What causes misophonia? The misophonic reaction appears to be an involuntary physical and emotional reflex caused by the sound. The sound directly activates the Autonomic Nervous System which is located in the brain stem and the Limbic System which is associated with emotion. This is a direct connection between the sound and a reflex reaction. Think of the sound as causing the same reaction as a hard poke in the ribs with a stick.
Everyone with misophonia has an involuntary emotional response (emotional reflex) to a trigger sound.
But there is a hidden physical reflex that occurs before the emotional reflex. Having worked with over 200 people, I find that 95% or more have an initial physical reflex. It works this way:
1. You hear/see a trigger -> You have a physical reflex response
2. You feel the physical reflex -> You have the emotional reflex response
In real life, the emotional reflex is so strong and comes so quickly that you cannot identify the initial physical reflex. To be able to identify the physical reflex, you need to have a super small trigger reaction. This happens when you reduce the strength of the trigger by making it short and quiet.
This app will help you identify your physical reflex, which can be very helpful for effective treatment of your misophonia.
You can watch the youtube video of the webinar we gave about the hidden physical reflex of misophonia.
Webinar: Misophonia as a 2-Step Response to Triggers
Using the App to Identify Your Physical Trigger Reflex
You want to start with the trigger so quiet that you can’t hear it, or so short that it does not sound like a trigger. Increase the volume or length setting and play the trigger again. Keep increasing the volume or the length until you first feel something. It will probably be a muscle twinge, but it can be anything in your body. You may feel something inside your body and not be able to identify what it is.
Recommended Starting Point for Settings
Volume 2.0% and Length (time) 0.20 seconds, or
Volume 0.1% and Length (time) 0.75 seconds
Work up the strength of the trigger (time or volume) until you just start to feel the trigger. It will be easier for you to identify the physical reflex if you get very comfortable and close your eyes. You can lay down if you like. The trigger plays when you release the TRIGGER button, so you can press it, close your eyes, then release the button.
If you do not trigger to the recorded trigger, visualize the place and person making the trigger. This will make the trigger more real to you.
Technical Directions for Using the App
What is a Trigger File? A trigger file is a recording that has the trigger at the very beginning of the file. It can have lots of junk after the trigger sound. It doesn’t matter what is after the trigger.
Recording a Trigger File – You can record a trigger with the app. Press REFLEX TEST, then RECORD. Record the trigger sound (or have someone record it for you). Enter a name for the file. Press arrow in the upper right corner of the window.
Edit a Trigger File – Select the trigger you want to edit and press EDIT. Set the Start time. When you exit the Trigger Editor, everything before the Start time will be deleted from the file. The Start time is set by the lower left +/- buttons. You can also pause the recording right before the trigger sound, and press START HERE. Then use the +/- buttons to make fine adjustments.
You can save the file (copy over the original file) by pressing SAVE or DONE. If you enter a new name in the SAVE AS box, it will use that name to save the edited file.
Copy/Import a Sound Trigger File – You can create the trigger file on your computer or download trigger files from https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-fLnBAxbc-uV1h4VVV4Z2tZOGc&usp=sharing. Put the trigger file in the Music folder on your Android phone. For iPhones, copy the file into iTunes on your computer and sync your phone.
To copy the file into the Reflex Finder, press ADD on the Reflex Test page. Select the file or files you want to copy, and press DONE.
You can submit a question in the comment box below and you will receive an answer by email.