Struggling with Misophonia: Need Advice

Oh man. Let me just say I am so sorry you have to struggle with this. I fucking hate my misophonia and I totally understand the stress it is causing for you. The first thing I'm gonna say is this: they're never gonna fully understand. Do not expect them to. It is however still worth talking to each person in your life about it. Have a deliberate sit down conversation with them. Don't do this convo when your triggers appear; You will be too mad and irrational. I would recommend telling each person about your most painful triggers with them specifically, like the top 2 triggers at most. I would tell each person how they can best alleviate the pain you feel for each trigger. I would then ask them if they are willing to help you alleviate that pain. Some examples of this: my boyfriend is a terrible chewer. He chews with his mouth open. I had a convo with him how seriously painful this is for me. I told him it would alleviate my pain if he closed his mouth when we eat together. I reminded him this is not personal, I have this issue with every person in my life, and please do not be offended if I have to remind you to chew with your mouth closed. With that being said, you have to do your part too, and try to be level headed when the triggers happen. You don't have to be kind or nice about it, because that is almost impossible, but you cannot be fuming mad. It will only make the situation worse. With my boyfriend I've established non verbal cues of squeezing his leg when his chewing is loud. I do that a few times and if it continues I tell him to stop. If it is bad enough I will leave the room entirely. This brings me to my next point: sometimes the best solution is to leave the room. I do this when I am being ignored or not taken seriously enough and the trigger persists with people i care about. I also do this when I'm around people I don't know/trust well enough to tell them about my misophonia, which is a lot of people. Leave the room entirely. Wait a half hour and come back. Do not come back and yell at them about it. Just move on. Final point: always be prepared. Always. Get good quality, over the ear, noise cancelling headphones. With each place you are going to be, assess the situation, and decide if you need to bring them. You can play music if you want to in those moments, but sometimes I just put my headphones on without music and that is helpful by itself. Also, get noise reducing earplugs. They are not full earplugs, rather they are partial earplugs that soften the sharpness of noises. The ones I have are from flareaudio.com. mine are called Flare Calmer. They have a Pro and a Sleep version. Choose one and buy it for yourself. I wear these when I am at the movie theater and everyone is chewing popcorn around me. It seriously works. I always have this on me in my purse. Lastly, I found I am less triggered if I am eating when others are eating. If people are eating around me and I am not, it is more painful. Plan ahead with carrying something on you like a pack of mints, gum, a pack of nuts, etc. Or you can eat ice cubes if they are at your disposal during that time.