MISOPHONIA & HYPERACUSIS

Get Relief from Extreme Sound Sensitivity Disorders

When you’re in the care of Tinnitus & Hearing Center of Arizona, you’ll receive personalized care for your ears and hearing, including sound sensitivities such as misophonia and hyperacusis in Tempe, AZ. As experienced audiologists, we understand that your symptoms are very real and our goal is to ensure your hearing comfort and optimization.

Tinnitus & Hearing Center of Arizona is one of only a handful of clinics around the country that is equipped and experienced in treating misophonia and hyperacusis. Dr. Rohe is highly qualified to address the misophonia symptoms and is uniquely poised to help with professional misophonia treatment, as well as sound therapy for hyperacusis.

What is Misophonia?

Misophonia is an abnormally strong negative reaction to specific sounds, or “triggers” like eating, chewing, lip-smacking, licking, breathing, whistling or the sound of certain speech sounds, as well as sounds such as clicking or tapping. This negative reaction often results in anger, distress, and even rage. Body sounds can also trigger misophonia, which perhaps the most famous person associated with misophonia, Dr. Pawell Jastreboff, called “somatosounds.”

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Usually, misophonia develops in childhood or early adolescence but can occur in adulthood as well. It routinely begins suddenly after some emotionally significant initial incident associated with a first “trigger” sound, and environmental situation accompanied by a strong emotional event.

Misophonia can occur as a secondary symptom that accompanies tinnitus or hyperacusis, which is often associated with auditory damage or head trauma. Misophonia symptoms can also exist as secondary to multi-sensory sensitivity problems displayed in early childhood in more complex neurological conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Treatment



A multidisciplinary treatment approach appears to be the best solution, and in most cases is essential for the patient to progress. There must first be a thorough evaluation as well as sufficient counseling for the patient and family members to comprehend the condition and understand how it may be treated.

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Clinically significant misophonia almost always involves changes in behaviors not only from the suffering patient but also within the whole family, since the entire family attempts to cope with the reactions that are occurring. Since most misophonia triggers involve family interactions, the misophonia condition is properly considered as a whole family affair.

In some cases, involving mental health or behavioral professionals, or a licensed psychotherapist may be helpful in misophonia treatment, as well as those who specialize in family or individual therapy can be very helpful. Professionals of this nature are qualified and trained to identify key difficulties in behavior and family relationships that may be relevant to the misophonia issue, before, during or as a result of reactions to triggers.

What is Hyperacusis?

Hyperacusis is an abnormally strong and negative reaction to sound or an inordinate loudness of sound that other people tolerate well. The sounds can be soft, medium, or loud. It may cause distress, fear, or even pain to the person experiencing it. ​

It is believed that hyperacusis occurs because of hyperactivity within the hearing system.

The auditory system provides an automatic gain or volume control, modifying its sensitivity at both peripheral and central levels. Consequently, when a person is normally exposed to even a low level of sound, the signal is amplified by the outer hair cell system by up to 60 dB. If mechanisms controlling this gain modification are producing higher levels of amplification when it is not needed, then overstimulation occurs within the auditory system resulting in a perception of sound as abnormally loud, even painful.

Treatment

Hyperacusis treatment is based on a desensitization principle. Systematic exposure to soothing, non-annoying sound results in an increased threshold of sound tolerance over time. Treatment works at a subconscious level and does not involve retraining of conditioned reflexes and does not involve cognitive processes.