Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 17:16:841816.
doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.841816. eCollection 2022.

Consensus Definition of Misophonia: A Delphi Study

Susan E Swedo  1   2 , David M Baguley  3   4   5 , Damiaan Denys  6 , Laura J Dixon  7 , Mercede Erfanian  8 , Alessandra Fioretti  9 , Pawel J Jastreboff  10   11 , Sukhbinder Kumar  12 , M Zachary Rosenthal  13   14 , Romke Rouw  15 , Daniela Schiller  16   17 , Julia Simner  18   19 , Eric A Storch  20 , Steven Taylor  21 , Kathy R Vander Werff  22 , Cara M Altimus  23 , Sylvina M Raver  23
Affiliations

Consensus Definition of Misophonia: A Delphi Study

Susan E Swedo et al. Front Neurosci. .

Abstract

Misophonia is a disorder of decreased tolerance to specific sounds or their associated stimuli that has been characterized using different language and methodologies. The absence of a common understanding or foundational definition of misophonia hinders progress in research to understand the disorder and develop effective treatments for individuals suffering from misophonia. From June 2020 through January 2021, the authors conducted a study to determine whether a committee of experts with diverse expertise related to misophonia could develop a consensus definition of misophonia. An expert committee used a modified Delphi method to evaluate candidate definitional statements that were identified through a systematic review of the published literature. Over four rounds of iterative voting, revision, and exclusion, the committee made decisions to include, exclude, or revise these statements in the definition based on the currently available scientific and clinical evidence. A definitional statement was included in the final definition only after reaching consensus at 80% or more of the committee agreeing with its premise and phrasing. The results of this rigorous consensus-building process were compiled into a final definition of misophonia that is presented here. This definition will serve as an important step to bring cohesion to the growing field of researchers and clinicians who seek to better understand and support individuals experiencing misophonia.

Keywords: consensus building; emotional dysregulation; medical definitions; misophonia; misophonia triggers; sensory sensitivities; sound sensitivity (auditory sensitivity).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that this study received funding from the REAM Foundation (grant number 7894 to the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy). The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article, or the decision to submit it for publication.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
A modified Delphi process was employed to develop a misophonia consensus definition. In four rounds of voting, a Misophonia Consensus Committee (MCC), comprised of subject-matter experts, evaluated potential definitional statements about misophonia. Each round of voting differed in its intended purpose, what information the Committee relied on to make its determinations, and/or the format of voting.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Methodology and results of a modified Delphi method to develop a consensus definition of misophonia. Through four rounds of evaluation and voting on potential definitional statements that were extracted from the published scientific literature, a committee of experts developed a consensus definition of misophonia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Aazh H., Landgrebe M., Danesh A. A., Moore B. C. J. (2019). Cognitive behavioral therapy for alleviating the distress caused by tinnitus, hyperacusis and misophonia: current perspectives. Psychol. Res. Behav. Manag. 12 991–1002. 10.2147/PRBM.S179138 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baguley D. M., Cope T. E., McFerran D. (2016). “Functional Auditory Disorders,” in Handbook of Clinical Neurology, eds Hallet M., Stone J., Carson A. (Amsterdam: Elsevier; ), 367–378. - PubMed
    1. Barratt E. L., Davis N. J. (2015). Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state. PeerJ. 3:e851. 10.7717/peerj.851 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bernstein R. E., Angell K. L., Dehle C. M. (2013). A brief course of cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of misophonia: a case example. Cogn. Behav. Ther. 6:e10. 10.1017/S1754470X13000172 - DOI
    1. Brout J. J., Edelstein M., Erfanian M., Mannino M., Miller L. J., Rouw R., et al. (2018). Investigating misophonia: a review of the empirical literature, clinical implications, and a research agenda. Front. Neurosci. 12:36. 10.3389/fnins.2018.00036 - DOI - PMC - PubMed