Meaning & use
misophonia
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
A condition in which certain ordinary sounds, such as chewing or tapping, cause strong feelings of anger or disgust.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'she has misophonia', not 'a misophonia'.
Patterns
- have misophonia
- misophonia to something
- suffer from misophonia
People with misophonia may feel intense irritation when they hear someone chewing.
Her misophonia to pen-clicking makes it hard for her to sit in meetings.
Researchers are still trying to understand what causes misophonia.
Common combinations
- suffer from misophonia
- Many people who suffer from misophonia avoid eating in public.
- misophonia to chewing
- His misophonia to chewing is so severe that he leaves the room at meals.
- diagnosed with misophonia
- She was diagnosed with misophonia after years of unexplained anger at sounds.
- trigger misophonia
- Even a quiet sniff can trigger misophonia in some people.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sound sensitivity
- A broader, non-medical term for being easily bothered by sounds; misophonia is more specific and involves strong emotional reactions.
Word family
- misophonic adjective
- Describing a reaction or person related to misophonia.
Commonly confused: misophonia or hyperacusis?
misophonia vs hyperacusis
Hyperacusis is when ordinary sounds seem painfully loud; misophonia is about emotional reaction to specific sounds, not volume.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'misophonia' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Suffers from misophonia' is the correct pattern because misophonia is an uncountable condition. Option An is wrong because 'misophonia' is uncountable, so 'a misophonia' is incorrect. Option C is wrong because misophonia is not hearing loss, and option D is wrong because it is not caused by a virus.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “misophonia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.