Welcome to the Duke Center for Misophonia and Emotion Regulation!
We are a group of dedicated clinicians, researchers, and trainees who work in partnership with people with Misophonia, families, and the broader community.
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
