Yesterday was a wait day for me. After waiting a week to get an appointment with the service department for our car, it was finally the day for me to camp out in the waiting area. I took my computer with me, hoping to just play games or read the news or whatever while I was waiting, since I discovered that Honda no longer has a shuttle service.
When I got set up in the waiting area, the TV was up pretty loud on a home decorating network. Since I was hoping for silence, that was a huge disappointment. Then a fellow came into the waiting area, right behind me, turning his phone to a show of some sort that he played out loud without wearing earphones!
Oh My Goodness! All of a sudden I understood my daughter, who goes crazy if she can hear her next-door worker eating lunch. It is called misophonia. People with misophonia are affected emotionally by common sounds — usually those made by others, and usually ones that other people don’t pay attention to. The examples of breathing, yawning, or chewing create a fight-or-flight response that triggers anger and a desire to escape.*
I definitely wanted to escape but had nowhere to go. This called for drastic measures. I didn’t want to use my phone for radio because I didn’t know how long I would be waiting and wanted to make sure I still had battery before leaving for home. All the unwanted noise pollution around me, however, made me decide to turn my radio on. I have earplugs so tuned my phone into WBGL radio, a Christian radio station.**
What joy! Not only was I not hearing all these other voices, I was hearing songs about Jesus. I listen to WBGL every time I drive in the car; it is the only alone time I get and I look forward to being edified while running errands. Yesterday, though, it was more than just edification, it was salvation from a foul mood I was beginning to sink into because of all the unfamiliar noises going on around me. WBGL was truly my treasure!
MDT/Diana Bowden Moore
