In the latest Strictly news, former star Seann Walsh has opened up about his secret medical condition that reportedly affects 18% of the population.
The comedian, 37, famously appeared on the glitzy BBC One show back in 2018. More recently, he headed into the I’m A Celeb Jungle last December.
And now Seann has revealed he’s been battling a rarely-discussed medical condition that means he can’t face hearing people eat.
Strictly news: Seann Walsh opens up about secret medical condition
In a new podcast interview, Seann opened up about living with misophonia. This is a disorder in which specific sounds can trigger responses – emotional or physiological. The reactions would be anything from anger to panic.
And according to Seann, he has to play background music when eating meals with people – because of the condition.
Speaking on the My Favourite Takeaway podcast, he explained: “I’ve got a thing called misophonia, a kind of irrational hatred of the sound of people eating. If we’re eating somewhere where the music is not on, I have to say, ‘Excuse me, sorry, could you put some music on please?’, which is a very strange request.”
Strictly star on living with misophonia
Seann admitted the disorder is affecting his life so much that when he’s out and about in public, he’s had to remove himself from certain situations. Once, the comedian had to get off public transport because another passenger was eating crisps too loudly. When asked what sounds trigger things for him, Seann said “crunchy” foods are his worst enemy.
He explained: “Obviously I’ve got views on this. Crisps should be banned on trains, apples banned on trains, mainly crunchy fruit. You can have a banana, you can probably have an orange.”
What is misophonia?
It’s been reported that misophonia affects up to 18% of the population. The sounds that can trigger the disorder could be eating, chewing or breathing. As well as the wound of windshield wipers or someone finger tapping.
Those suffering with misophonia often go into a fight-or-flight response to the sounds – which can trigger a lot of emotions.
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