We offer expert diagnosis and treatment for misophonia, guided by a leading audiologist specialising in the condition. Our comprehensive misophonia evlauation is designed to accurately assess your sensitivity to specific sounds and tailor a treatment plan to meet your needs. With a focus on providing effective support and personalised care, we aim to help you manage and overcome the challenges of misophonia, allowing you to reduce triggers and respond differently by altering cause and effect relationships and behavioural patterns.
Misophonia is an oversensitivity to specific sounds, often leading to irritation, difficulty concentrating, and discomfort in certain environments. Common triggers include man-made sounds like chewing, breathing, throat clearing, and tapping, as well as environmental noises that aren’t necessarily loud. Misophonia is often associated with anxiety and related disorders such as OCD and PTSD. Unlike hyperacusis, where loudness triggers a reaction, misophonia is triggered by the specific type of sound.
Learning how to deal with misophonia is crucial to developing strategies for improving symptoms. Research indicates that the brains of individuals with misophonia function differently, particularly in areas like the insula, which is involved in emotional processing, disgust and interoception. Studies suggest that the insula may be overly connected to regions such as the amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex. This over connection can heighten sensitivity to trigger sounds, leading to negative emotions like anger and disgust. Our aim is to help you or your child understand these mechanisms and recommend effective strategies for improvement.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a highly effective approach for managing misophonia by addressing the behavioural, cognitive and emotional processes that drive the misophonic response. Through CBT, clients learn to identify and modify the dysfunctional thoughts and safety-seeking behaviours that exacerbate their reactions to trigger sounds. This therapeutic process helps alleviate symptoms of stress, anger, depression and anxiety associated with misophonia. By gradually altering the way clients perceive and respond to these triggers, CBT empowers them to regain control over their emotional responses and improve their overall quality of life.
Our hearing professionals, Olwyn and Kaitlyn, specialised in tinnitus, hyperacusis and misophonia with Dr. Hashir Aazh, whose research on the subject can be found here.
For more information, and to find out how we can help you to treat, manage and navigate the condition, contact our leading clinic directly.
https://hashirtinnitusclinic.com/misophonia/
Misophonia is a disorder related to sound intolerance. Typically people with misophonia have an extreme negative response and distress to sounds that others might not even notice. These sounds are most commonly associate with mouth noises: breathing, chewing, lip smacking, swallowing, sniffling etc but can also be scratching, tapping, skin picking, clicking, and other low level environmental noises.
Misophonia can develop at any age but is more likely to develop in the early-teen years and is more common in women.
Misophonia evaluations always include a comprehensive hearing evaluation. We will check your ears for wax or other blockages, and then perform a comprehensive evaluation to determine if there is hearing loss or other damage within your auditory system. This evaluation also includes a test of your tolerance to different sound levels. To better understand the impact of the misophonia on your life and which management strategies may work best for you we also complete questionnaires and speak with you regarding what you are experiencing in your day to day life with your misophonia.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a specialised form of therapy that helps individuals understand and change the way their brain responds to their misophonia triggers.
For many people with misophonia, it’s not the sound itself causing distress but rather the negative emotional response their brain associates with it. These reactions can amplify feelings of anxiety, frustration, or hopelessness.
CBT works by:
By changing the way the brain interprets their trigger sounds, patients can learn to resume their normal daily activities without distress.
CBT can be delivered face to face or via video call, depending on your lifestyle and preferences.
