What is Misophonia? 'Little House on the Prairie' star Melissa Gilbert reveals having neurological disability

The beloved Little House on the Prairie star, Melissa Gilbert, revealed that she suffers from a neurological disorder called misophonia. The actress opened up about her disability during her sit down interview with People, published on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.

According to WebMD, Misophonia causes one to have a decreased tolerance to certain sounds, trigging an emotional or physiological response, ranging from anger and annoyance to panic and even the need to flee. The disorder is sometimes called selective sound sensitivity syndrome.

Elaborating on her condition, Gilbert told the publication that everyday noises like chewing, popping gum, or even clapping would anger her. She explained that when she'd film scenes for the show, then "if any of the kids chewed gum or ate or tapped their fingernails on the table," she felt like running away.

"I would turn beet red and my eyes would fill up with tears and I'd just sit there feeling absolutely miserable and horribly guilty for feeling so hateful towards all these people—people I loved," Melissa Gilbert confessed.

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"I sobbed when I found out that it had a name"- Melissa Gilbert about her misophonia

Not understanding the strong visceral reaction, Melissa Gilbert explained that it was,

"a really dark and difficult part of childhood."

When the beloved actress first realized there was a name to her condition, she "sobbed." She further explained,

"I sobbed when I found out that it had a name and I wasn't just a bad person."

For years, the actress' family believed that she was a fussy child who would glare at them "with eyes filled with hate." Melissa explained that guilt and misophonia go hand in hand. She thought her reactions made her a rude person and felt bad and guilty. She remarked:

"The guilt that you feel for these feelings of fight or flight. It's a really isolating disorder."

The 60-year-old also discussed how misophonia affected her relationship with her children. She recalled that she had a hand signal (making a chewing gesture using her hand as a puppet and snapping it shut) that she used to make her two kids stop chewing, she added:

"My poor kids spent their whole childhoods growing up with me doing this. They weren't allowed to have gum."

Melissa Gilbert confessed that menopause aggravated the disorder.

Despite knowing what she was suffering from, the actress didn't know there was a way to treat it, until last year. She reached out to the Duke Center for Misophonia and Emotional Regulation at Duke University's School of Medicine, asking for help.

In an August 2024 interview published on the Duke Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences' website, she explained that she searched treatments for misophonia and found Duke's portal. She soon emailed Dr. Zach Rosenthal, the director at the Duke Center for Misophonia & Emotion Regulation, for assistance regarding her case.

Dr. Zach recommended cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps treat the condition. After 16 weeks of "intensive" CBT therapy, Gilbert felt that the disorder was not as bad.

"I realized I could ride out these waves but that they're not going to go away. They never go away. But now I have all these tools to enable me to be more comfortable and less triggered. It made me feel in control."

Gilbert explained that at present, her family no longer walks on eggshells around her. The experience has turned Melissa Gilbert into a crusader for the cause, spreading awareness about misophonia, along with the Duke Center for Misophonia and Emotional Regulation.