Giftedness and misophonia

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Could some people have a problem with sound sensitivity because they are within

the 'gifted' range of people who have been shown in some cases to possess a

heightened awareness of their environment and sensory information that, to

ordinary people does not pose a problem since they do not share the same level

of sensitivity to their surroundings?

" Many gifted individuals experience various types of heightened awareness and

may seem overly sensitive. These sensitivities may be to physical senses such as

sight, sound, smell, movement and touch. For example, they may be extremely

uncomfortable when they have a wrinkle in their sock, or unable to concentrate

because of the sound of a clock ticking on the other side of the room.

Sensitivities of the gifted are often to mental and emotional over-awareness.

For example, picking up on the feelings of someone close to them, having extreme

sensitivity to their own internal emotions, and taking in external information

at a significantly higher rate than those around them. These various kinds of

sensitivities often mean that the more gifted an individual is, the more input

and awareness they experience, leading to the contradiction of them needing more

time to process than others who are not gifted.

Hypersensitivity to external or internal stimuli can resemble a proneness to

" sensory overload " , which can cause such persons to avoid highly stimulating,

chaotic or crowded environments. This kind of highly sensitive nature has also

been called " overexcitability " by Kazimierz Dabrowski. Some are able to tune out

such unwanted stimulation as they focus on their chosen task or on their own

thoughts. In many cases, awareness may fluctuate between conditions of

hyperstimulation and of withdrawal. (An individual's tendencies to feel

overwhelmed is also affected by their extraversion and introversion.) "

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