Abstract
Misophonia was initially described in 2001 as a specific sensitivity to certain sounds (e.g., chewing, pen clicking). Despite greater recognition of misophonia over the last two decades, the extent of awareness of misophonia in the general public is unknown. Extensive research emphasizes the importance of public awareness in recognition and treatment of mental disorders and medical conditions. Awareness of misophonia is important for the continued advancement of misophonia research and identification of individuals with misophonia. As an important first step, this study investigated the general public’s understanding of misophonia. Data were collected through Ipsos KnowledgePanel, which maintains a large, probability-based web panel designed to be representative of the United States. Panel members were invited to complete a brief survey, and the final sample was comprised of 4,005 participants (51.5% female). A small portion of individuals (11.3%, n = 451) recognized misophonia. A multivariate binary logistic regression model revealed that individuals who were female, younger, White/non-Hispanic, had a Bachelor’s degree or higher, or reported an annual income between $75,000 - $99,000 were significantly more likely to endorse misophonia recognition. Most participants who were familiar with misophonia reported an accurate understanding about misophonia; yet, low level of knowledge. The internet was most commonly identified as the primary information source. Findings highlight the low level of misophonia awareness among laypersons and emphasize the need to increase public knowledge of misophonia.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Data and materials from this study will be made available upon reasonable request.
References
Abotsie, G., Kingerlee, R., Fisk, A., Watts, S., Cooke, R., Woodley, L., Collins, D., & Teague, B. (2020). The men’s wellbeing project: promoting the well-being and mental health of men. Journal of Public Mental Health, 19(2), 179–189. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-03-2020-0014
Akinsulore, A., Esimai, O. A., Mapayi, B. M., & Aloba, O. O. (2018). Public awareness and attitude towards Depression: A Community Based Study among an Adult Population in Ile-Ife South-Western Nigeria. Community Mental Health Journal, 54(6), 866–874. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-017-0222-8
Angermeyer, M. C., & Dietrich, S. (2006). Public beliefs about and attitudes towards people with mental illness: a review of population studies. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 113(3), 163–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00699.x
Barrow, K. (2015). 03/03/2015). Snip, snap, slurp: Noises we abhor. The New York Times.
Bonabi, H., Müller, M., Ajdacic-Gross, V., Eisele, J., Rodgers, S., Seifritz, E., Rössler, W., & Rüsch, N. (2016). Mental health literacy, attitudes to help seeking, and perceived need as predictors of mental health service use: a longitudinal study. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 204(4), 321–324. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000488
Briones-Vozmediano, E. (2017). The social construction of fibromyalgia as a health problem from the perspective of policies, professionals, and patients. Global Health Action, 10(1), 1275191.
Buizza, C., Ghilardi, A., & Ferrari, C. (2017). Beliefs and prejudices versus knowledge and awareness: how to cope stigma against mental illness a college staff e-survey. Community Mental Health Journal, 53(5), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-017-0116-9
Chen, X., Hay, J. L., Waters, E. A., Kiviniemi, M. T., Biddle, C., Schofield, E., Li, Y., Kaphingst, K., & Orom, H. (2018). Health literacy and use and trust in Health Information. Journal of Health Communication, 23(8), 724–734. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2018.1511658
Chen, X., Orom, H., Hay, J. L., Waters, E. A., Schofield, E., Li, Y., & Kiviniemi, M. T. (2019). Differences in rural and urban health information access and use. The Journal of Rural Health, 35(3), 405–417.
Coles, M. E., Heimberg, R. G., & Weiss, B. D. (2013). The public’s knowledge and beliefs about obsessive compulsive disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 30(8), 778–785. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22080
Devendorf, A., Bender, A., & Rottenberg, J. (2020). Depression presentations, stigma, and mental health literacy: a critical review and YouTube content analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101843
Dillenburger, K., Jordan, J. A., McKerr, L., Devine, P., & Keenan, M. (2013). Awareness and knowledge of autism and autism interventions: a general population survey. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7(12), 1558–1567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2013.09.004
Dixon, L. J., Schadegg, M. J., Clark, H. L., Sevier, C. J., & Witcraft, S. M. (2022). Prevalence, phenomenology, and impact of misophonia in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. Manuscript under review.
Dumesnil, H., & Verger, P. (2009). Public awareness campaigns about depression and suicide: a review. Psychiatric Services, 60(9), 1203–1213. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2009.60.9.1203
Entwistle, V. A., Renfrew, M. J., Yearley, S., Forrester, J., & Lamont, T. (1998). Lay perspectives: advantages for health research. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed), 316(7129), 463–466. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.316.7129.463
Evans-Lacko, S., Henderson, C., & Thornicroft, G. (2013). Public knowledge, attitudes and behaviour regarding people with mental illness in England 2009–2012. British Journal of Psychiatry Supplement, 55, s51–57. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.112.112979
Foster, S. D., Elischberger, H. B., & Hill, E. D. (2018). Examining the link between socioeconomic status and mental illness prejudice: the roles of knowledge about mental illness and empathy. Stigma and Health, 3(2), 139–151. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000084
Fulton, A. (March 18, 2019). Morning Edition In Misophonia: When life’s noises drive you mad.
