When Everyday Sounds Become Barriers: The Effect of Misophonia on Speech Perception

Misophonia is a condition characterized by intense emotional reactions, such as anger, anxiety, or disgust, in response to specific sounds. This study aims to investigate the speech perception performance in noise of individuals with misophonia. Recent perspectives suggest that these emotional reactions may interfere with auditory attention, particularly in socially relevant listening situations. However, little is known about how misophonia affects speech perception in noisy environments.

The study included 40 individuals with misophonia and 40 healthy controls, matched for age and gender. Both groups were administered the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) under two different scenarios: one with speech noise only and another with speech noise combined with the triggering sound of a buzzing fly. The fly sound was identified as aversive by all participants with misophonia. Speech perception performances in noise of the groups across the two scenarios were compared.

The findings revealed that the presence of a triggering sound significantly impaired the speech perception ability in noise in individuals with misophonia. The misophonia group demonstrated lower performance in the presence of the triggering sound compared to the control group. Additionally, increased severity of misophonia and a greater number of triggering sounds were associated with further declines in HINT performance.

This study highlights that misophonia is a condition that adversely affects speech perception in noise. Understanding the communication challenges faced by individuals with misophonia in noisy environments provides a crucial foundation for the assessment of this disorder and the development of therapeutic interventions.