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- Sensory Processing, Dissociation, and Affective Symptoms in Misophonia
- (Koç Apaydın et al., 2026)
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Sensory Processing, Dissociation, and Affective Symptoms in Misophonia: A Cross-Sectional Study of 35 Adults
Status:: #status/Bare-bones-review
Metadata
- Item Type: #journalArticle
- Authors:: Zuhal Koç Apaydın, Nefise Demir, Rifat Tarhan,
- Date:
- Date Added: 1771106173000
- URL: https://www.medscimonit.com/abstract/index/idArt/950938
- DOI: 10.12659/MSM.950938
- Cite Key: kocapaydinSensoryProcessingDissociation2026
- Topics: [object Object]
- Tags:: #Misophonia, #Bare-bones-review-🦴, #anxiety, #perception, #MisoQuest, #Emotion-regulation, #depersonalization,
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Abstract
| Background/Purpose | Background- • Misophonia causes intense negative reactions to everyday sounds; not officially recognized by DSM or ICD • Prevalence estimated at 12.8–20% of the general population; 4.6% met clinical threshold in a US population-based study (n=4005) • Up to 79% of individuals with misophonia have at least one co-occurring psychiatric disorder • Common comorbidities include depression, GAD, OCD, PTSD, suicidal behaviors, and borderline personality disorder • Emotion regulation difficulties and atypical sensory processing likely contribute to misophonia's clinical presentation • Misophonia associated with poorer quality of life across emotional, social, and general health domains • Individuals with misophonia show heightened sensory reactivity across multiple modalities, not only auditory; Kaufman et al. (2022) demonstrated intense reactions to odors as well • Core features of misophonia identified as sensory-attentional in nature; severity closely linked to sensory sensitivity level (Andermane et al., 2023) • Adults with severe misophonia show broadly elevated exteroceptive sensitivities (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, vestibular) on the Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire; interoceptive awareness on the MAIA does not differ by group • Individuals with misophonia show heightened sensory reactivity across multiple modalities, not only auditory; Kaufman et al. (2022) suggest reactions extend to other sensory cues such as odors • Dissociative symptoms (depersonalization, derealization) frequently emerge in PTSD, panic disorder, and GAD • Overwhelming sensory input proposed as a trigger for dissociative responses as a defensive mechanism in some individuals • Hypervigilance common in misophonia can elevate anxiety; chronic arousal may lead to emotional exhaustion and a "shutdown" response • Few studies have directly examined the misophonia–dissociation relationship • Role of dissociation in misophonia remains unclear • Few studies have directly examined the misophonia–dissociation relationship; the authors describe this gap inconsistently across sections ("few studies" in the Introduction, "no studies" in the Discussion) Purpose- • Characterize sensory processing and psychiatric symptom burden in adults with misophonia (n=35) vs. healthy controls (n=51) • Test whether misophonia severity relates to dissociative experiences and to depression, anxiety, and stress |
| Participants/samples | • N=86 adults, aged 18–65; convenience sample recruited via social media (Turkey), July 26 – August 30, 2025 • Misophonia group: n=35 (MisQuest impairment score ≥7); Control group: n=51 (score <7) • No statistically significant between-group differences in age, gender, marital status, education, psychiatric history, or misophonia awareness • Inclusion: age 18–65, self-reported at least moderate misophonia symptoms, literate, internet access, voluntary consent • Exclusion: moderate–severe hearing loss, current psychosis/mania, neurological disorders (epilepsy, dementia, MS), current substance use disorder, incomplete consent/forms |
| Measures | • MisQuest: 17-item, 2-factor (Symptoms [7 items], 5-point Likert 0–4; Emotions & Behaviors [10 items], 5-point Likert 0–4); total range 0–68; 3 supplementary impairment items (not in total) define case status ≥7; Turkish adaptation Sakarya & Çakmak (2022) • A/ASP: 60 items across 5 modalities (taste/smell, visual, auditory, tactile, vestibular); 4 pattern subscales (Low Registration, Sensation Seeking, Sensory Sensitivity, Sensory Avoiding), each 15–75; 5-point Likert; norm-referenced by age group; pattern scores analyzed as continuous variables • DES: 28 items; percentage ratings 0–100 per item; total = mean of item scores; Turkish adaptation Yargıç, Karancı & Tutkun; Cronbach's α=0.93 for Turkish version; used as continuous variable (no cut-off applied) • DASS-21: 21 items, 3 subscales of 7 items each; 4-point Likert; Turkish adaptation Yılmaz et al. (2017); subscales analyzed as continuous variables |
| Procedures | • Data collected via Google Forms; automated prescreening applied exclusion criteria • All items set as required; no item-level missing data; simple page/branch logic to minimize skipping • Two reminders issued at 2-week intervals • Incomplete questionnaires excluded listwise; no imputation applied • Survey administered in pre-specified order; participation voluntary and anonymous |
| Results | Group differences • Misophonia group scored higher than controls on both MisQuest Symptom and Emotions/Behaviors subscales • Misophonia group scored higher on Low Registration, Sensory Avoiding, and Sensory Sensitivity; no group difference in Sensation Seeking • Misophonia group showed greater dissociative experiences (DES) • Misophonia group scored higher on depression, anxiety, and stress Correlations with MisQuest-Total • Misophonia severity positively associated with Low Registration, Sensory Sensitivity, Sensory Avoiding, DES, depression, anxiety, and stress • Sensory Sensitivity showed the strongest association with misophonia severity • Dissociation showed a moderate positive association with misophonia severity Hierarchical regression • Model 1 (sensory predictors only, R²=.542): Sensation Seeking, Sensory Sensitivity, and Sensory Avoiding significantly predicted misophonia scores; Low Registration was not a significant predictor • Model 2 (sensory predictors + covariates, R²=.567): sensory predictors remained significant; none of the added variables (age, gender, education, psychiatric history, depression, anxiety, stress) were significant |
