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a 2021 study on the role of attention and imagery in Misophonia lead the authors to prose a trait- based cognitive model of misophonia.

Core Premise: Misophonia is not triggered by qualitatively different sounds but by common sounds (e.g., chewing, tapping) that most people find at least slightly unpleasant. However, Misophonics experience these sounds with extreme aversion due to underlying cognitive traits

Key Components of the Model:

• Heightened Attention to Detail:

  • Misophonics exhibit a stronger focus on fine-grained sensory features.

  • This attentional style may lead to over-attending to sounds that others can ignore.

• Cognitive Inflexibility:

  • Difficulty shifting cognitive focus or adapting to environmental changes.

  • Associated with traits like perfectionism, which may intensify negative evaluations of sound.

• Vivid Auditory Imagery:

  • Greater capacity to mentally simulate sounds may lead to re-experiencing aversive sounds internally, prolonging distress even in the absence of real stimuli.

• Shared Aversive Sound Spectrum:

  • Triggers in misophonia are not unique; they follow the same preference gradient as non-misophonics.

  • The difference lies in magnitude of aversion, not in type of stimulus.

Mechanism: Dispositional traits (attention to detail, inflexibility, vivid imagery) heighten the salience of mildly aversive stimuli → leads to greater emotional and behavioral reactivity → results in the clinical profile of misophonia.

Model Implications:

• Misophonia is best conceptualized as an intensified expression of common sensitivities, mediated by cognitive style.
• These cognitive traits may serve as vulnerability factors for the development or exacerbation of misophonia.