23andMe & Misophonia

A short time ago,  the evening of Thursday, Jun 11 to be exact, I was lounging on the couch, watching television when my husband walks into the room.

"Did you get my email?" he inquired.

When I asked for a little more information, he told me to just go read it. I begrudgingly went to my computer to retrieve his message, more than a little irritated that he could not just tell me.

When I pulled up the message in question, I about fell out of my chair. I could not believe what I was seeing:

If this email isn’t displaying correctly, view it in your browser. June 2015 Sensitive to Certain Sounds? Hi , People who get unusually annoyed by everyday noises might have misophonia, which literally means a "hatred of sound." Though little is known about the causes of misophonia, a recent 23andMe study reveals that genetics may play a role. About 20 percent of 23andMe customers describe themselves as "filled with rage" by the sound of other people chewing, so the condition may be common. Check out your new report to learn more about how genetics might affect your reaction to chewing sounds. See my report Follow us on You are receiving this email because you are a customer of 23andMe.  I was stunned. I was then told to read part two. I am pasting parts of it below. It is important to note that 23andMe would have no way of knowing our issues with our son. The significance is HUGE. The power of "Big Data" in the form of customer surveys makes a case for a significant percent of our population having this disorder. This may be the breakthrough that is needed to get researchers and the medical community to take notice. And now, the rest of the story from 23andMe: Sensitivity to the Sound of Chewing (Misophonia) Are you annoyed by everyday noises such as the sound of other people chewing? You may have a mild case of misophonia: literally a "hatred of sound". Misophonia can be brought on by a variety of sounds made by other people including breathing, nail clipping, footsteps, and, most commonly, eating. About 20% of 23andMe customers describe themselves as "filled with rage" by the sound of other people chewing, suggesting that misophonia may be quite common. Furthermore, female 23andMe customers are almost 30% more likely to report this sensitivity than male customers. Unfortunately, misophonia has not been well studied by scientists and very little is known about its causes. An internal study at 23andMe, however, shows that genetics may play a role. Keep in mind that: This report describes study findings observed in groups of people. The findings may not be representative of you as an individual. The genetic markers reported here are associated with normal variation and generally have very small effects on the trait. Many factors besides those described here may influence this trait. Genotype Genetic Result GG Slightly higher odds of being sensitive to the sound of chewing.. AG Typical odds of being sensitive to the sound of chewing. AA Slightly lower odds of being sensitive to the sound of chewing.

For More Information, See 23andMe June 4 Blog Post:
http://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/something-to-chew-on/