Digital Intervention for Adults With Misophonia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

NCT07220941 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 15239
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test an online intervention for adults with misophonia. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.Is the online intervention effective, compared to a waitlist control condition?
2. 2.Is the online intervention acceptable to use?
3. 3.Participants in the intervention condition will be asked to complete an 8 module acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) program for misophonia and 5 surveys over 4 months.
4. 4.Participants in the waitlist condition will be asked to complete 5 surveys over 4 months, and will receive access to the intervention once the study is complete.

Conditions

Misophonia

Keywords

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT); Digital mental health intervention (DMHI)

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome Scale (S-Five; Vitoratou et al., 2021)

  The S-Five is a 25-item self-report measure of misophonia severity. Items (e.g., "I feel trapped if I cannot get away from certain noises") are rated on a 0 (not at all true) to 10 (completely true) ordinal scale with total scores ranging from 0 to 250. The S-Five consists of five latent factors: (1) externalizing appraisals (e.g., blaming others for making sounds), (2) internalizing appraisals (e.g., negative self-judgments triggered by misophonia), (3) impact on functioning (e.g., social and occupational impact), (4) outburst (e.g., experiences of aggression or fear of losing control), and (5) threat (e.g., feeling trapped or helpless). The S-Five demonstrates good internal consistency and convergent validity with other misophonia measures (Vitoratou et al., 2023).

  16 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Misophonia acceptance and action questionnaire (Miso-AAQ; Capel et al., 2025)

  16 weeks

• Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes (CompACT; Francis et al., 2016)

  16 weeks

• Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995)

  16 weeks

• Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2005)

  16 weeks

Other Outcomes (2)

• Internalized Health-Related Stigma Scale (I-HEARTS; Pearl et al., 2024)

  16 weeks

• Interpersonal Reactivity Index - Perspective Taking (IRI-PT; Davis, 1980)

  16 weeks

Study Arms (2)

ACT online program

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will complete the 8-module fully automated digital intervention based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

Behavioral: Acceptance and commitment therapy

Waitlist Control

NO INTERVENTION

Waitlist condition; assessment only.

Interventions

Acceptance and commitment therapy BEHAVIORAL

Participants will complete the 8-module fully automated digital intervention based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). The digital program is based off of an ACT protocol developed in a prior randomized controlled trial and adapted for digital self-help use (Bowers et al., 2024). Modules focus on focus on acceptance, cognitive defusion, present moment awareness, values clarification, and functional adaptations.

Also known as: ACT

ACT online program

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Currently meet clinical impairment for misophonia.
• At least 18 years old.
• Fluent English speakers.
• Currently live or reside in the United States

You may not qualify if:

• Currently receiving alternative psychotherapy for misophonia.
• Currently modifying or starting psychotropic medication (within 30 days of starting the study).
• Any psychological and/or neurological impairments that would preclude someone from participating in the study (e.g.,active self-harm or psychosis)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Utah State University: lead
• Misophonia Research Fund: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Utah State University

Logan, Utah, 84321, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

misophonia

Interventions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Emily M Bowers, M.S.

  Utah State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Emily M Bowers, M.S.

CONTACT

781-686-6091; emily.bowers@usu.edu

Michael P Twohig, PhD

CONTACT

435-265-8933; michael.twohig@usu.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 21, 2025
• First Posted: October 24, 2025
• Study Start: October 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027
• Last Updated: October 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)