Properties (12)
Year 2025
Abstract Objective This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and symptom severity of misophonia among individuals with migraine, and to explore its clinical and psychological correlates. Background Misophonia is a neurobehavioral condition characterized by intense emotional and physiological reactions to specific everyday sounds, such as chewing or tapping. Although misophonia has been associated with increased sensory sensitivity and psychiatric comorbidities, its relationship with other sensory processing disorders-particularly migraine-remains underexplored. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 205 migraine patients and 205 healthy controls completed validated scales assessing misophonia symptoms, psychiatric comorbidities, and migraine-related disability. Statistical comparisons and univariate linear regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of misophonia. Results Our findings revealed a significantly higher prevalence of misophonia among individuals with migraine compared to healthy controls (44.9% vs. 17.6%). Misophonia symptoms were not only more common but also more severe in the migraine group. Migraine patients with comorbid misophonia scored significantly higher on the Headache Impact Test-6 and all components of the Migraine Disability Assessment Scale compared to those without misophonia. Sensory sensitivities such as photophobia, phonophobia, osmophobia, and allodynia were also more frequent and intense among migraine patients with misophonia. Furthermore, these patients exhibited significantly higher levels of anxiety, stress, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Regression analyses revealed that stress, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, allodynia, and migraine-related disability were significant predictors of misophonia scores. Conclusion Misophonia is a common and clinically significant comorbidity in migraine, associated with heightened sensory sensitivities, increased psychiatric burden, and greater functional impairment. The co-occurrence of these conditions may be underpinned by shared neurobiological mechanisms, particularly networks mediating sensory-emotional integration. Further longitudinal and neurobiological research is warranted to clarify causal relationships and inform targeted interventions.
Cssclasses
- purpleRed
Aliases
- Assessing misophonia as a potential comorbidity in migraine patients compared to controls
- (Sahin et al., 2025)
Key Terms
- aggression
- Allodynia
- DASS-21
- HIT-6
- MIDAS
- Migraine
- Misophonia
- MQ
- Osmophobia
- Phonophobia
- Photophobia
- Y-BOCS-SR
Import Date 08-21-2025
Dv Future Directions • Longitudinal studies to assess causal relationships. • Neurobiological investigations of shared pathways. • Clinical screening for misophonia in migraine patients to inform management.
Dv Relevance • gives an interesting idea of looking at occurrences of Misophonia with migraines, something I had not heard of until this point • framed findings as Misophonia being a comorbidity for migraines, linking it to shared neurobiological systems • a great sources for an overview of migraine research, and comorbidities should that ever become something I care about.
Dv Status #status/reviewed
Dv Limitations • Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences. • Misophonia diagnosis based solely on self-report. • Possible selection bias from hospital-based recruitment.
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Assessing misophonia as a potential comorbidity in migraine patients compared to controls: a cross-sectional study
Status:: #status/reviewed
Metadata
- Item Type: #journalArticle
- Authors: Aysenur Sahin, Seda Cakir, Elif Ilgaz Aydinlar, Mustafa Ertas, Pınar Yalınay Dikmen,
- Date Added: August 20, 2025
- URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1545520/full
- DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1545520
- Cite Key: sahinAssessingMisophoniaPotential2025
- Tags: #Misophonia, #migraine, #comorbidity, #misophonia-assessment, #migraine-disability
- PDF Attachments
Abstract
| Background/Purpose | Background- • Misophonia and migraine share abnormal sensory processing, psychiatric comorbidities, and potential neurobiological overlap (e.g., limbic, salience networks). • Prior research has not systematically investigated misophonia's prevalence or clinical impact in migraine patients. Purpose- • Determine the prevalence and severity of misophonia in migraine patients compared to controls. • Examine clinical, sensory, and psychiatric correlates of misophonia in this population. |
| Participants/samples | • N = 410 total participants: 205 migraine patients (MG), 205 healthy controls (CG). • Age 18–65, literate, cognitively intact. • MG: Diagnosed with episodic or chronic migraine (ICHD-3). • CG: No history of migraine/headache disorder. • Exclusion: Major psychiatric, neurological, or systemic illness; substance use; psychotropic meds. |
