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The disorder and its symptoms were widely recognised prior to the term ‘misophonia’ being coined by Pawel and Margaret M. Jastebroff in 2001.
Dr Marsha Johnson, an audilogist from Portland, Oregon, initially called it Selective Sound Sensitivty Syndrome in the late 1990s, as she was helping hundreds of people with similar experiences out of her clinic.
Dr Johnson is also credited with introducting common terms used in the field such as ‘triggers’, and the ‘anticipatory phase’ (feeling distressed before you expect to hear the trigger/sound).
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A person can deveop Misophonia at any age, but the median age for development is 12.
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Misophonia can develop at any time and irrespective of other conditions. However, it can often develop alongside Autism Spectrum Disorder - and almost 80% of those that are on the spectrum and have misophonia will develop comorbidities like OCD or anxiety disorders.
While experts still don’t know why a person develops misophonia, it is thought there are genetic predispositions to it, as well as other biological factors. Researchers continue to explore environmental factors such as maternal mental health/stress, childhood environments and comorbidities as reasons for misophonia developing.
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No! Misophonia triggers are often related to the type of sound, not the volume of it. MRI studies have shown that people with misophonia don’t have any abnormalities in their ears or overly sensitive hearing. It’s all to do with how the brain processes and regulates emotional reactions to sounds.
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Misokinesia is a term that has been proposed to refer to the misophonic reactions to visual triggers/stimuli. Often a trigger might be a repetitive movement like leg shaking or hair twirling, as well as the sight of an auditory trigger someone has but that they cannot actually hear (ie, a person through a window visibly chewing, or a video on mute).
Misokinesia research is in its infancy and has only two research papers solely on the topic, compared to the now hundreds that exist on misophonia.
Understanding Misophonia.
Misophonia isn’t just a ‘preference’ for quiet or a dislike of certain sounds. Misophonia is a neurological and sensory disorder that causes reactions to specific sounds and triggers, including some visual triggers.
The consensus definition of misophonia is that it is a disorder of decreased tolerance to specific sounds or their associated stimuli.
Misophonia Myths.
While sensitivity to certain types of sounds are certainly one of the symptoms, misophonia is much more than that. It’s a complex condition that can be hard to understand unless you live with it! Misophonia is a heightened sensitivity to sounds, and often results in intense emotional and physiological, whole-body responses - like rage, anxiety, and ‘fight or flight’ responses.
Actually, up to 20% of the population may display symptoms of misophonia! While Australian research is lacking, many audiologists and psychologists here in Australia rely on broad ranging international studies to help back up their treatment plans and own research.
While some people may draw similarities between Austistic traits, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and misophonia, they are all separate conditions that are not mutually exclusive! You can have misophonia and not have Autism or OCD. But they can co-occur - known as ‘comorbidities’.
Misophonia is still prevalent in the Autistic population, with it affecting between 12%-36% of individuals on the autism spectrum.
A big misconception is that all people with misophonia are sensitive to the same sounds and triggers. Even though mouth sounds (chewing, swallowing, breathing) are some of the most common triggers, a study from the Ohio State University confirmed it’s more than that. The study showed brain-connectivity patterns to be different in those with misophonia.
In an ideal world, absolutely! However misophonia was only recognised as a disorder in 2001, and a consensus definition was only adopted in 2022 by a panel of experts (and widely adopted by clinicians and researchers thereafter). Unfortunately for those with misophonia, getting a diagnosis of the condition is often the biggest hurdle before treatment options become clearer.
In fact, it’s not actually recognised in any classification of mental disorders or other diseases in any manuals, meaning it’s difficult for most people to receive an official diagnosis.
Because research is still in its infancy, it is such a misunderstood disorder. There are no official diagnostic criteria or assessment procedures to diagnose the condition. On top of that, treatment often needs to be tailored to the individual person - meaning it can be an exhaustive process from the time symptoms first appear.
