This morning, I was watching the CBS morning news (as usual) and a report came on about two new studies (one in London, the others by the Harvard and Boston University Schools of Public Health) that linked the stress of loud noises with medical conditions such as heart attacks, high blood pressure, and stroke - particularly by people who live near an airport. Dr. David Agus, a Professor of Medicine at USC and "CBS This Morning" contributor, attributed the negative health impacts of the loud noises to increased stress on the body which leads to increased levels of cortisol.
I quickly grabbed a little sticky pad of paper off of my nightstand to jot down the name of the doctor and the findings of the study; but as I flipped the pages to find a blank one, I noticed that I jotted down that same doctor's name for another study he presented on "CBS This Morning" two weeks ago. In that study, Dr. Agus reported that mice were infected with a common parasite that altered their brain chemistry and apparently made them "lose their fear of cats."
Even though neither study addressed misophonia directly, I do see potential connections between their results and misophonia. With the first study, I've often tried to describe to others that the reason why I'm more tired than would be expected at the end of the day is due to the constant "roller coaster" of being on edge when exposed to a trigger and then exhausted after the rush of the adrenaline subsides . When triggers come at me dozens of times an hour throughout the day and then I finally get a lengthy reprieve when I go home, it's so easy to just want to stretch out in a barca-lounger and "veg" just to release all that stress, instead of going out to evening events during the work week. (Doesn't do much for my social life though.) If the stress of loud noises has been linked to heart attacks, high blood pressure and stroke, I wonder if the stress of living with misophonia might cause the same result - since it appears that misophonia affects the body similar to what they described happens to people after extended exposure to loud noises.
The second study also intrigued me when they aired it. If there really is a parasite that could alter a brain's chemistry and reduce a person's fear impulse, is it possible that the same parasite might lessen the "fight or flight" reaction caused my misophonia? Unfortunately, I doubt they'd even be able to research that theory without doing tests on humans, which I don't think the FDA would like very much.
I quickly grabbed a little sticky pad of paper off of my nightstand to jot down the name of the doctor and the findings of the study; but as I flipped the pages to find a blank one, I noticed that I jotted down that same doctor's name for another study he presented on "CBS This Morning" two weeks ago. In that study, Dr. Agus reported that mice were infected with a common parasite that altered their brain chemistry and apparently made them "lose their fear of cats."
Even though neither study addressed misophonia directly, I do see potential connections between their results and misophonia. With the first study, I've often tried to describe to others that the reason why I'm more tired than would be expected at the end of the day is due to the constant "roller coaster" of being on edge when exposed to a trigger and then exhausted after the rush of the adrenaline subsides . When triggers come at me dozens of times an hour throughout the day and then I finally get a lengthy reprieve when I go home, it's so easy to just want to stretch out in a barca-lounger and "veg" just to release all that stress, instead of going out to evening events during the work week. (Doesn't do much for my social life though.) If the stress of loud noises has been linked to heart attacks, high blood pressure and stroke, I wonder if the stress of living with misophonia might cause the same result - since it appears that misophonia affects the body similar to what they described happens to people after extended exposure to loud noises.
The second study also intrigued me when they aired it. If there really is a parasite that could alter a brain's chemistry and reduce a person's fear impulse, is it possible that the same parasite might lessen the "fight or flight" reaction caused my misophonia? Unfortunately, I doubt they'd even be able to research that theory without doing tests on humans, which I don't think the FDA would like very much.
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