Struggling with Misophonia: How it's Affecting My Relationships

Honestly.. I can't stand being near my family when they're eating even when there is a special event and i hope that we dont go to a restaurant we always e d up going to a restaurant and I dread it so much. My family says it's disrespectful to have headphones in whil eating but I just can't stand it. Even trying to describe it to my mom or sisters or dad they just mock me, whenever I eat then they talk about how if I eat then it's fine but if they eat it's a problem, I just wish they could understand but it feels as if they don't even try, even in school if my teachers are eating I seriously have to ask to go to the bathroom and I literally estimate how fast or slow they chew their food and stay in the bathroom until I feel like they're done eating, why is this so difficult?

I never tell anyone about it but my immediate family. My dad, who has it too, my brother, who is very good about it and tries his best to understand, and my mom who either doesn't understand, doesn't care, or both. I hate how petty it sounds when you talk about it. I hate it so bad. It sounds like it's not a big deal and that you're just weird but it's a very real problem that is not talked about enough. But I understand the people that don't get it. I know what it looks like from an outsiders point of view, even though I've had this my entire life. It sounds fucking stupid and petty. I'm lucky to have my brother who doesn't see it that way, and my dad who can relate to me. Having them two helps, but not enough. No matter what i do, it feels like I'm screaming into a void. Always.

Same. It’s ruined my entire life. I can’t eat with family and when it comes to relationships it only takes a few weeks for me to start becoming angered by their noises. I wear Mack’s clear earplugs around my family, but they’ve come to understand that I have issues. It’s a lot harder to explain to someone I’m in a relationship with that I have to wear earplugs around them or else their sounds will cause me extreme anger 😥 you’re not alone, I pray one day for a cure!

I have to actually run away when my family starts eating because of the panic. Nobody else gets it, and I can't explain it to my family. It's frustrating, isn't it?

Yeah. Good explaining it to people who don't have it. An inexplicable rage at a noise directly targeted to a person who made it and doesn't understand why. A noise that has no meaning to them.