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The "Butterfly's Whisper" Blog

Welcome to my blog. I hope by sharing my own misophonia experiences, others who are frustrated with misophonia sensitivities will discover that they're not alone. I also hope that people who may not have misophonia will gain some insight about what it's like to have this condition.

Please feel free to post any comments or use the "Contact Us" page if you have any questions/comments you don't want to post online.

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A humorous misophonia moment

4/6/2013

4 Comments

 
Today I decided to take it easy and just veg - something I don't do much anymore. It was a frantic week at work and my tension has been quite high all week. (So what else is new?) Too many projects due at the same time, last minute "drive by" fires springing up out of nowhere that had to be put out immediately, trying to get ready for one conference presentation I'm giving in Philly in two and a half weeks followed by another one in Vegas two weeks after that, not to mention my misophonia working on overdrive every time one of my coworkers on the lower level opens a can of soda. (He says he's "cut down" to three cans a day, but I'm not convinced.) Of course it doesn't help that I haven't been wearing my noise cancelling earbuds regularly because I'm constantly on/off the phone and trying to coordinate with multiple teammates about project issues. With my brain running a million miles a minute trying to juggle everything in my professional life and trying to squeeze in moments here and there to work on my memoir, (that's without having much of a social life), it makes it tough to find quiet time just for myself to decompress.
Picture
Little Mr. Innocent playing "cutesy"
So, today was just a day to relax and collect myself before the next whirlwind round that's going to hit me. I decided to make some pudding, a treat I haven't had  in many years. Since most of my plastic bowls were in the dishwasher, not to  mention the recipe called for COLD milk, I whisked everything together in a metal bowl. Next thing I know,  I heard my cockatiel imitating the sound of metal scraping against metal with every stroke of the whisk. I'm sure he was just trying to get my attention, since my focus was on making the creamy pudding, but that sound I can handle. In some ways, I think it's kind of cute when he does that (unlike when he makes a whiney sound every couple of seconds to get my attention. That's the only trigger in my apartment that drives me away.)

Anyway, it reminded me again about the reason why I don't typically use chinaware (or metalware) if I don't have to do so. Although some cockatiels can imitate words, my little guy only imitates sounds: microwave beeps (I swear I can cook without it), my laugh, kissy sounds, but the one that sticks out most in my mind is when he imitates the sound of metal scraping against plastic (usually at the same time I'm scraping the last bit of ice cream from my Tupperware bowl.) If it weren't for my realizing several years ago what he was trying to imitate with that last sound, I might not have been able to make the connection that the reason why I've used plasticware instead of metal silverware and chinaware over the past two decades is because my body subconsciously wanted to avoid the "clinking" sound of metal on china that's one of my triggers.

I guess I should feel lucky that only one of the sounds he makes is a trigger for me. The rest of them just make me laugh - especially when he imitates my laugh and we wind up laughing at each other.    :-)

4 Comments
MIke
4/15/2013 09:43:40 pm

It's funny that you mention a Tupperware bowl. I keep only plastic bowls in my home and couldnt find anything but the cheap hard plastic ones at Wally Mart. I have to go onto Ebay and buy a set of "vintage" Tupperware cereal bowls to get what I wanted. I also use plastic cups and paper plates at home. I thought that if someone could invent and market spoons and forks with rubber edges, that they could sell a set to just about every misophonia sufferer.

Reply
Vicky
9/25/2015 03:29:42 am

I have just been googling to see if spoons with rubber edges are available. At this moment my husband is eating his cereal with a metal spoon in a china dish and everyday I want to do something unpleasant with that bowl and spoon!! : ) He's already learned to eat apples at 50 paces and to suck his way through a packet of crisps!

Reply
Emlyn
9/28/2015 12:02:55 pm

Hi, Vicky. If you look at my response below (dated 4/13/2013), I actually addressed that question. Just google "coated spoons" or copy/paste the link from my below response and you should find a whole bunch of options. There are lots of coated cutlery options out there, not just for babies but for adults too.

Hope that helps.

Emlyn Altman link
4/20/2013 03:52:21 am

I probably shouldn't have said "Tupperware," because I know that's a brand name. I know I got the set in the supermarket because they had the plastic covers that can snap onto the plastic plates, which were good for taking lunch into the office. It reminded me of "Tupperware," but I know those are much nicer than what I have.

The actual brand name of my plasticware is "Ziploc." I've got their whole "Ziploc Tabletops" collection: plates (both dinner and sandwich sizes), cups, and even salad bowls. I've even used the lids from the plates as plates themselves. (There's a good picture of the set on https://www.facebook.com/ziploctabletops)

You know what's funny? When I read your comment about someone inventing/marketing spoons and forks with rubber edges... I thought to myself, someone already did do that for babies; but when I Googled "coated spoons," I actually found a lot for adults too (such as http://www.thefind.com/kitchen/info-coated-spoons). Now, if someone would take it to the next level and do forks, that'd be great for misophonia sufferers. I don't think coated knifes would be a big seller though... LOL!

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    About the Author

    Emlyn Altman has been suffering with misophonia for over 35 years, even though she only found out about the actual medical condition much more recently. As frustrating as the condition has been over the years, her heightened sensitivities across all the senses considerably influenced her talents within the visual fine arts (particularly sculpture), music (singing, piano, and many other instruments), writing, and culinary backgrounds, as well as professional achievements as an architectural lighting designer. Her goal in developing this website is to promote more awareness about misophonia and help other sufferers as well.


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