Estimation of prevalence and severity of misophonia in adults from India

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31117/neuroscirn.v8i3.417

Keywords:

Misphonia, Prevalence, Gender, Geography, Selective sound sensitivity syndrome

Abstract

Misophonia, or "hatred of sound", is characterised by adverse reactions to a specific sound. Persons with misophonia might experience diverse symptoms like anxiety, rage, hatred, etc, from mild to severe. Little is known about the prevalence of misophonia in the adult population in the age range of 30 to 50 years, and existing prevalence studies include only college students or the clinical population - the present study aimed to estimate the prevalence and severity of misophonia in adults through standardised questionnaires. A total of 341 adults from all over India, aged 30 to 50 years, participated in the study. The Misophonia Assessment Questionnaire (MAQ), given by Marsha Johnson, was used to analyse the severity of misophonia in the participants. The questionnaire was administered individually through an online survey, where participants completed Google Forms containing demographic data and the Misophonia Assessment Questionnaire (MAQ). The present study revealed that, out of 341 subjects, the prevalence of misophonia was approximately 31.37%, with most subjects having subclinical misophonia. The results of the study show a high prevalence of misophonia among adults in the age range of 30-50 years. As misophonia is prevalent in the general population, appropriate assessment and management will help reduce the quality of life disruptions.

References

Aazh, H., & Moore, B. C. (2017). Factors associated with depression in patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis. American Journal of Audiology, 26(4), 62–69. https://doi.org/10.1044/2017_AJA-17-0008

Abramovitch, A., Herrera, T. A., & Etherton, J. L. (2024). A neuropsychological study of misophonia. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 82, 101897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2023.101897

Albert, D. G., & Decato, S. N. (2017). Acoustic and seismic ambient noise measurements in urban and rural areas. Applied Acoustics, 119, 135–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2016.12.015

Aryal, S., & Prabhu, P. (2022). Misophonia: Prevalence, impact, and comorbidity among Mysore University students in India – A survey. Neuroscience Research Notes, 5(4), 161. https://doi.org/10.31117/neuroscirn.v5i4.161

Aryal, S., & Prabhu, P. (2023). Understanding misophonia from an audiological perspective: a systematic review. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 280, 1529–1545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07774-0

Bhosale, B. J., Late, A., Nalawade, P. M., Chavan, S. P., & Mule, M. B. (2010). Studies on assessment of traffic noise level in Aurangabad city, India. Noise and Health, 12(48), 195–198. https://doi.org/10.4103/1463-1741.64971

Brout, J. J., Edelstein, M., Erfanian, M., Mannino, M., Miller, L. J., Rouw, R., Kumar, S., & Rosenthal, M. Z. (2018). Investigating misophonia: A review of the empirical literature, clinical implications, and a research agenda. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12(36), 1-13. https://www.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00036

Cavanna, A. E., & Seri, S. (2015). Misophonia: Current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 11, 2117–2123. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S81438

Dozier, T. H. (2015). Counterconditioning treatment for misophonia. Clinical Case Studies, 14(5), 374–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534650114566924

Erfanian, M., Kartsonaki, C., & Keshavarz, A. (2019). Misophonia and comorbid psychiatric symptoms: A preliminary study of clinical findings. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 73(4–5), 219–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2019.1609086

Ferrer-Torres, A., & Giménez-Llort, L. (2022). Misophonia: A systematic review of current and future trends in this emerging clinical field. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6790. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116790

Hansen, H. A., Stefancin, P., Leber, A. B., & Saygin, Z. M. (2022). Neural evidence for non-orofacial triggers in mild misophonia. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, 880759. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.880759

Jakubovski, E., Müller, A., Kley, H., de Zwaan, M., & Müller-Vahl, K. (2022). Prevalence and clinical correlates of misophonia symptoms in the general population of Germany. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 1012424. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1012424

Jastreboff, M. M., & Jastreboff, P. J. (2001). Components of decreased sound tolerance: Hyperacusis, misophonia, phonophobia. ITHS News Letter, 2, 5–7.

