This is speculative, but if a misophonia cure emerges from this idea, I, Adeel Ahmad, humbly claim first dibs on the concept. Quiet accolades accepted. 😆

Evolution doesn’t always eliminate such traits if, on average, the species thrives. So, these “overclocked” sensitivities might linger in a subset of the population.

Could misophonia be similar? Perhaps heightened sound sensitivity was once advantageous—alerting us to threats or social cues—but in some, it crosses a threshold into distress.

Despite its drawbacks, schizophrenia persists globally. The cliff-edge model suggests it’s the extreme end of beneficial traits that, when overexpressed, become maladaptive.

This concept applies to psychiatry too. Traits like creativity and abstract thinking boost fitness, but when they exceed optimal levels, they may manifest as schizophrenia—a condition reducing reproductive success.

Example: Birds benefit from stronger flight muscles, enhancing escape from predators. But beyond a certain size, those muscles hinder flight, leading to a sharp fitness drop.