Student With Misophonia Files Lawsuit Against School for Failing to Ban Gum Chewing

student with misophonia Gum chewing misophonia Tennessee student L&N Stem Academy Knox County Americans with Disabilities Act ADA selective sound sensitivity syndrome Episcopal School of Knoxville Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs

By Lili Scott , Parent Herald Feb 28, 10:05 am

Photo: (Photo : JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)

A Tennessee student with misophonia had filed a lawsuit against her school for failing to acknowledge and accommodate that she had a disorder when she asked to ban gum chewing and eating inside the classroom.

Alongside her parents, the student with misophonia stated in her lawsuit that hearing chewing sounds causes her extreme distress. Her condition is also aggravated by migraine as she has an "unusual tolerance to ordinary environmental sounds," per 10 News.

The student goes to the L&N Stem Academy in Knox County, Tennessee, as a ninth-grader. She has been identified only as "Jane Doe" in the lawsuit, which was filed with the help of the saw law firm suing the county for its face mask mandate.

Student with Misophonia Has Right to Ask for Changes

Documents from the lawsuit showed that the representatives of Jane Doe believe she's in the right to ask for changes about gum chewing and eating in the classroom based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Her lawyers pointed out that her misophonia is an actual disability because she experiences the need to escape the classroom whenever someone is eating or chewing gum.

Sounds can drive people crazy if they suffer from misophonia. They develop annoyance, anger, and panic, so they flee the environment. The condition is also known as selective sound sensitivity syndrome, or hatred and dislike for sound or the repetition of sound.

The most common trigger of misophonia is chewing, but others may also tend to hate the sound of the keyboard, tapping fingers, or windshield wipers. Doctors are unsure why misophonia develops, as it can appear suddenly without any health or developmental issues. However, the experts think people with misophonia have trouble with the functions of the brain that filter the sounds.

The family of the student with misophonia asked school officials at the L&N Stem Academy to ban gum chewing and eating in class in December 2021. However, instead of approving her request, the school told the girl to take more study halls. The school also said that there is no evidence showing her rights were violated based on the ADA.

This meant that the student missed many of her academic classes as her condition prevented her from having a full experience in the classrooms. One of the elective classes she picked allowed food in class since it's 80-minutes long and overlaps with lunchtime.

#GumGate Has Begun

The girl's family said that her former school, Episcopal School of Knoxville, had no issues accommodating and acknowledging her condition. She had to transfer to L&N Stem Academy since her former school was only up to the eighth grade. She has also tried to use headphones with silencing features to class but with little success, thus requesting a "reasonable accommodation" for her condition.

My fear when the court essentially ruled the ADA required government to not only mandate reasonable physical accommodation at public places but also to regulate third party behavior/conditions was that it would open the floodgates for new ADA lawsuits. It's beginning. #GumGate
— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) February 25, 2022

Upon learning of the lawsuit, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, who was served the lawsuit, posted a tweet to say that #GumGate is happening, and he fears that this will "open the floodgates for new ADA lawsuits." On Thursday, March 3, 2022, U.S. District Judge Katherine Crytzer will hear the motion of the case in court.