| Discussion/Limits | Conclusion- • Misophonia is characterized by heightened multisensory reactivity, consistent with prior evidence that severe misophonia involves hypersensitivity across auditory and non-auditory modalities • Sensory sensitivity and avoidance patterns align with prior literature; multisensory hyperreactivity is a core feature rather than a byproduct of environmental disturbance • Sensation Seeking as a significant predictor likely reflects compensatory sensory regulation — coexistence of sensitivity to unpredictable social sounds with active seeking of stable, controllable stimulation • Within this dataset, misophonia symptoms are determined by sensory processing styles rather than demographic or broad psychological factors • Moderate positive correlation between misophonia and dissociation is consistent with limited prior literature; heightened stress and interoceptive/threat reactivity under expectation of unpredictable triggers may render dissociative responses part of the phenotype • Features common in dissociation — attentional splitting, excessive focus on internal experiences, and impaired perceptual filtering — may further exacerbate misophonic reactions • Psychological symptoms correlate moderately with misophonia; stress showed the strongest association, suggesting links to daily life stressors and emotion regulation difficulties |
| Limitations:: | • Cross-sectional design; causal inference not possible • Small convenience sample skewed toward university graduates and female participants in Turkey; limited generalizability to clinical, older, or cross-cultural populations • All data self-reported; possible response biases (social desirability, recall); mitigated via validated measures, anonymity, required items, attention checks, and predefined exclusion rules, but residual bias may remain • DES assessed at global level only, not by subdimensions (depersonalization, derealization) • MisQuest ≥7 cut-off not universally standardized; possible misclassification • No laboratory-based sensory or auditory physiological measures; limits mechanistic inference • DES and DASS-21 are screening instruments, not diagnostic tools • Multiple exploratory associations; residual confounding and elevated type I error risk remain possible |
| Future Directions:: | • Larger, probability-based or stratified samples • Longitudinal and cross-cultural designs • Structured diagnostic assessments to evaluate external validity and stability of effect sizes |
| Relevance:: | • a cross sectional online study looking at Misophonia comorbidities and general sensory processing stuff. • results suggest that Misophonia is characterized by heightened sensory sensitivity and avoidance, with moderate links to dissociation, leading the authors to propose routine assessment of these sensory and psychiatric domains. |
Notes
key terms and concepts
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Misophonia – a condition causing intense negative emotional reactions (anger, disgust, anxiety) to specific everyday sounds (e.g., chewing, breathing, pen clicking); not yet officially recognized by DSM or ICD.
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Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) – a condition characterized by difficulties in perceiving, modulating, and interpreting sensory stimuli, producing hyper- or hypo-sensitivity across modalities and negatively affecting daily functioning.
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Dissociation – a temporary disruption or alteration in the connection between internal experience and the outside world; includes depersonalization (detachment from oneself) and derealization (detachment from the external environment).
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A/ASP (Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile) – a 60-item self-report assessing sensory processing across 4 patterns: Sensory Sensitivity, Sensory Avoiding, Low Registration, and Sensation Seeking.
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MisQuest – Misophonia Questionnaire (Wu et al., 2014); 17-item, 2-factor instrument (Symptoms; Emotions and Behaviors); total range 0–68; 3 supplementary impairment items (not scored in total) classify clinically significant misophonia at ≥7.
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DES (Dissociative Experiences Scale) – 28-item self-report assessing frequency of dissociative phenomena (depersonalization, derealization, time/reality distortions); each item rated as percentage 0–100; total = mean of item scores.
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DASS-21 – Depression Anxiety Stress Scales–Short Form; 21-item, 3-subscale (Depression, Anxiety, Stress) self-report assessing symptoms over the past week; 4-point Likert.
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- Authors disclose limited use of ChatGPT-4o (OpenAI) for language polishing and style only; not used for data collection, analysis, interpretation, figure/table generation, or references; all content reviewed and verified by authors
contextual statement
In a 2026 cross-sectional study, Koç Apaydın and colleagues compared 35 Turkish adults with misophonia (MisQuest ≥7) to 51 healthy controls on sensory processing (A/ASP), dissociative experiences (DES), and affective symptoms (DASS-21) via an anonymous online survey.