Why Certain Sounds Trigger Such Strong Reactions: New Thinking on the Roots of Misophonia

People with misophonia often describe intense emotional and physical reactions to specific sounds such as chewing, breathing, tapping, or repetitive noises. These reactions can feel confusing, overwhelming, and difficult to explain to others. A recent paper offers a thoughtful framework for understanding why misophonia may develop, and why it can feel so deeply personal.

In 2025, psychotherapist Jaelline Jaffe published an article exploring possible root causes of misophonia, based on clinical observations and informal surveys from psychotherapy practice. Rather than presenting firm conclusions, the paper proposes ten important areas that deserve formal scientific study.

Misophonia is more than a sound sensitivity

One key message from this work is that misophonia may not be caused by sound alone. Instead, it may arise from a complex interaction between:

• The brain’s emotional and threat systems
• Individual temperament and personality
• Family patterns and early life experiences
• Biological vulnerability

This aligns with what many people with misophonia report: the reaction feels automatic, intense, and emotionally loaded, rather than simply uncomfortable or loud.

Ten possible contributors to misophonia

The article outlines ten areas that may help explain why misophonia develops in some people but not others. These include:

• Ancient brain responses related to survival and threat detection
• Genetic and family influences, including patterns seen in relatives
• Epigenetics, where life experiences influence how genes are expressed
• Personality traits, such as heightened sensitivity or strong emotional responses
• Trauma or chronic stress, especially during development
• Early life and perinatal factors, which may shape nervous system regulation
• Cognitive and neural development, including how the brain prunes and adapts connections
• Gender expectations and social learning, which may affect emotional expression
• Cultural or belief systems, influencing meaning and interpretation of sounds

Importantly, these are not presented as causes in isolation, but as interacting factors that may increase vulnerability.

Why this matters for people with misophonia

Understanding misophonia in this broader way helps explain several common experiences:

• Why reactions feel immediate and uncontrollable
• Why logic or reassurance rarely reduces the response
• Why misophonia often begins in childhood or adolescence
• Why family members may show similar sensitivities
• Why avoidance alone rarely leads to long-term improvement

This perspective also helps reduce self-blame. Misophonia reactions are not a choice, a personality flaw, or a failure of coping. They reflect how the brain has learned to respond to certain triggers.

What this means for treatment

Although this paper focuses on understanding causes rather than treatments, it supports modern clinical approaches that:

• Address emotional and threat responses linked to sound
• Explore meaning, memory, and learning processes
• Reduce shame and self-criticism
• Gradually retrain the brain’s response to triggers
• Take individual history and context seriously

Effective care usually involves more than sound management alone. It requires working with the brain’s emotional systems in a structured, compassionate way.

A growing field, with more answers to come

Misophonia has only been formally recognised for a relatively short time. This paper reflects a field that is actively developing, asking better questions, and moving toward clearer explanations.

By identifying promising directions for research, it helps lay the groundwork for more effective and targeted treatments in the future.

Learn more

If you would like to read the original paper, it is available here:

Jaffe, J. (2025). The root causes of misophonia: Ten topics for formal study. Journal of Hearing Science.
https://doi.org/10.17430/jhs/214370

At Hashir Tinnitus Clinic, we work with people experiencing misophonia using evidence-based, psychologically informed approaches that respect both the science and the lived experience of sound sensitivity.

If you would like to discuss your symptoms or explore whether treatment may help, we are happy to talk this through during an appointment.