I have misophonia, which is a hatred of certain sounds. And I don't mean thinking a sound is unpleasant or even gives you goosebumps and makes you cringe. No, this is when certain sounds will trigger irrational hatred and anger. Which sounds trigger differs from person to person with misophonia. Mine is any smacky mouth sound involving spit. So crunching on chips doesn't bother me, but someone eating mac & cheese is the devil. I have found ways to cope once I found out this was my issue and not that nobody else knows how to eat properly. I usually either have something of my own to eat, which drowns out the noise or I will leave the room.

The reason I am posting this in a relationships group is because my husband makes a noise that I hate most of all. The problem is, he's not doing it on purpose. He knows I have this issue so doesn't take it personally if I leave while he's eating and I have told him about this new noise and he would stop if he could. But he only makes it while he's asleep, and every time he's asleep. It's not snoring. I don't really know how to describe it.

I can only assume he's always done this. We've been married 5 years and it was never an issue before because if we go to bed at the same time, I always fall asleep first. But recently he got a new job and it starts at 4am so he goes to bed not long after our kids do. I like to clean or chill for a bit after the kids go down so I'm usually coming to bed after my husband is already asleep. This is why I'm only now noticing this. But each time he makes the noise that irrational anger flares up and I want to push him or slap him or sometimes even throttle him. I don't, obviously, because I recognize those feelings are a reaction due to a mental defect and not a reflection of how I actually feel.

But it does mean I fall asleep a lot of nights feeling negatively about my husband and that is not good for our relationship or my quality of sleep. I don't know what to do about it though. He's not doing it on purpose. I can't wear ear plugs to bed because I have to be able to hear my kids. We've discussed getting him a mouth guard but ones that you can sleep in are kinda pricey. Any advice?