Introduction: Misophonia is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterised
by abnormally extreme reactions to certain sensory stimuli. In this
paper, we aimed to investigate the effect of the individual producing the
human-generated trigger sound on the level of discomfort reported to
the trigger sound. Our hypothesis was that when the misophonic sound
is presented with the information that it is produced by a relative, it will
create more subjective discomfort than the sound presented with the
information that is not produced by a relative.
Methods: This experimental study was conducted with 15 participants
aged 18–65 years living in Antalya who volunteered to participate in the
study.
Results: In the first comparison, participants reported more subjective
discomfort when the voice from the sound bank was presented with the
information that it was produced by the relative than when the relative’s
voice was presented with the information that it was not produced by
the relative (p<0.001). In the second comparison, participants reported
more subjective discomfort when the voice of the relative was presented
with the information that it was produced by the relative than when the
voice of the relative was presented with the information that it was not
produced by the relative (p=0.001). In the final comparison, there was no
significant difference in subjective discomfort between presenting the
voice of the voice bank with the information that it was produced by the
relative and presenting the voice of the relative with the information that
it was produced by the relative (p=0.783).
Conclusion: In conclusion, it seems source of the trigger, especially for
human-made sounds, is more important than the trigger sound itself.
Keywords: Misophonia, source, subjective disturbance