Misophonia is often described as a strong emotional reaction to specific everyday sounds, such as chewing, breathing, or repetitive noises. While many people recognise how misophonia affects daily life, fewer feel able to talk about its impact on close relationships and intimacy. A recent research study helps bring this hidden aspect into the open.
In 2025, a research team led by Oleg Banyra explored how misophonia affects the quality of intimate and sexual relationships, not only for the person with misophonia but also for their partner.
Misophonia affects more than the person experiencing it
The study looked at adults with misophonia and their partners, comparing them with couples who did not experience misophonia. The researchers found that misophonia can significantly affect relationship closeness, intimacy, and sexual wellbeing.
Importantly, these effects were seen in both women and men with misophonia, and also in their partners. This highlights that misophonia is not an isolated condition. It can shape shared spaces, routines, emotional safety, and physical closeness within a relationship.
Why intimacy can become difficult
For many people with misophonia, certain sounds trigger strong emotional reactions such as anger, anxiety, disgust, or panic. When these sounds occur in close or quiet moments, including during intimacy, the nervous system may shift into a state of threat rather than connection.
Over time, this can lead to:
The study also found that when misophonia occurred alongside other mental health difficulties, the impact on intimacy and relationship wellbeing was even greater.
Partners are affected too
An important finding from this research is that partners of people with misophonia also showed reduced relationship and sexual wellbeing. This reflects the emotional strain of navigating triggers, adjusting behaviour, and sometimes feeling rejected or misunderstood.
These findings underline that misophonia is a shared challenge within close relationships, even though only one person experiences the sound sensitivity directly.
What this means for people with misophonia
This research helps validate experiences that many people find difficult to talk about. It shows that challenges with intimacy or relationships are a recognised and understandable consequence of misophonia, not a personal failure or lack of care for a partner.
It also reinforces several key points:
Implications for care and support
Although this study focused on understanding impact rather than testing treatments, it supports approaches that:
At Hashir Tinnitus Clinic, we recognise that misophonia can affect many areas of life, including relationships and intimacy. Support is tailored to the individual and, when helpful, can include guidance around communication, boundaries, and gradual retraining of sound responses.
Learn more
If you would like to read the original research paper, it is available here:
Banyra, O., Jourkiv, O., Didkovskiy, V., Nikitin, O., Antoniuk, M., Kornienko, O., & Ventskikvska, I. (2025). Misophonia and the quality of sexual life in couples. Journal of Hearing Science.
https://doi.org/10.17430/jhs/214371
If misophonia is affecting your relationships or sense of closeness, you are not alone. We are always happy to explore how this applies to your situation and discuss supportive treatment options during an appointment.
