What misophonia is
Misophonia is a strong, involuntary reaction to particular everyday sounds, most often ones other people make: chewing, slurping, sniffing, breathing, snoring, pen clicks or tapping. An international panel of experts agreed a shared definition in 2022, describing it as decreased tolerance to specific sounds or the things associated with them 1. It’s common: in a 2023 study of 772 adults representative of the UK population, 18.4% said certain sounds significantly affect their lives, with loud chewing and repetitive sniffing among the most-named triggers 2.
How sound masking can help
A steady background sound raises the level a trigger has to rise above, so the trigger stands out less, and some people find that takes the edge off. Many people with misophonia use noise this way, often together with earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones 3.
Be clear about what it isn’t: there’s no solid research yet on which sounds help misophonia, and masking is a coping tool, not a treatment 3. Clinical trials are only now comparing therapies such as exposure and sound therapy 4. What matters most is a sound you find calming, at a volume that’s safe for your ears.
Mixes for common triggers
| If it’s… | Try | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Any trigger, right now | Pink noise covers a wide range; brown adds weight underneath. | |
| Chewing, slurping, cutlery | Mouth sounds are crisp; pink noise and rain cover the higher sounds that brown noise alone leaves open. | |
| Keyboards, pen clicks, tapping | Rain is full of tiny clicks itself, so a nearby click blends in instead of standing out. | |
| Breathing, sniffing, snoring | Breathing and snoring are low and airy; brown noise and a fan sit right on top of them. |
Making masking work
- Start it before the trigger. Masking works better when it’s already running, before a meal or a meeting, than switched on mid-reaction.
- Match the sound to the trigger. Sharp, crisp sounds need a brighter mask (pink noise, rain); low, airy ones need a deeper one (brown noise, a fan). Adjust each slider in the player until the trigger blends in.
- Use headphones in shared spaces, or earplugs under them: a little mask goes a long way when outside sound is already reduced, and it keeps the volume down.
- Keep it low. Turn it up only as far as you need. If you’re raising the volume to drown triggers out, earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones are kinder to your hearing.
- Mix it up. Some people find a mask they use all the time stops feeling soothing; switching between pink, brown and rain helps 3.
When to get more help
If sounds are getting in the way of meals, work, school or relationships, it’s worth talking to an audiologist or a psychologist who knows misophonia. Support groups such as soQuiet5 share coping ideas and lists of clinicians. MoodNoise can be part of your toolkit, alongside whatever else helps you.
Look after your ears. Background sound only needs to be loud enough to soften other noises. A good test: you can still hear someone speaking normally next to you. Long listening through headphones should stay well below the maximum, and for sleep, keep the speaker away from your head. For scale: NIOSH’s workplace limit is 85 decibels averaged over 8 hours, halving the time for every 3 decibels more 6, and the WHO estimates over a billion people aged 12 to 35 risk hearing loss from loud listening 7.
Sources
- Swedo SE, Baguley DM, Denys D, et al. (2022). Consensus definition of misophonia: a Delphi study. Frontiers in Neuroscience 16:841816.
- King’s College London (2023). Nearly 1 in 5 people in the UK find everyday sounds intolerable (on Vitoratou et al., PLOS ONE, 2023). kcl.ac.uk.
- Misophonia International. What is each color noise, and what helps misophonia?. misophoniainternational.com.
- ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine). Treatment of misophonia: comparison of exposure and sound therapy (clinical trial NCT05993286). clinicaltrials.gov.
- soQuiet. Coping with misophonia. soquiet.org.
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC) (2024). Noise-induced hearing loss. cdc.gov.
- World Health Organization (2022). WHO releases new standard to tackle rising threat of hearing loss. who.int.
Questions
Can white noise help misophonia?
It can make trigger sounds stand out less, which some people find helpful. Pink noise is often more comfortable than white for long listening, and brown noise suits low sounds like breathing. It’s a coping tool, not a cure.
What is the best noise color for misophonia?
There’s no proven best one. Pink noise is a good start for crisp sounds like chewing and clicks; brown noise for breathing and snoring. Try a few for a day each and keep the one you find calming.
Should I use headphones?
In shared spaces, yes: headphones, or earplugs under them, let a quiet mask do more. At home, a speaker across the room is gentler for long periods.
Is MoodNoise a treatment for misophonia?
No. It’s background sound that can make triggers less noticeable. If misophonia affects your daily life, talk to an audiologist or psychologist.
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