I’m an advocate for the disorder Misophonia[https://www.misophoniainternational.com/what-is-misophonia/]. Lately, you may have seen it in the press. I should be happy. I should be jumping for joy that my disorder is being researched – and even more joy that it’s been featured around the world by the media. Unfortunately, I’m too close to all this. I’ve talked to the researchers, and I know what their results are pointing to. I’m ecstatic on that front – but I am chilled by all the press.

Yes, chilled. Every time a new article is published on Misophonia – I panic. I do not want to lessen or cheapen disorders like PTSD, but each time I see a “Google Alert” or a new link pop up – I lose my breath. I almost cry. I know that when I click that link, there is a 99% chance that what I find is going to be the opposite of stigma-free awareness. The press on misophonia has been spectacular – it has focused on cheapening the disorder, an “interesting”, “weird” fact that’s little more than a circus.

Because I have misophonia I am always petrified by the improper mentions in the press. Research results are skewed, and there is always the “complimentary sufferer” whose life is put on a pedestal, to be mocked. While the news agencies may believe they are telling our story, all I see is the same rhetoric over and over. Person bothered by sounds, wow, ‘by the way there’s no cure or consensus’. This type of journalism may as well stay where it came from.

Perhaps I sound petty, but, I am used to reading news articles that marvel of the spectacle of “chewing rage”. Misophonia is not chewing rage, nor is it sound rage [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/misophonia-is-much-more-than-sound-rage_us_58417b8ee4b04587de5de91f]. It is a serious disorder, in which sufferers face a fight/flight/freeze response. It has ruined marriages. It has ended college careers. It has isolated families, and it continues to be a cause of pain for all those it has touched. The last thing we need is to fight the media in our struggle for a cure.

As an advocate, I am becoming more polarized. The more I speak out the more I realize that the voices of others like me needs to be brought forward. The more advances we make with research, the more I realize that the message needs to be carefully constructed so that it is not skewed. What is a major disorder has been reduced to a bullet point in someone else’s rhetoric. At every step of the way, advocates are jumping over hurdles. There is more than stating our position, we must actively notice the wrong-doings against us. This, while fighting our own ailments, is emotionally taxing. Advocacy is not an easy job. We do this because we have to. For ourselves, and for those around us that are impeded by the causes we fight.

Research is growing. The findings of Dr. Sukhbinder Kumar[http://misophonia-research.com/team/sukhbinder-kumar-ph-d/] are a tremendous leap forward for sufferers that have been told their disorder is not real. The IMRN (International Misophonia Research Network) has been advocating for more research.

The fight for research has several different problems. While we are growing awareness for misophonia by having our research featured in the news, many follow-up stories are growing like wildfire, the latest blazes having little in common with the first burn mark. While Misophonia is mentioned more and more in the press, the real story, that researchers are collectively working to alleviate a disorder, and come together to find answers, has been watered down. What is left, is a spectacle that is little more than news organizations using our disorder for web hits. When these sites steal away from the conversation, by coming front and center, real advocacy is lost in the mix of voices. The sound of misophonia’s suffering is lost in an endless stream of voices, voices that have not added a unique perspective to the conversation. Voices that are not asking the right questions.

I am happy that misophonia is being researched. I am happy that my fight alongside the IMRN is gaining fruitful results – but in regard to the media – I am tired. I am tired of checking google and twitter and worrying about what I may find. I am tired of fighting tooth and nail for a backlink or a mention that could mean the difference between research funding. I am tired of fighting every day of my life with a disorder that has been mocked, terrorized, and used as a “fun fact”.

I’m an advocate, and at one of the most important times for my fight, I am losing sight. I have been beaten down, but I know that it hardly matters. I must continue to fight. Advocacy is not a particularly rewarding field when it comes to notoriety, but it is the only weapon we have left against a system of oppression and stigma. I am an advocate because I want to ensure the voice of my disorder does not get lost.

Shaylynn Hayes is a 23 year old writer, advocate, graphic/webdesigner, and student. She is the Editor-In-Chief of Misophonia International and Author of Full of Sound and Fury: Suffering With Misophonia. Misophonia has created both trials and tribulations, but it’s also changed her life in good ways. It is due to Misophonia that she ended up switching schools, but it is also the reason she has been able to focus her voice and try to help others that struggle with the disorder. A year ago Shaylynn formed MisophoniaAwareness.org and continues to update the site when new and more current information is available. However, this has become a secondary project to an even wider, more international initiative. Alongside Dr. Jennifer Brout, Shaylynn runs the News site and Magazine, www.MisophoniaInternational.com The site focuses on Research, Coping, and Awareness for the disorder. Shaylynn has also been actively involved in the International Misophonia Research Network, founded by Dr. Jennifer Brout. What used to be a life-ruining disorder has become an interesting and defining adventure that has proven that the things that are “ruining our life” may very well be creating a new, interesting life in the place of the old.