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Doctors Seeing Rise In 'Hatred Of Sound' Condition

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Nails on a chalkboard is a sound that just about everybody hates.

But what if almost every sound you heard made you angry or anxious?

Common sounds are known triggers for Paul Tabachneck.

"When someone cracks their knuckles around me, it feels like getting punched in the face," Tabachneck said.

The snap of a lighter or crunching ice can cause him to have an intense reaction.

Tabachneck has misophonia - a condition defined as a hatred of sound.

A growing number of people are being diagnosed with it, but it's still largely a mystery.

"It's a neurologic cross-wiring, we don't know exactly what caused it," Dr. Melanie Herzfeld said.

People who have it experience extreme emotional reactions and even feel physical pain from certain every day sounds.

"If there is a sound we don't like, there is a coping strategy. Their neural mechanism has made it so they don't have that coping strategy," Dr. Herzfeld said.

Like most people who have it, Tabachneck has been experiencing this since he was a child.

"I had a reputation for a long time for being very difficult," he said.

Using ear buds to block sounds like a crackling water bottle or gum chewing has helped.

But, there is one sound that can actually soothe him - music.

Paul Dion says he also finds an escape in music. As someone with misophonia, he also finds misery in every day sounds.

"Mouth noises like sneezing, coughing, chewing, those are the types of things I can only hear for a few seconds before I react very strongly," Dion said.

There are no known cures yet, but white noise machines and medication can bring calm and relief to many.

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