I don't normally get annoyed by particular noises... but I've had several middle-ear infections in my life, and I've noticed that every time I get one, I temporarily develop a strong misophonia.
Sometimes, in such infections, particular sounds seem to vibrate my (irritated, inflamed, sensitized) eardrums in a particularly noticeable and distracting way. It's not all sounds, though! Based on the feeling and the triggers, I'd say the feeling is of there being something gummed up right against (the inside side of) my eardrum; where specific frequencies of vibration cause the eardrum to rub itself against this gummy thing.
And other times, in such infections, particular sounds seem to not irritate the eardrum per se, but rather the auditory canal (Eustachian tube). In those cases, it feels like sounds of the right frequency seem to resonate the auditory canal itself (not usually possible due to it being open+connected to your sinuses — but possible when that opening is plugged with gunk!), causing any little dried bits of "stuff" (blood clots, stones from antibody-expunged bacterial biofilms, etc) to "rattle around" inside there. These sensations make me wish I could somehow stick a finger right through my eardrum and down my auditory canal, and itch the spot. (Or get a Eustachian-tube suctioning. Too bad they won't do that to you unless you go deaf from blockage; the one time I did get it, I heard better than I have in years!)
Anyway, this is all enough to make me wonder whether at least some of the people with misophonia (or auditory-hypersensitive sensory processing disorders) just have chronic undiagnosed middle-ear infections (or sequelae of such.)
Sometimes, in such infections, particular sounds seem to vibrate my (irritated, inflamed, sensitized) eardrums in a particularly noticeable and distracting way. It's not all sounds, though! Based on the feeling and the triggers, I'd say the feeling is of there being something gummed up right against (the inside side of) my eardrum; where specific frequencies of vibration cause the eardrum to rub itself against this gummy thing.
And other times, in such infections, particular sounds seem to not irritate the eardrum per se, but rather the auditory canal (Eustachian tube). In those cases, it feels like sounds of the right frequency seem to resonate the auditory canal itself (not usually possible due to it being open+connected to your sinuses — but possible when that opening is plugged with gunk!), causing any little dried bits of "stuff" (blood clots, stones from antibody-expunged bacterial biofilms, etc) to "rattle around" inside there. These sensations make me wish I could somehow stick a finger right through my eardrum and down my auditory canal, and itch the spot. (Or get a Eustachian-tube suctioning. Too bad they won't do that to you unless you go deaf from blockage; the one time I did get it, I heard better than I have in years!)
Anyway, this is all enough to make me wonder whether at least some of the people with misophonia (or auditory-hypersensitive sensory processing disorders) just have chronic undiagnosed middle-ear infections (or sequelae of such.)