Furnham, A., & Anthony, E. (2010). Lay theories of bipolar disorder: the causes, manifestations and cures for perceived bipolar disorder. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 56(3), 255–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764008095173
Furnham, A., & Hughes, D. J. (2014). Myths and misconceptions in popular psychology: comparing psychology students and the general public. Teaching of Psychology, 41(3), 256–261.
Gabriel, A., & Violato, C. (2010). Depression literacy among patients and the public: a literature review. Primary Psychiatry, 17(1), 55–64. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true &db=psyh&AN=2010-03603-004&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Hansson, L., Stjernsward, S., & Svensson, B. (2016). Changes in attitudes, intended behaviour, and mental health literacy in the swedish population 2009–2014: an evaluation of a national antistigma programme. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 134(Suppl 446), 71–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12609
Heger, I., Deckers, K., van Boxtel, M., de Vugt, M., Hajema, K., Verhey, F., & Köhler, S. (2019). Dementia awareness and risk perception in middle-aged and older individuals: baseline results of the MijnBreincoach survey on the association between lifestyle and brain health. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 678. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7010-z
Henderson, C., Corker, E., Lewis-Holmes, E., Hamilton, S., Flach, C., Rose, D., Williams, P., Pinfold, V., & Thornicroft, G. (2012). England’s time to change antistigma campaign: one-year outcomes of service user-rated experiences of discrimination. Psychiatric Services, 63(5), 451–457. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100422
Henderson, C., Robinson, E., Evans-Lacko, S., & Thornicroft, G. (2017). Relationships between anti-stigma programme awareness, disclosure comfort and intended help-seeking regarding a mental health problem. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 211(5), 316–322.
Hesse, B. W., Nelson, D. E., Kreps, G. L., Croyle, R. T., Arora, N. K., Rimer, B. K., & Viswanath, K. (2005). Trust and sources of Health Information: the impact of the internet and its implications for Health Care Providers: findings from the First Health Information National Trends Survey. Archives of Internal Medicine, 165(22), 2618–2624. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.165.22.2618
Huang, D., Yang, L. H., & Pescosolido, B. A. (2019). Understanding the public’s profile of mental health literacy in China: A nationwide study. BMC Psychiatry, 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1980-8
Ipsos Public Affairs. (n.d.). KnowledgePanel: A methodological overview. https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/solutions/public-affairs/knowledgepanel
Jackson, D. M. A., Wills, R., Davies, J., Meadows, K., Singh, B. M., & Wise, P. H. (1991). Public awareness of the symptoms of diabetes Mellitus. Diabetic Medicine, 8(10), 971–972. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-5491.1991.tb01540.x
Jager, I., de Koning, P., Bost, T., Denys, D., & Vulink, N. (2020). Misophonia: Phenomenology, comorbidity and demographics in a large sample. PloS One, 15(4), e0231390. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231390
Jastreboff, M. M., & Jastreboff, P. J. (2001). Components of decreased sound tolerance: hyperacusis, misophonia, phonophobia. ITHS News Lett, 2, 5–7.
Jorm, A. F. (2012). Mental health literacy: empowering the community to take action for better mental health. American Psychologist, 67(3), 231–243. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025957
Jorm, A. F., Christensen, H., & Griffiths, K. M. (2006). The public’s ability to recognize mental disorders and their beliefs about treatment: changes in Australia over 8 years. Australian And New Zealand Journal Of Psychiatry, 40(1), 36–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01738.x
Kantor, V., Knefel, M., & Lueger-Schuster, B. (2017). Perceived barriers and facilitators of mental health service utilization in adult trauma survivors: a systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 52, 52–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.12.001
Kılıç, C., Öz, G., Avanoğlu, K. B., & Aksoy, S. (2021). The prevalence and characteristics of misophonia in Ankara, Turkey: population-based study. BJPsych Open, 7(5), https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2021.978. e144, Article e144.
Lavingia, R., Jones, K., & Asghar-Ali, A. A. (2020). A systematic review of barriers faced by older adults in seeking and accessing mental health care. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 26(5), 367–382. https://doi.org/10.1097/PRA.0000000000000491
Matsubayashi, T., Ueda, M., & Sawada, Y. (2014). The effect of public awareness campaigns on suicides: evidence from Nagoya, Japan. Journal of Affective Disorders, 152, 526–529.
