The reason why mouth-breathers and loud eaters drive some of us up the wall

Most people will agree that there are noises that are straight-up uncomfortable to hear – nails down a chalkboard, or the sounds of sirens, or a spine-chilling scream are some examples.

But for people these noises aren’t just unpleasant – they can be full on anxiety-inducing.

This condition is called misophonia. For these people, hearing certain sounds like people chewing or heavy breathing, trigger a panicky responses, causing heart rates to go up and people to break a sweat.

It would be easy to suggest these people are just delicate or overly sensitive. But that’s not the case, according to new research published in the journal Current Biology.

The answer in fact lies in the connections of their brains. Not only to these people focus more on uncomfortable noises, but more of their brain is used to process the sound. Making the experience of unpleasant noises more intense than for the average person.