["Ear rage": misophonia : Review and current state of knowledge]

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Psychiatry
• Audiology

Background:

• Misophonia is an affective sound-processing disorder characterized by strong negative emotional responses to specific auditory triggers.
• Triggers are highly individual, ranging from human bodily sounds to environmental noises.
• Despite its impact, misophonia lacks a formal classification in diagnostic systems and has no consensus definition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of the current understanding of misophonia.
• To summarize diagnostic criteria and neurobiological findings.
• To review current and potential treatment options.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on misophonia.
• Analysis of neuroimaging studies, particularly fMRI, showing altered brain activation.
• Examination of reported therapeutic interventions.

Main Results:

• fMRI studies indicate abnormal activation in the anterior insular cortex (AIC) and other emotion-regulating brain areas.
• No randomized controlled trials for treatments have been published.
• Cognitive-behavioral interventions, sound masking, and self-management strategies are commonly reported.

Conclusions:

• Misophonia appears to be a distinct disorder associated with other conditions like ADHD, tinnitus, and autism spectrum disorder.
• Further research is needed, particularly randomized controlled trials, to establish effective treatments.
• Otolaryngologists play a role in managing patients with misophonia symptoms.