The Misophonia Podcast

This week I talk with Gabriel, a 45-year-old marketing professional from Western Montana. Gabriel shares his lifelong experience with misophonia that started around age five or six, primarily triggered by eating sounds from those closest to him—his parents, wife, and kids. We talk about growing up with a child psychologist father who tried to help through exposure therapy, the decades of shame and secrecy that kept him silent about...

This week I talk with Esty, from the UK. Esty reflects on growing up in a large religious community in London, where misophonia first surfaced around age 10. She shares how isolation at family meals, a lack of understanding at home and school, and later an autism diagnosis shaped her experience.

We discuss her decision to leave the community, move to a quiet farm, and how solitude has been both protective and necessary. Esty opens u...

This week I talk with Beverly, a Feldenkrais practitioner from Southern California. Beverly reflects on growing up as the youngest of five in a loud Midwestern household, and how misophonia shaped her early experiences of family dynamics, school, and self-image. We explore her struggles in open workspaces—especially during her years at Facebook—and the breaking point that led her to discover the Feldenkrais method as a powerful too...

This week I talk with Andy, a production supervisor from Lexington, Kentucky. Andy shares how misophonia shows up in both his personal and professional life, and how emotional intelligence has become essential in his role. We talk about growing up in a large, close-knit, homeschooled family, and how misophonia shaped his early experiences. Andy opens up about past struggles with therapy—particularly being pushed into exposure thera...

Today we’re reconnecting with a guest who many of you will remember from one of our most popular episodes a couple of years ago. Sara Barrick, formerly Sara Bidler, has returned to share more of her invaluable insights. Since we last spoke, Sara has published her book "Demystifying Misophonia," which I highly recommend to all our listeners. As a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in misophonia and trauma ...

Jo works in project management for the NHS in the UK. Jo’s greatest miso issue currently is her noisy apartment which has exacerbated her condition, leading to a lot of stress and frustration. Jo reflects on her childhood, particularly her relationship with her father, who has OCD and is a noisy person. She reflects on the challenges of navigating work environments, social connections, and family dynamics while managing her conditi...

In the second episode of the series "Between Two Ears", I share my recent trip to Iowa City to participate in a groundbreaking misophonia research study led by Dr. Sukhbinder Kumar — a continuation of his earlier work on mirror neurons and the motor basis of misophonia. This new study explores the social context of trigger reactions and involved time in an MRI chamber while exposed to common misophonic triggers.

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Stacy is an accomplished brand and creative strategist whose journey with misophonia began long before the condition even had a name. Stacy takes us through her early experiences participating in a college study on sound sensitivity back in the 1980s, her lifelong struggle with certain trigger sounds—especially from her mother—and how these experiences shaped her personal and professional life. Stacy reflects on the complex interpl...

Carlie is up in northern Alberta, of the great independent nation of Canada. Carlie shares her personal misophonia journey, her experiences with therapy through the years, and her path to self-discovery and understanding her neurodivergence. She highlights the importance of nervous system regulation, the impact of trauma, and the need for supportive environments in managing misophonia. We talk about autism and ADHD, the recurring t...

I'm excited to have Dr. Lauren Harte-Hargrove, executive director of the Misophonia Research Fund (MRF). We talk about this fund’s origins, and the evolution of research around misophonia. We start by getting a little into her background in neuroscience and her transition to the nonprofit sector. About the MRF and current research talk about some current focus areas of research, including the prevalence of misophonia, potentia...

Dr. Jaelline Jaffe is one of the most experienced therapists working with people with misophonia, over on the west coast. Jaelline shares her journey from teaching to becoming a therapist specializing in misophonia. We talk about a ton of things, the importance of family support and school accommodations and we get into her own protocol for approaching misophonia that incorporate cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavio...

Meagan is an actress based in San Diego. Meagan shares her personal journey with misophonia as a wife and mother of 3, including her experiences with therapy and self-regulation techniques. She discusses Image Transformational Therapy (ImTT) that has provided Meagan with significant relief from her symptoms from 10 to about a 2. We get into the neurological aspects of sound sensitivity, childhood experiences, the generational patte...

This week I’m talking to Alex from beautiful Victoria, British Columbia. Alex shares her lifelong journey with misophonia, which began at age 11 amid a turbulent home life. She opens up about how her sensitivity to sounds, especially during family meals, became tied to a need to escape overwhelming emotions. Through therapy, Alex discovered how these triggers were linked to deeper childhood trauma and learned to reframe her reactio...

Kathryn runs an ecology non-profit in southern Oregon. She shares her journey with misophonia, particularly how it has impacted her life as a parent. She reflects on her childhood experiences with sound sensitivity, the lack of understanding from those around her, and how her relationship with her husband has provided a supportive environment. We talk about the impact of misophonia on her relationships, particularly with her daught...

Imbi is an author who came to my attention earlier this year when she published her novel “Kind Of, Sort Of, Maybe, But Probably Not”, which features a lead character who has misophonia. Imbi shares her experiences with misophonia, discussing how it affects her daily life, relationships, and creative pursuits. She emphasizes the importance of communication with loved ones about her sensitivities and how she manages to balance her w...

In this experimental episode, we're talking about a new AI research platform I am developing that blends scientific literature, lived experience on the podcast, and questions and comments from the community. You can learn more about the details and some research proposals it has generated at https://misophoniapodcast.com/research.

In this episode, I take it a step further and use AI to generate a conversation about th...

This week I have two guests, Tressi and Brooklyn Disch. Brooklyn you may know has Brooklyn Disch who is a misophonia coach and has all kinds of resources on her website (link below). Tressi has worked with Brooklyn and has also published a book which is a fictionalization of many of her experiences living with misophonia. Both guests discuss the challenges they faced growing up, the lack of understanding and resources available, an...

This week I’m very happy to bring back Lila, a past guest from August 2023. If you recall that interview, Lila had pretty severe misophonia and was even being triggered by a neighbor during our call. A lot has changed for her in the past couple of years - she is now on the other side of the world, back in the US. She tells her story of recently successfully overcoming misophonia. The modality she credits is hypnotherapy, which has ...

In this episode of Between Two Ears, I share highlights from my recent experience at MisoCon 2024 (The Misophonia Association convention in Atlanta). I discuss key presentations, including Dr. Jane Gregory’s insights on reframing sound experiences for managing misophonia and Jaelline Jaffe’s exploration of connections between childhood experiences and misophonia. I also reflect on the importance of informal discussions with other a...