Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy applied to Misophonia, a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Misophonia involves adverse emotional, cognitive, and physical responses to specific sounds.
• Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is a common psychological treatment for misophonia, but its application varies.
• Existing clinical literature on CBT for misophonia is inconsistent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a focused scoping review of CBT applications for misophonia in clinical settings.
• To synthesize available data on CBT protocols, procedures, and outcomes for misophonia.
• To identify gaps and suggest future research directions for CBT in misophonia treatment.

Main Methods:

• Searched PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar (2013-2025) for publications on CBT for misophonia.
• Included 30 publications with pre- to post-treatment measurements of CBT-family procedures.
• Synthesized 14 detailed reports and summarized the remaining 16.

Main Results:

• CBT-family interventions were generally feasible and associated with reduced misophonia symptoms.
• Various CBT approaches were identified, including exposure and response prevention, counterconditioning, and inhibitory learning.
• Most studies had uncontrolled designs and small sample sizes, limiting interpretation.

Conclusions:

• CBT procedures are deliverable and potentially beneficial for misophonia.
• Current evidence supports CBT as a potentially helpful approach but does not allow for firm efficacy claims.
• Future research should standardize outcome measures and investigate specific CBT components for misophonia.