PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON THE MISOPHONIC SYNDROME IN ITALY: TRIGGER SOUNDS AND FREQUENCY

The following research project aims at increasing knowledge and understanding of the misophonic disorder as well as detecting the most frequently occurring trigger sounds through the examination of a sample of university students. This first fundamental step allows to outline the scope of intervention for a subsequent identification of the most effective psycho-pedagogical protocols. The survey was conducted on a sample of 992 students from the University of Salerno, who were asked to take the Duke Misophonia Questionnaire. In order to identify the main trigger stimuli present, an examination was made of the first item, which features a list of sounds that can potentially spark context-inappropriate reactions. Additional answers provided by participants in the “Other” section of the same item were also investigated, with the purpose of identifying additional recurring trigger sounds that were not included in the proposed list. The study found that at least one trigger sound could be observed in over half of the sample. Furthermore, the main activating stimuli that emerged from the analysis of the collected data related not only to chewing but also to mouth sounds other than chewing, as well as to repetitive and nasal sounds. Such surveys are instrumental for research on misophonia as, building on this preliminary investigation, further in-depth studies could be carried out in order to see which strategies misophonic subjects spontaneously implement to deal with discomfort, find out which of these strategies work and which do not, and finally identify which neuroscience-oriented strategic psychotherapy techniques might be most effective in treating misophonic symptoms. Keywords: misophonia, trigger sounds, strategic psychotherapy, survey research