Clinical Research Directory

Using Neurostimulation to Accelerate Change in Misophonia: a Pilot Study

Misophonia, the inability to tolerate certain repetitive distressing sounds that are common, is gaining, recognition as an impairing condition. It is not a well-understood condition and there are no known treatments. The purpose of this study is to test a new misophonia intervention that uses emotion regulation strategies and different types of brain stimulation on misophonic distress. This study will examine changes in brain activity during presentation and regulation of misophonic versus distressing sounds. The study team plans to alter activity in a key area of the brain responsible for emotion regulation circuitry over 4 sessions with the goal to test if this intervention helps misophonic distress. Sixty adult participants with moderate to severe misophonia will be recruited and taught an emotion regulation skill and randomly assigned to receive one of two types of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The study includes 9-10 visits: the remote screening visit(s), the initial MRI, the four neurostimulation sessions, the follow-up MRI, and two additional remote 1- and 3-month follow-up visits.

Prevalence of Misophonia in Turkish High School Students

This cross-sectional study aims to determine the prevalence of misophonia among high school students in Kayseri and Samsun, Turkey. Data will be collected using a sociodemographic data form and the Amsterdam Misophonia Scale-Revised (AMISOS-R). The study will evaluate the frequency and severity of misophonia symptoms and examine their association with demographic variables.

Propranolol for Misophonia

The primary goal of this study is to investigate whether a one-time dose of 20 mg oral propranolol can temporarily reduce the adverse emotional and physical symptoms triggered by misophonia. The secondary goals of this study are: 1. Determine potential predictors of response to propranolol treatment, including demographic factors, baseline symptom severity, psychometric instrument item responses, and physiological characteristics. 2. Evaluate the safety and tolerability of propranolol in individuals with misophonia.

Digital Intervention for Adults With Misophonia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to test an online intervention for adults with misophonia. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is the online intervention effective, compared to a waitlist control condition? 2. Is the online intervention acceptable to use? Participants will be randomized into either the online intervention or waitlist control condition: 1. Participants in the intervention condition will be asked to complete an 8 module acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) program for misophonia and 5 surveys over 4 months. 2. Participants in the waitlist condition will be asked to complete 5 surveys over 4 months, and will receive access to the intervention once the study is complete.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Misophonia

The purpose of the project is to assess the efficacy of parietal transcranial magnetic stimulation in misophonia. N=60 participants will undergo two transcranial magnetic stimulation sessions: one inhibitory and another excitatory. During both sessions, the parietal region will be stimulated. Participants will perform computerized tasks immediately before and after the stimulation, while EEG, heart rate, and skin temperature will be recorded. These recordings will be used to assess if TMS can be used to improve tolerance to misophonia triggers.

Mindfulness Application Effects on Mental Health Symptoms in Children With Severe Tinnitus and Misophonia

Children with "bothersome" tinnitus and misophonia have elevated anxiety and depression symptoms. The mainstay therapy for adults and children with these disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT resources are expensive and scarce for the pediatric population. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has been shown in the adult population to be a proxy for CBT for several mental health disorders. There is sufficient published evidence that IVR is useful in treating adults with anxiety and depression disorders. However, the evidence in children in treating either anxiety and depression symptoms or disorder is scant. Our group views IVR application as a promising medical device to decrease anxiety and depression scores in children with tinnitus and misophonia disorders. This is a randomized placebo control (single-blinded to the study subjects) study in which there will be a 2:1 ratio between the experimental and placebo subjects, receiving either active IVR or placebo exposure. A total of 30 subjects with 20 experimental (10 tinnitus, 10 misophonia subjects) and 10 placebo (5 tinnitus and 5 misophonia subjects) will enroll in this randomized clinical trial. Assessment of change of quality of life, anxiety and depression symptoms will be based on 5 validated instruments. The 5 validated instruments are: Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), Amsterdam Misophonia Scale (A-MIS-S), Pediatric Quality of Life PEDQL), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) and Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ).

Study of Auditory Perception After Progressive Exposure to Aversive Sounds in People With Misophonia

The primary objective of the project is to characterise and measure the auditory perception of subjects with misophonia compared with the auditory perception of control subjects.

The Efficacy of Lavender Herbal Tea in Misophonia

Misophonia is a disorder characterized by a high level of annoyance with certain sounds. Exposure to these sounds causes physical symptoms characterized by anger, aggression, helplessness, overwhelm, and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. These emotional and physical reactions can lead to a decline in family relationships, work and school productivity, withdrawal from social relationships, and even suicide. There is limited empirical evidence evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic approaches to misophonia. This limited empirical evidence consists of pharmacological agents such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, stimulants, antipsychotics, and β-Blockers, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy. Complementary therapies are important because of their potential efficacy, tolerability, possible non-interference, and low cost. The fact that lavender has anxiolytic, antidepressant, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory properties may affect the emotional and physical responses elicited by misophonia. Therefore, within the scope of the study, misophonia individuals will be divided into two groups; one group will use lavender tea for 14 days and the other group will form a waiting list. The study data will be collected by 'Information Collection Form', 'Misophonia Scale', 'Beck Depression Inventory-II', 'Anxiety Rating Scale', and 'Trait Anger Scale'. SPSS 25.0 software will be used to analyze the data obtained from the research. Considering the limitations of therapeutic approaches for misophonia, testing the effectiveness of lavender in reducing misophonia symptoms will make an important contribution to the literature.

Psychological Intervention for Misophonia

The investigators are proposing to test Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)+ traditional audiological behavioral intervention as an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach for the assessment and treatment of misophonia. Participants will be 60 adults with misophonia and will be randomly assigned to receive 12 sessions of ACT+behavioral intervention or receive 12 weeks of progressive relaxation training+psychoeducation (PRT; a commonly used active control condition) after undergoing a comprehensive psychological and audiological evaluation.