Misofonia em estudantes, professores e técnicos em uma universidade pública brasileira

Abstract

Introduction: Misophonia is a chronic neurophysiological and behavioral condition in which individuals have unpleasant reactions to specific sounds of a human or non-human nature. Most previous studies on misophonia have looked at its relationship with obsessive compulsive disorder. The relationship between auditory complaints and mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression, in people with misophonia is still unclear and its investigation is incipient. Objective: To investigate auditory, anxiety and depression symptoms in individuals with self-reported misophonia. Material and Methods: This was a quantitative, observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study without a comparison group, carried out with students, teachers and technicians at a public university. Data was collected virtually using a form created on the Google Forms platform and made available to participants via email between June and December 2022. The form included questions about misophonia symptoms based on the Misophonia Screening List and the Amsterdam Misophonia Scale. In addition, auditory complaints, trigger sounds and anxiety and depression were investigated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the associations carried out using the Chi-Square test of independence. Results: The first article addressed the epidemiology of misophonia and characterized the trigger sounds. A statistically significant association was observed between misophonia and the female gender (p= 0.039), elderly people (p= 0.042), students (p= 0.005) and lower social class (p=0.032). From the Misophonia Screening List, 22.8 (47 individuals) had misophonia. According to the Amstedam Scale, 54.9% (113 individuals) had misophonia, with the mild degree being the most common. Trigger sounds of human origin were reported by 43.4% of individuals with misophonia, non-human sounds by 41.6% and both types by 15.0%. The second article investigated auditory complaints and anxiety symptoms in individuals with misophonia. It was found that misophonia was associated with hearing loss (p=0.020), tinnitus (p=0.004), discomfort with intense sounds (0.010) and anxiety (0.011). Individuals with misophonia and discomfort with intense sounds present high intensity sounds as trigger sounds. Conclusion: The results of the present study reveal a high occurrence of misophonia, being higher when using the Amsterdam Scale when compared to the Misophonia Screening List. Trigger sounds vary and may or may not be of human origin. Misophonia is associated with hearing loss, tinnitus, discomfort with intense sounds and anxiety. Additional studies should be conducted with the aim of improving mosophonia diagnostic tools, reflecting on the rehabilitation of this condition