Rare Group In Pain Over Everyday Sounds

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A rare group of people are in pain because of everyday sounds.

"When someone cracks their knuckles around me, it feels like getting punched in the face, "said Paul Tabachneck who suffers from misophonia, a condition defined as a hatred of sound.

The snap of a lighter can cause an intense reaction.

"Flick. snick,.. I'll grab it from them," said Tabachneck.

Even the click of a pen can send him into a rage.

There are a growing number of people who are being diagnosed with it, but it's still largely a mystery.

"It's a neurologic cross wiring, We don't know exactly what caused it," said Audiologist Dr. Melanie Herzfeld.

Click here to watch David Sutta's report. 

Sufferers experience extreme emotional reactions and even feel physical pain from certain everyday sounds.

"Our neural mechanism has made it so that if there is a sound we don't like, there is a coping strategy.  Their neural mechanism has made it so they don't have that coping strategy," said Herzfeld.

"I got to have something that cancels out the noise," said Tabachneck.

Like most people who have it, Tabachneck has been suffering since he was a child

"I had a reputation for a long time for being very difficult," said Tabachneck.

Using ear buds to block sounds like a crackling water bottle or gum chewing has helped Tabachneck. One thing that he can handle is music.

Paul Dion said he also finds an escape in music but as a misophonia sufferer, he also finds misery in every day sounds.

There are no known cures yet, but white noise machines and meditations can bring calm and relief to many along with medication.

A coping strategy is really the answer to everything they're going through.  They really have to know how to survive