The Scream by Edvard Munch has always resonated with me on my hyperacusis journey. I mean, look at it—the figure is holding his ears, terrified. The physical upheaval he’s experiencing—like pain hyperacusis—is so palpable. The world around him is like a loud whirlpool, getting swallowed up, which represents the collapse of order so many hyperacusis sufferers confront. The two figures in the background seem entirely unaffected. This terror belongs to the subject alone; the isolation is unbearable. I think this artwork is a perfect illustration of hyperacusis on many levels.

The artist intended The Scream to be a visual translation of a panic attack and existential dread. Hyperacusis can cause both, as you’re thrust into a hostile world where survival is challenged with every move practically, since sounds are in everything we do. One thing that’s misunderstood about this piece is that the figure is not screaming. The reason it’s titled The Scream actually aligns with hyperacusis as well. The original German title Munch gave the work was Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature). In a prose poem that he later hand-painted onto the frame of an 1895 pastel, he wrote: “I stood there trembling with anxiety—and I felt a vast infinite scream through nature.” The figure is covering his ears to shield his mind from a cosmic roar that only he can perceive. Sound familiar? We understand.

Munch used a concept called synesthesia (the blurring of different senses) to make invisible sound waves and internal emotions visible. The swirling lines of the sky, land, and water do not represent a real storm—they are the visual manifestation of sound waves and panic vibrating through the air, warping the figure’s reality and threatening to swallow him whole.

Because this painting eerily intersects with the hyperacusis experience, I decided to use it as the image of our official Discord server, Quiet Riot. A member of that server named Llamalove7 sent us a parody version of the piece featuring an alien. I think this version, while funny, is also relevant. Hyperacusis sufferers often feel like aliens. Earth no longer seems like Earth—again, the isolation.

If you’d like to join our Discord server, here is the link: https://discord.gg/UsE4VkmNd. Anyone is welcome, even your friends and family! Having hyperacusis isn’t required. We hope to see you soon.

AI wasn’t used to write or edit this piece.

Facts about The Scream were drawn from Edvard Munch’s writings and standard art historical sources, as well as Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream).