Body

In there 2025 literature review Savard & Coffey describe three big models of Misophonia. they these models of misophonia are complementary rather than mutually exclusive, each emphasizing different aspects of cognition, neural mechanisms, and etiology, while none alone accounts for the full range of phenomenological, behavioral, and cognitive findings. (Jastreboff & Jastreboff, 2023) conceptualize misophonia as distinct from hyperacusis, proposing normal auditory processing alongside abnormal conditioned connections between the auditory system and limbic and autonomic networks, shaped by factors such as personal relationships and perceived control. Aryal & Prabhu, 2023 similarly posit intact peripheral and subcortical auditory processing but emphasize hyperactive non-classical pathways and impaired sensory gating that promote maladaptive auditory–emotional associations via conditioning. In contrast, Berger et al., 2024 focus on social cognition and sensorimotor integration, suggesting that heightened auditory–motor coupling and predictive coding mechanisms amplify signals to the insula, amygdala, and autonomic system, producing intense emotional and physiological responses.