Impact of Food Noises on Health | Sensory & Mental Effects

In recent years, both health researchers and mental health workers have become more interested in food noises, which are the sounds you make when you eat, chew, crunch, or slurp. Eating noises are a natural part of life, but misophonia—oversensitivity of dislike to these sounds—can have a significant impact on your relationships with others, stress levels, and mental health. Food sounds may harm your health in a variety of ways. They may have an impact on both your mental and emotional health. Hearing loud or repeated eating sounds like chewing, lip-smacking, or gulping can make a lot of people irritable, anxious, or even angry. This strong emotional response is not just a dislike; it is a learned response in the brain. The anterior insular cortex, which processes emotions and sensory input, is often more active in people with misophonia. People who have misophonia may have more activity in this area. Over time, hearing these sounds all the time can cause stress hormones to rise, make it hard to concentrate, and make people withdraw from society. People may choose not to eat with others or in public locations, which might leave them feeling alone, humiliated, or guilty. So, even if the sound is the trigger, the consequences are frequently mental anguish and a poorer standard of living. On the other hand, the rise in popularity of "ASMR eating videos" (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) on social media sites shows that food noises can help some people rest or feel good. For these people, soft sounds of cooking or eating make them feel calm, which lowers their anxiety and boosts their happiness. This two-sided response shows that food noises can have very different effects on health, based on how sensitive a person is and how they were raised. But too much exposure to loud or fake food sounds can still cause sensory fatigue and hearing overstimulation, especially in people who already have anxiety or attention problems. The body's "fight or flight" reaction can be triggered by hearing stressful eating sounds on a regular basis, which can raise heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels. This kind of long-term worry can cause headaches, trouble sleeping, and stomach problems. Managing the sound surroundings during meals, like turning down the background noise, playing soft music, or practicing mindful eating, can help make the eating experience calmer.

Sensory triggers like food noises can affect mental and physical health, highlighting the need for knowledge in physiology and pharmacology. SGT University, one of the most affordable universities within Delhi, NCR, offers Pharmacy programmes that equip students with skills in drug development, healthcare research, and understanding factors that influence well-being.

Blog by:Mr. Sushil Gulia

Department: Pharmacognosy