What is Misophonia?

• The word misophonia translates literally into "hatred of sound," but this can be misleading because (1) anger is not the only emotion experienced in misophonia and (2) some people also have visual triggers without sound
• Heightened sensitivity and reactivity to particular meaningful triggers resulting in aversive physiological arousal, emotions, and thoughts
• Each individual may have his, her, or, their own unique trigger sounds
• Not formally recognized as a specific type of neurological, audiological, or psychiatric disorder

Misophonic "Trigger" Sounds

• Chewing, slurping, sniffing, loud breathing, tapping, clicking, etc.
• Most often, repetitive or patterned sounds that are difficult to avoid
• Commonly sounds made by other people, but some people have aversion to environmental non-human noises (e.g., mechanical noises such as ticking or clicking sounds)
• Misophonic response is not usually caused by loudness of the trigger
• Misophonic response may not be consistent across people or environments, and responses can vary over time