ONE in five Brits have a condition that makes them angry at the sound of chewing or breathing.
Scientists say misophonia is a real issue and affects 18 per cent of UK adults – around 10million of us.
Millions of people suffer extreme emotional reactions to the sound of chewingGetty – Contributor
It makes sufferers feel “trapped or helpless” when they are triggered by annoying noises.
Bugbears include sniffling, lip-smacking, slurping, joint cracking and tapping sounds.
Experts believe a rogue brain connection makes people ultra sensitive to certain noises and leads to extreme emotional reactions when they hear them.
Despite how common the condition is, only one in seven people in the study had heard of it.
Psychologist Dr Jane Gregory, from Oxford University, said: “Misophonia is more than just being annoyed by certain sounds.
“It’s about feeling trapped or helpless when you can’t get away from them.
“It’s about feeling like there’s something wrong with you for the way you react to sounds, but also not being able to do anything about it.
“It can be such a relief for people to find out that they are not alone.”
The study by Oxford and King’s College London quizzed a group of 772 people in the UK.
They were asked to rate their emotional reactions to different everyday sounds.
It found 142 hit a threshold of “significant symptoms” of misophonia – 18.4 per cent.
Men and women were equally likely to suffer, researchers added in the journal Plos One.
A previous study found people with the condition have extra activity between two parts of the brain linked to sounds and face movements.
Scans by Newcastle University suggested there is a “supersensitised connection” that drives strong reactions.
The word misophonia translates to “hatred of sound” in Greek.
Extreme cases can be treated with psychological therapy or by learning to block the sounds out.