Misophonia in Youth Is Associated With Internalizing Problems, Multisensory Differences, and Poorer Quality of Life

In a 2026 study, Rappoldt and colleagues assessed 95 treatment-seeking children and adolescents with misophonia using validated child- and parent-report measures of misophonia symptoms, psychiatric comorbidity, emotional and behavioral problems, attention, sensory processing, and quality of life. Eating sounds were the most common triggers, while irritation, anger, and anticipatory anxiety were the most frequent responses. Most participants had no psychiatric comorbidity, and internalizing problems were more common than externalizing problems. Adolescents also differed from normative samples in auditory, tactile, visual, and taste/smell processing, showing greater sensory sensitivity and avoidance. Greater misophonia severity was associated with poorer quality of life. The authors concluded that misophonia substantially affects the daily lives of children and families, is more strongly associated with internalizing than externalizing problems, and may involve broader multisensory processing differences in adolescents (Rappoldt et al., 2026).