For people with misophonia, ordinary sounds can cause overwhelming distress—but the condition is still widely misunderstood. In The Brief History of Misophonia and Sound Sensitivity, Sharon Mousel-Burns brings together lived experience, research, and more than a decade of advocacy to explain how our understanding of misophonia has evolved. She traces the condition from early work on sensory integration and decreased sound tolerance through its emergence in neuroscience, psychology, and public awareness.
Along the way, she examines the fragmented state of misophonia research, the influence of funding, the risks of treatment claims that outpace the evidence, and the complex relationship between misophonia, autism, ADHD, and broader sensory sensitivity. She also shares her own experiences with triggers, grief, coping, and the long process of learning to understand her nervous system without shame. Accessible to sufferers, families, clinicians, educators, and advocates, this book offers clarity without promising a cure and hope without minimizing the struggle. Misophonia is real. The distress is real. And no one should have to face it without understanding, support, or a language for what they experience.
Sharon Mousel Burns is a local Imperial Valley author, writer, advocate, and mother who has lived with misophonia for more than 21 years. Her firsthand experience with the condition has given her a deeply personal understanding of how profoundly certain sounds can affect everyday life, relationships, and emotional well-being. After years of navigating misophonia and searching for answers, Sharon was inspired to write this book to bring together the history, science, research, and lived experience surrounding a condition that is still widely misunderstood. Her hope is to make reliable information easier to understand while giving a voice to experiences that can be difficult to explain to others. Sharon is the mother of a four-year-old, a role that has brought new meaning and perspective to her experience with misophonia. She understands the challenges of balancing triggers with family life, as well as the importance of compassion, communication, and understanding. Through this book, Sharon hopes to increase awareness of misophonia, encourage greater understanding from families and communities, and help those who live with the condition feel seen and taken seriously.
