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Scratching a blackboard with a fingernail, rubbing pieces of Styrofoam together, or slipping a knife across a plate: these and other sounds make many people feel uncomfortable. We get shivers down our spines, goosebumps, and even tingling in our teeth when we are exposed to these sounds.
- Many people react to sounds in a high frequency range.
- Goosebumps and tense neck muscles in response to some noises could be due to human evolution.
- violent reactions to chewing sounds, on the other hand, indicate misophonia.
- Severe intolerance to eating noises could have both acoustic and motor causes.
Why give some sounds give us goosebumps?
In 2011, a team led by neurologist Sukhbinder Kumar at Newcastle University conducted research into the most distressing sounds. The study found: Distressing noises activate the amygdala in the brain. This part of the brain’s limbic system processes emotions. If we associate a certain feeling with certain sounds, we are likely attempting to reproduce it. In addition, the researchers found that the acoustic properties of the sounds in question are also relevant to our response to them.
Subjects responded most strongly to sounds between 2000 and 5000 hertz. These sounds are quite high and easily perceived by the human ear. It is thought that these clear responses are due to human evolution. Alarm signals such as crying babies or a frightened screech have a comparable frequency.
This causes the brain to associate sounds with emergency situations and to activate a series of physical responses: We get goosebumps and tense our back muscles. This reflex is similar to how animals act in dangerous situations. They squat and raise their fur to look more threatening to predators or attackers.
Misophonia: when chewing and swallowing sounds are stressful
The term misophonia is often literally translated as “hatred of sounds” and is considered a disorder. It often refers to sounds made by people themselves, such as smacking, loud chewing or swallowing. These sounds are produced by orofacial movements, i.e. in the area of the face and mouth. They also tend to sound randomly during eating or drinking.
In 2021, Sukhbinder Kumar and his team conducted research on this topic. Their findings were published in the Journal of Neuroscience. An excerpt: “Misophonia is a disorder of emotion processing in which everyday noises at normal volumes cause such strong discomfort that they severely impair the professional, social and domestic life of those affected.”
Individuals may be so irritated by certain sounds that they feel anger, irritation, disgust, and fear. Confrontation with the sounds may also cause the individual to flee the situation. Since the sounds in question are usually uncontrollable, a social life is impossible in extreme cases.
Intolerance to sounds is not only caused by the ear
However, the results of this study suggest that the intolerance to sound in misophonia is not only triggered by mechanisms in the ear. According to initial findings, it could be due to a pronounced connection to the insula, a part of the brain. The insula is responsible for the motor and sensory functions of the organs. It is also thought to be involved in the processing of pain and in the connection between cognitive elements and emotions.
In the study, the researchers observed that those affected did not only react to acoustic stimuli. Soundless depictions of chewing movements also caused discomfort. Some test subjects also imitated the movements when they were confronted with them. This suggests that the trigger sounds activate the brain area (motor cortex), which helps determine the movement that causes the sounds.
