Misophonia Answers:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is misokinesia?
Why isn’t misophonia in the DSM?
What is the misophonia pronunciation?
The most common pronunciation of misophonia is mi-suh-FOE-nee-uh.
What are misophonia symptoms?
People with misophonia experience negative emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses to certain sensory stimuli.
Is misophonia real?
Yes. Misophonia is a very real, multi-sensory disorder.
What are misophonia triggers?
Although they are the most common triggers, misophonia activators do not need to be oral or nasal sounds, or even sounds made by humans.
Does treatment from an audiologist help misophonia?
Audiologists can help assess hearing thresholds and hyperacusis, a similar but different condition. They also can offer sound-based therapeutic approaches. None are proven, and anecdotally, some people will and others will not find these approaches helpful.
Is misophonia genetic?
It is unclear. There is only one pilot study, which used 23andMe’s data, on this question. It shows some interesting genetic correlations with some mental health problems but is only based on one question about feeling rage when other chew, and the results are not considered definitive or final.
Does exposure therapy help misophonia?
Exposure therapy using traditional habituation-based exposure to sounds is not recommended. However, it may be helpful to learn how to approach and respond differently to triggers and associated cues as part of a broader set of treatment approaches. That may be called “inhibitory learning exposure,” and is part of what is being studied and showing promise for misophonia.
Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [CBT] help misophonia?
CBT is not one thing. It is a family of therapies that includes acceptance and change strategies to help change unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, behaving, and dealing with stress. Some CBTs are being tested for misophonia and showing promise. This includes interventions using various coping skills to regulate emotions, attention, thinking, physiological sensations, and communication.
What is the misosphere?
The misosphere is the entire misophonia community and includes all people whose lives are affected by misophonia.
What is Misophobia?
Is there research about misophonia?
Yes. You can learn about participating in misophonia research and also view links to published studies on our Misophonia Research Page .
Is there a cure for misophonia?
At present, there is no cure for misophonia.
Can I take a misophonia test?
There are several tests used to determine whether someone has misophonia, and the severity of their misophonia symptoms.
Can misophonia be diagnosed?
Misophonia cannot be diagnosed by a professional until there are official diagnostic criteria. Fortunately an official diagnosis is not required to get help and accommodations.
Is misophonia a mental illness?
Misophonia is considered a complex multi-sensory disorder which traverses the fields of audiology, neurobiology, psychology, and more.
Is misophonia a disability?
Yes, it can be…
Can’t people with misophonia just ignore the sound that bothers them?
No. This is like asking someone with an allergy to just ignore the thing they are allergic to.
Is there a visual version of misophonia?
Where in misophonia certain sounds activate a negative emotional response, certain movements are activators for misokinesia. The two conditions can be experienced together or separately.