| Measures | • Sociodemographic Data Form: Collects demographic and lifestyle information, including age, gender, education, smoking/alcohol habits, exercise, medical history, medications, and family history of migraine. • Headache Impact Test (HIT-6): Assesses the impact of headaches on social functioning, daily activities, cognition, and psychological distress. Scores range from 36–78; higher scores indicate greater impact. • Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS): Measures migraine-related disability over the past 3 months across work, household, and social domains. Total score categorizes disability from minimal to severe. • Misophonia Questionnaire (MQ): (Symptom, Emotions/Behaviors, Severity) • Depression Anxiety Stress Scales - 21 (DASS-21): Evaluates psychological distress over the past week across three subscales: depression, anxiety, and stress. Each subscale has 7 items rated on a 4-point scale. • Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale – Self Report (Y-BOCS-SR): Measures severity of obsessions and compulsions, including time spent, interference, and resistance. Total score ranges from 0–40, with clinical severity categorization. • Allodynia Symptom Checklist - 12 (ASC-12): Assesses cutaneous allodynia symptoms during migraine attacks across 12 daily activities. Severity classified as none, mild, moderate, or severe. • Clinical Features Data Form (for MG):Captures detailed migraine characteristics: type, aura presence, age of onset, frequency, medication use, and sensory symptoms based on International Headache Society criteria. |
| Procedures | • Participants completed a 20-minute in-person battery. • Diagnostic criteria for misophonia: MQ severity score ≥7. • Participants subdivided into: MG with misophonia (MG-w-M), MG without misophonia (MG-wo-M), CG with misophonia (CG-w-M). |
| Results | • key: MG = migraine; M = Misophonia; w = with; wo = without • Prevalence: Misophonia: MG = 44.9%, CG = 17.6% (significantly higher in MG). • Disability: MG-w-M had significantly higher MIDAS scores (total and subscales), HIT-6 scores. 44.6% of MG-w-M showed “severe” disability vs. 24.8% of MG-wo-M. • Sensory Symptoms: Higher severity of photophobia, phonophobia, osmophobia, and allodynia in MG-w-M vs. MG-wo-M. No significant difference in symptom distribution between CG-w-M and MG-w-M, suggesting migraine amplifies sensory distress. • Psychiatric Comorbidity: MG-w-M had significantly elevated DASS-21 (stress, anxiety, depression) and Y-BOCS-SR scores vs. both MG-wo-M and CG-w-M. • Regression Analyses: Significant predictors of misophonia severity: Stress (β = 0.516); Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (β = 0.407); Allodynia (β = 0.373); Migraine-related disability (HIT-6, MIDAS) |
| Discussion | Conclusion- • Misophonia is significantly more prevalent and severe among migraine sufferers. • Comorbid misophonia is linked to greater sensory hypersensitivity, disability, and psychiatric symptomatology. • Shared neural mechanisms (e.g., anterior insula, limbic pathways) may underlie both conditions. • Misophonia may act as a "sensory amplifier" in migraine. |
| Limitations:: | • Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences. • Misophonia diagnosis based solely on self-report. • Possible selection bias from hospital-based recruitment. |
| Future Directions:: | • Longitudinal studies to assess causal relationships. • Neurobiological investigations of shared pathways. • Clinical screening for misophonia in migraine patients to inform management. |
| Relevance:: | • gives an interesting idea of looking at occurrences of Misophonia with migraines, something I had not heard of until this point • framed findings as Misophonia being a comorbidity for migraines, linking it to shared neurobiological systems • a great sources for an overview of migraine research, and comorbidities should that ever become something I care about. |
Notes
key terms and concepts:
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Misophonia – A neurobehavioral condition characterized by intense emotional and physiological reactions to specific everyday sounds (e.g., chewing, tapping), often resulting in distress or social avoidance.
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Migraine – A complex neurological disorder involving recurrent headaches often accompanied by sensory disturbances such as photophobia, phonophobia, and allodynia.
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Allodynia – Pain due to a stimulus that does not normally provoke pain, assessed here via the ASC-12 scale.
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Photophobia, Phonophobia, Osmophobia – Sensory hypersensitivities to light, sound, and smell, respectively, often seen in migraine sufferers.
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HIT-6 – Headache Impact Test-6; measures the impact of headache on daily functioning.
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MIDAS – Migraine Disability Assessment Scale; quantifies migraine-related disability.
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MQ – Misophonia Questionnaire; measures symptoms, emotional/behavioral reactions, and severity of misophonia.
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DASS-21 – Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21; assesses levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
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Y-BOCS-SR – Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale – Self Report; assesses obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
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Bookmarks
- bookmark talking about how the results are consistent with the Kumar model of miso.
- bookmark talking about shared neurobiological systems in Misophonia and migraine.