Newcastle University (2017). Misophonia and the science of horrible soundshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoD1-2AFje8&t=32s
Pérez-Flores, N. J., & Cabassa, L. J. (2021). Effectiveness of mental health literacy and stigma interventions for Latino/a adults in the United States: a systematic review. Stigma and Health, 6(4), 430–439. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000343
Picco, L., Abdin, E., Pang, S., Vaingankar, J. A., Jeyagurunathan, A., Chong, S. A., & Subramaniam, M. (2018). Association between recognition and help-seeking preferences and stigma towards people with mental illness. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 27(1), 84–93. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796016000998
Porcaro, C. K., Alavi, E., Gollery, T., & Danesh, A. A. (2019). Misophonia: awareness and responsiveness among academics. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 32(2), 107–118.
Robinson, E. J., & Henderson, C. (2019). Public knowledge, attitudes, social distance and reporting contact with people with mental illness 2009–2017. Psychological Medicine, 49(16), 2717–2726. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291718003677
Shah, K., Kamrai, D., Mekala, H., Mann, B., Desai, K., & Patel, R. S. (2020). Focus on mental health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: applying learnings from the past outbreaks.Cureus, 12(3).
Singh, S., Zaki, R. A., & Farid, N. D. N. (2019). A systematic review of depression literacy: knowledge, help-seeking and stigmatising attitudes among adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 74, 154–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.06.004
Stewart, E., Grunthal, B., Collins, L., & Coles, M. (2019). Public recognition and perceptions of obsessive compulsive disorder. Community Mental Health Journal, 55(1), 74–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-018-0323-z
Suarez-Lledo, V., & Alvarez-Galvez, J. (2021). Prevalence of health misinformation on social media: systematic review.Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(1), e17187.
Swedo, S. E., Baguley, D. M., Denys, D., Dixon, L. J., Erfanian, M., Fioretti, A., Jastreboff, P. J., Kumar, S., Rosenthal, M. Z., Rouw, R., Schiller, D., Simner, J., Storch, E. A., Taylor, S., Werff, K. R. V., Altimus, C. M., & Raver, S. M. (2022). Consensus Definition of Misophonia: A Delphi Study. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.841816
Thornicroft, G. (2008). Stigma and discrimination limit access to mental health care. Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 17(1), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1121189X00002621
Tonsing, K. N. (2018). A review of mental health literacy in Singapore. Social Work in Health Care, 57(1), 27–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2017.1383335
Van Asbroeck, S., van Boxtel, M. P., Steyaert, J., Köhler, S., Heger, I., de Vugt, M., Verhey, F., & Deckers, K. (2021). Increasing knowledge on dementia risk reduction in the general population: Results of a public awareness campaign. Preventive Medicine, 147, 106522.
Verne, G. N. (2004). The public awareness of the prevalence and impact of irritable bowel syndrome in the United States: perception versus reality. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, 38(5), 419–424.
Von Wagner, C., Steptoe, A., Wolf, M. S., & Wardle, J. (2009). Health literacy and health actions: a review and a framework from health psychology. Health Education and Behavior, 36(5), 860–877.
Wu, M. S., Lewin, A. B., Murphy, T. K., & Storch, E. A. (2014). Misophonia: incidence, phenomenology, and clinical correlates in an undergraduate student sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 70(10), 994–1007. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22098
Wu, Q., Luo, X., Chen, S., Qi, C., Long, J., Xiong, Y., Liao, Y., & Liu, T. (2017). Mental health literacy survey of non-mental health professionals in six general hospitals in Hunan Province of China. PloS One, 12(7), e0180327. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180327
Yu, L., Stronach, S., & Harrison, A. J. (2020). Public knowledge and stigma of autism spectrum disorder: comparing China with the United States. Autism, 24(6), 1531–1545.
Zhou, L., Zhang, D., Yang, C. C., & Wang, Y. (2018). Harnessing social media for health information management. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 27, 139–151.
Zhou, X., Wu, M. S., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Misophonia symptoms among chinese university students: incidence, associated impairment, and clinical correlates. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 14, 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2017.05.001
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
LJD: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation; Writing – Original Draft; Writing – Reviewing & Editing, Project Administration, Funding Acquisition, Supervision. MJS: Conceptualization; Writing – Original Draft; Writing – Reviewing & Editing. HLC: Conceptualization; Methodology; Writing – Reviewing & Editing. MMP: Writing – Original Draft; Writing – Reviewing & Editing. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Financial support
This work was supported by a grant awarded to the first author (LJD) from the Misophonia Research Fund.
Conflict of interest
None.
Ethical Standards
The authors assert that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The University of Mississippi’s institutional review board approved this study.
Consent to participate
Consent was implicit in the completion and return of the survey.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Dixon, L.J., Schadegg, M.J., Clark, H.L. et al. Public awareness of Misophonia in U.S. adults: a Population-based study. Curr Psychol 42, 32417–32426 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04180-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04180-x