There is no single, specific treatment for everyone with Misophonia, but there are ways to receive help that are grounded in evidence-based practices. Please visit our Choosing Services page to learn more about our recommendations regarding treatment.
Misophonia is NOT rare.
The current prevalence rate of Misophonia is 4.6% (Dixon et al., 2023). This is a greater prevalence rate than the following disorders:
- Agoraphobia
- Anorexia
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Binge Eating Disorder
- Bipolar Disorder
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Bulimia
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Schizophrenia
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a diagnostic manual of mental health disorders that is published by the American Psychiatric Association. There are several reasons why Misophonia is not in the DSM:
- Researchers are debating whether or not to define Misophonia as a mental health disorder since it can be addressed using multiple other disciplinaries (audiology, occupational therapy, etc.).
- Updated editions of the DSM are published every 10-15 years, and a consensus definition of a disorder is crucial to be considered. The Consensus Definition of Misophonia: A Delphi Study was published in 2022. The newest edition of the DSM, DSM-5, was published in 2013.
Only one study has been conducted regarding Misophonia and genetics. The study used data from 23andMe asking one question related to misophonia, "Does the sound of other people chewing fill you with rage?". There were some genetic correlations found with psychiatric disorders, but these results are not considered definitive.
More research is needed to determine whether or not Misophonia is genetic.
Studies that have been conducted researching the relationship between Misophonia and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) do not suggest that OCD is a specific psychiatric disorder expected to co-occur with Misophonia, but they do support the theory that rates of current OCD may be higher in those with Misophonia than in the general population worldwide (1.1%; Fawcett et al., 2020).
A Duke CMER publication, "Misophonia is related to stress but not directly with traumatic stress", explored the relationships among Misophonia, stress, lifetime traumatic events, and traumatic stress. The results of this study did not suggest a causative or unique association between Misophonia and PTSD. There were significant positive correlations among perceived stress, traumatic stress, and misophonia severity, but perceived stress significantly predicted misophonia severity over traumatic stress.