Misophonia Prevalence in Mumbai Hospital Study

A study translating and validating a key misophonia questionnaire for Marathi speakers has found that 11% of participants reported moderate to severe symptoms. The research, led by Suman Chalotra, Nirali Chauhan, and Deepa Valame, provides a new tool for diagnosis and offers a preliminary look at misophonia within an Indian population, revealing a significant gender difference in symptom prevalence.

Adapting a Key Diagnostic Tool for Marathi Speakers

The researchers focused on translating the Amsterdam Misophonia Questionnaire (A-MISO-S), a standard instrument for assessing the presence and severity of misophonia. To ensure accuracy and cultural relevance, they followed a rigorous translation protocol established by the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons. This involved forward translation from English to Marathi, then a separate backward translation from Marathi back to English to check for consistency. Audiologists then reviewed the translated questionnaire for face validity, ensuring the questions made sense in a clinical context.

The final Marathi version was administered through face-to-face interviews with 227 individuals. The study excluded people with known hearing loss or psychological conditions to help isolate misophonia-specific responses. To test reliability, 30 randomly selected participants who were fluent in both languages completed the questionnaire in both English and Marathi on two separate occasions, two weeks apart.

Findings: Prevalence, Gender Differences, and Reliability

The statistical analysis confirmed that the translated tool performed well. It showed good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.82, indicating the questions reliably measured the same underlying construct—misophonia severity. The test-retest scores were also strong, meaning participants’ results were stable over the two-week period.

Applying this validated tool, the study found that 11% of the participant group reported moderate to severe misophonic symptoms. This figure provides a crucial early estimate for the Marathi-speaking population, where such data has been largely absent.

A notable finding was a significant gender association. Females in the study were more likely to experience misophonia than males, a result with a p-value of 0.03. The analysis found no significant link between misophonia and age. These demographic insights, while preliminary, point to areas for further investigation, particularly the complex relationship between gender, psychological factors, and sound sensitivity.

Clinical and Research Implications

The immediate practical outcome of this work is the creation of a clinically validated diagnostic questionnaire for Marathi-speaking audiologists and mental health professionals. Before this, assessment often relied on English-language tools or informal observation, creating barriers to accurate diagnosis and care.

The 11% prevalence rate of moderate to severe symptoms signals a substantial patient need that is likely under-recognized in clinical settings. It argues for including misophonia screening in routine hearing health and psychological assessments, similar to checks for hyperacusis or tinnitus. The gender disparity also suggests that clinicians should be particularly attentive to reports of sound-triggered distress from female patients.

From a research perspective, this study addresses a clear gap. As the authors note, epidemiological data on misophonia in India is extremely limited. This work provides a methodology and a tool that can be used in larger, population-based studies. Future research can now more easily explore potential contributing factors, such as links to adverse childhood experiences, or how misophonia might co-occur with other auditory conditions like tinnitus, which also involves altered central nervous system processing.

Conclusion: A Step Toward Better Recognition and Care

The successful translation and validation of the A-MISO-S questionnaire into Marathi is more than a linguistic exercise. It is a step toward equitable healthcare access. By providing a reliable diagnostic tool, the study by Chalotra, Chauhan, and Valame enables better recognition of misophonia in a large linguistic community. Their finding that 11% of their sample had significant symptoms underscores the condition’s potential impact and the urgent need for developing and providing evidence-based treatment options in India and beyond.

Source: Chalotra S, Chauhan N, Valame D. Translation and validation of Amsterdam Misophonia Questionnaire (A-MISO-S) in Marathi language. Egypt J Otolaryngol 40, iii (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43163-026-01108-1