ASMR and misophonia has been widely discussed in the media. According to the American Psychological Association:

“Misophonia is a neurological disorder that causes people to experience strong emotions (e.g., anger, disgust) in response to specific sounds.”

Misophonia involves an emotional response to auditory stimuli that can be triggered by different kinds of sounds. People who have misophonia often say they find certain noises profoundly irritating—the sound of someone eating, for example, or even the sound of gum chewing. When they encounter these sounds, most people will do whatever it takes—cover their ears; leave the room; bite back rage—to make them stop. But for those with misophonia, this response is far more intense. The “trigger” sounds may cause them to shudder, cry out, or even flee the room in terror.

Can ASMR Cause Anxiety?

“Why are you so angry?”, this is the question I was asked repeatedly when my misophonia became apparent to others. But why would I be angry? The noises these strangers were making didn’t necessarily make me mad at all—in fact, many of them made me feel relaxed and even euphoric. However, hearing their specific kinds of sounds did make me feel anxious at times. These included: chewing; swallowing; throat-clearing; yawning; exhaling audibly; and finger smacking against surfaces like tables or armrests.

When I encounter such mouth noises in general conversation (and not while watching videos), it can cause a kind of panic that people often mistake for anger. This misinterpretation is understandable since I do not immediately explain why I’m feeling anxious. Nor do I suggest that these sounds are causing my distress since it doesn’t seem to be the case for everyone else.

I was at a party once where the host kept making the “grrrr” sound while chewing with his mouth open. Each time he did it, I struggled to breathe normally until he left the room. That experience made me realize how much anxiety this kind of sound causes me—and how difficult it is for others to understand why. It’s important, though, because misophonia often leads to misunderstandings about anger itself and its effects on interpersonal relationships.