State of the Field

Research and scientific understanding of misophonia is limited as significant funding to date has been lacking. There are no objective measures to determine if a person experiences misophonia and no scientifically vetted therapeutic strategies once a diagnosis is made. Beyond the scientific questions, many clinicians and researchers are not aware of misophonia and therefore unable to help patients. Additionally, clinicians who do advise patients suffering from misophonia report not being able to bill insurers. Misophonia does not have a reimbursement code for Medicaid and Medicare, and it is not recognized in the most recent primary psychiatric diagnostic manual, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Overall, these gaps leave misophonia patients unable to navigate information, find clinicians, or identify potential therapeutic strategies.

This need in the field inspired the launch of the Misophonia Research Fund. MRF will support pilot studies needed to develop an evidence base that will attract additional research dollars from major public grant programs. MRF will accelerate progress by promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and principles of open science. These principles are extremely important for a young field like misophonia, which has been fragmented among medical specialties.

To learn about recent developments in misophonia, check out a new collection of misophonia research in Frontiers in Neuroscience, “Advances in Understanding the Nature and Features of Misophonia” which includes a consensus definition of the disorder.  

Learn more about the state of misophonia research and how philanthropic funding can help here.