Jastreboff, P. J., & Jastreboff, M. M. (2023). The neurophysiological approach to misophonia: Theory and treatment. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 17, 895574. https://doi.org/10.3389/FNINS.2023.895574

Kılıç, C., Öz, G., Avanoğlu, K. B., & Aksoy, S. (2021). The prevalence and characteristics of misophonia in Ankara, Turkey: Population-based study. BJPsych Open, 7(5), e144. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2021.978

Kou, L., Tao, Y., Kwan, M. P., & Chai, Y. (2020). Understanding the relationships among individual-based momentary measured noise, perceived noise, and psychological stress: A geographic ecological momentary assessment (GEMA) approach. Health & Place, 64, 102285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102285

Kumar, S., Dheerendra, P., Erfanian, M., Benzaquen, E., Sedley, W., Gander, P. E., Lad, M., Bamiou, D. E., & Griffiths, T. D. (2021). The motor basis for misophonia. The Journal of Neuroscience, 41(26), 5762-5770. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0261-21.2021

Kumar, S., Hancock, O. T., Sedley, W., Winston, J. S., Callaghan, M. F., Allen, M., Cope, T. E., Gander, P. E., Bamiou, D. E., & Griffiths, T. D. (2017). The brain basis for misophonia. Current Biology, 27(4), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.048

Neacsiu, A. D., Szymkiewicz, V., Galla, J. T., Li, B., Kulkarni, Y., & Spector, C. W. (2022). The neurobiology of misophonia and implications for novel, neuroscience-driven interventions. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, 893903.https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.893903

Patel, N. M., Fameen, R., Shafeek, N., & Prabhu, P. (2023). Prevalence of misophonia in college-going students of India: A preliminary survey. Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 75(2), 374–378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12070-022-03266-z

Paunovic, K. Z., & Milenković, S. M. (2022). The proposed criteria for high perceived misophonia in young healthy adults and the association between misophonia symptoms and noise sensitivity. Noise and Health, 24(113), 40–48. https://doi.org/10.4103/nah.nah_40_20

Schröder, A., San Giorgi, R., Van Wingen, G., Vulink, N., & Denys, D. (2015). P.1.i.015 Impulsive aggression in misophonia: results from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 25(2), S307-S308. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-977X(15)30374-6

Schröder, A., van Wingen, G., Eijsker, N., San Giorgi, R., Vulink, N. C., Turbyne, C., & Denys, D. (2019). Misophonia is associated with altered brain activity in the auditory cortex and salience network. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 7542. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44084-8

Schröder, A., Vulink, N., & Denys D. (2013a). Misophonia: Diagnostic criteria for a new psychiatric disorder. PLoS ONE, 8(1), e54706 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054706

Sujeeth, P. R., Hanji, R., Nayyar, K., & Prabhu, P. (2023). Estimation of prevalence of misophonia among high school students in India. Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 76(2), 1678–1681. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12070-023-04382-0

Swedo, S. E., Baguley, D. M., Denys, D., Dixon, L. J., Erfanian, M., Fioretti, A., & Raver, S. M. (2022). Consensus definition of misophonia: A Delphi study. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, 841816. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.841816

Wu, M. S., Lewin, A. B., Murphy, T. K., & Storch, E. A. (2014). Misophonia: Incidence, phenomenology, and clinical correlates in an undergraduate student sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 70(10), 994–1007. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22098

Zhou, X., Wu, M. S., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Misophonia symptoms among Chinese university students: Incidence, associated impairment, and clinical correlates. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 14, 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2017.05.001

Downloads

Published

2025-09-21

How to Cite

Valsa , P., Vattathoor Valappil Abdul Majeed, N. P., Kadalayil Vinod, N., Karupaiah, K., & Prabhu, P. (2025). Estimation of prevalence and severity of misophonia in adults from India. Neuroscience Research Notes, 8(3), 417.1–417.8. https://doi.org/10.31117/neuroscirn.v8i3.417