Misphonia and Sound Sensitivity: Coping Strategies and Treatments

Have you ever been quietly working on a task when the sudden sound of drilling from the street makes you want to tear your hair out? You might have misphonia, “condition in which one or more common sounds cause an atypical emotional response (such as disgust, distress, panic, or anger) in the affected person hearing the sound”. We all get annoyed by sounds sometimes, but when you have misphonia this is next level.

Misphonia can be deeply distressing, and at present there’s not a lot of research to help us know what treatments work or who will get benefit from what treatment, but some of these things may be helpful for you. Have a look and see if you’d like to try any:

Barriers to sound:

Earplugs:
Silicone earplugs are more comfortable, wax block out more sound. These range in price from ten cents to €1.
You can have earplugs in and still hear things and interact with people, it’s just quieter so you don’t get overwhelmed.
If you find regular earplugs helpful and would be interested in having more control over what you can hear and can’t hear, nowadays earplugs that target certain frequencies are available. There are many brands that offer these.

Noise cancelling headphones

Pink noise:
This is a static sound that blocks out other noises. White, Brown, Pink noise exist. You can find these on Youtube or similar and play one you prefer when you don’t want to be disturbed by random noises. Here’s a white noise video recorded at Ireland’s own Torc Waterfall.

Attention training:

In many neurodiverent people, the brain processes which direct attention away from unimportant stimuli don’t work in the same way (Alexander & Farrelly, 2017) (this can look like hypervigilance from trauma, and of course someone can have both). This means that it can become very difficult, if not impossible, to ignore noises.

Some people find that attention training can help. This is when you direct your attention to something relatively simple, like a candle, your breath, or the feeling of your feet on the ground when you walk. Every time you notice that your attention has shifted you bring it back. It doesn’t matter how many times you lose your attention or how long it takes to bring it back, every time you notice your attention has shifted and you bring it back, that strengthens your ability to direct attention. In fact, the more your mind wanders, the more opportunities you’ll get to notice it has wandered and bring it back!

The hope is that strengthening control over attention will strengthen you ability to divert your attention away from the unpleasant sound.

Reframing:

If we get annoyed by a sound it’s harder to ignore it. This can be a vicious cycle. Some people find that putting a different interpretation on the sounds makes them less annoying and easier to ignore.

Example:
Richard is from the countryside but now lives in the city. The sounds of traffic and building work and sirens constantly upset him. Richard finds himself having thoughts like “The modern world is poison! We pollute everything, even the air is polluted by these soundwaves!” and “Why does no one care about how noisy this is for me!”
Richard reframes these by thinking about how all these sounds are part and parcel of city life. He remembers why he moved to the city and what he likes about it. Now when he hears them he remembers what he decided, that “these are the sounds of the city, always moving and changing.” and “that person would make that quieter if it was possible, it just isn’t”

Stimulus Manipulation:

With certain sounds it’s possible to reassociate them with a more neutral or sound. E.g. you can tell yourself the sound of the motorway is actually a waterfall or the ocean. The sound of someone eating crisps is actually the crunch of footsteps on snow. (Rappoldt et al., 2023)

Counter-conditioning:

If there is a specific sound we often have to deal with that is unpleasant but not painful, we can teach our nervous system to associate it with something nice.
Example:
Bernice loves baths, and she loves her husband. What she doesn’t love is the sound of him snoring. She records this one night and then plays it with the volume low while she has baths. She comes to associate it with being warm and comfortable. When it stops being annoying she turns the volume up a bit and gradually the real life sound is less and less annoying.

(Examples are completely invented)

References:

Alexander, L. and Farrelly, N. (2017) ‘Attending to adult ADHD: A review of the neurobiology behind adult ADHD’, Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 35(3), pp. 237–244. doi:10.1017/ipm.2017.78.

Dozier, T.H. (2015) ‘Counterconditioning treatment for Misophonia’, Clinical Case Studies, 14(5), pp. 374–387. doi:10.1177/1534650114566924.

Rappoldt, L.R. et al. (2023) ‘Effectiveness of an innovative treatment protocol for Misophonia in children and adolescents: Design of a randomized controlled trial’, Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 33, p. 101105. doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2023.101105.

Misophonia definition & meaning (no date) Merriam-Webster. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misophonia (Accessed: 20 January 2026).

Quick Reference: Misphonia & Sound Sensitivity

Strategy	Technique	How it Helps
Physical Barriers	Earplugs (Silicone/Frequency-targeted) or Noise Cancelling Headphones.	Reduces the raw volume and intensity of trigger sounds.
Auditory Masking	Using Pink, White, or Brown noise (e.g., Torc Waterfall).	Blocks out random environmental stimuli with a steady static sound.
Attention Training	Directing focus to a neutral object (breath, feet on ground).	Strengthens the neurological “muscle” to divert attention from triggers.
Reframing	Changing the internal narrative or “meaning” of the sound.	Interrupts the emotional cycle of anger or distress.
Counter-conditioning	Associating a trigger sound with a pleasant experience.	Gradually desensitizes the nervous system to specific noises.

Understanding the Sensory Process

In many neurodivergent individuals, the brain’s ability to filter out “unimportant” stimuli is functionally different. This can lead to hypervigilance and an atypical emotional response to common sounds. While research into misphonia is ongoing, a combination of physical protection and cognitive training often provides significant relief.

Rebecca Bourke