Audiological Characteristics of a Sample of Adults With Misophonia

The aim of this study was to describe the audiological test results from a sample of 60 adults with self-reported misophonia.

Audiological testing was completed prior to participant randomization in a controlled trial for misophonia treatment. Participants completed the Inventory of Hyperacusis Symptoms Survey (IHS), the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS), the Misophonia Questionnaire (MQ), and behavioral and objective audiometric measures.

Hearing thresholds were less than 25 dBHL for 97% of the participants. Loudness discomfort levels for tonal stimuli suggested hyperacusis in 25% of the sample. Total scores on the IHS indicated that 12% met the clinical cutoff for hyperacusis, and, on the THS, 27% experienced problems with tinnitus, 77% experienced problems with hearing, and 53% experienced problems with sound tolerance. On the MQ, 37% indicated mild levels of misophonia and 58% indicated moderate levels. For speech-in-noise testing, a mild signal-to-noise ratio loss was present for 15% of participants. Most of the participants had present distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs).

Audiological data on individuals with misophonia are lacking. In this article, we present results from audiological testing on 60 adults with self-reported misophonia. Most had normal peripheral hearing sensitivity based on pure-tone audiometry and DPOAE measures; some had difficulties with sound sensitivities and understanding speech-in-noise, self-report indicated problems with hyperacusis, tinnitus, and hearing difficulty.