Vent: The guy who smacked gum on the bus for 45 minutes straight

I used to think I was just a grouchy person who overreacted to chewing sounds. I told myself everyone makes noise when they eat or chew gum, and I should just get over it. But last Tuesday on the 67 bus route downtown, this guy sat behind me and smacked his gum nonstop for 45 minutes. Not exaggerating. I timed it from when we passed the old courthouse to when we hit the mall. The wet popping sound mixed with his occasional sucking of his teeth just drilled into my skull. After that ride, I looked up misophonia and realized I'm not just being dramatic, there's an actual wiring thing in my brain that makes those sounds feel like sandpaper on a nerve. Has anyone else had a specific moment where you realized your annoyance was actually a real sensory thing and not just you being picky?

2 comments

2 Comments

faithcampbell9d ago

Wait, is that the same bus that goes past the old theater? Because I swear I thought I was just being cranky about gum noises too until I sat near someone who snapped it every two seconds for a whole commute. Now I can't unhear it.

miles_garcia8d ago

Yeah gum snapping is the worst, I had a girl do that on the bus last week and I almost lost it.