Propranolol for Misophonia

NCT07271485 | Recruiting Early Phase 1 FDA Drug

• 1 other identifier: 824
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The primary goal of this study is to investigate whether a one-time dose of 20 mg oral propranolol can temporarily reduce the adverse emotional and physical symptoms triggered by misophonia. The secondary goals of this study are:

1. 1.Determine potential predictors of response to propranolol treatment, including demographic factors, baseline symptom severity, psychometric instrument item responses, and physiological characteristics.
2. 2.Evaluate the safety and tolerability of propranolol in individuals with misophonia.

Conditions

Misophonia; Propanolol; Misophonia Treatment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Heart Rate

  Heart rate was chosen as a primary biometric outcome because it reliably indicates sympathetic nervous system activation commonly observed in acute misophonia reactions. Given propranolol's established pharmacologic effect as a beta-blocker, the hypothesis is that propranolol will significantly blunt the heart rate increase typically elicited by misophonia triggers compared to placebo.

  Heart rate is continuously monitored via pulse oximetry during each video presentation. The continuous measurement will start at pre-intervention and end after the intervention.

• Visual Analog Scale (VAS)

  The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) assesses three core emotional domains (anger, anxiety, disgust) and multiple physical sensations frequently reported during acute misophonia episodes, such as feeling hot/sweaty, heart pounding, muscle tension, trembling/shaking, and shortness of breath. Each response is rated on a sliding scale accompanied by emojis or graphics that visually represent increasing intensity of the sensations or emotions. This format leverages established evidence from acute pain and emotional-response research, demonstrating that visual analogue scales effectively capture immediate subjective states. The VAS is based on a Likert scales ranging from 0-7, 0-5, and 0-8 in some questions. Higher scores indicates more distress and a worst outcome.

  The scale will be taken immediately after each video clip intervention. It will measure the participant's reaction to each clip.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Grip Strength

  Grip Strength measurement is subsequently performed immediately after each video exposure. This will be taken immediately after each video clip intervention in order to measure the participant's reaction to each clip.

Study Arms (2)

Propranolol Pill

EXPERIMENTAL

10 participants will take one-time dose of 20 mg propranolol pill

Drug: propranolol

Placebo Pill

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

10 participants will take be given a matching one-time dose of placebo

Drug: Placebo

Interventions

propranolol DRUG

A one-time dose of 20 mg propranolol

Propranolol Pill

Placebo DRUG

A dose of placebo taken orally

Placebo Pill

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Age 18-65.
• Able to complete study visit(s) in Littleton, CO.
• Able to give informed consent.
• Participant reports clinically significant misophonia symptoms, as determined by answers on the standardized "Misophonia Trigger Screening Questions for Participants" form (described separately in the protocol). Specifically, participants must demonstrate relevant misophonia trigger responses that meet pre-specified minimum severity criteria detailed on this form.
• A-MISO-S rating scale severity criterion: Participants must score at least a moderate ("2") or higher on question 2 and question 3 of the Amsterdam Misophonia Scale (A-MISO-S) at screening, since this indicates clinically meaningful misophonia severity for study eligibility.
• Able to communicate misophonic distress in writing and reasonably participate in our outpatient clinical setting, meaning able to tolerate being in this outpatient clinical setting, follow the clinic rules for all patients and guests, and respond in an understandable fashion to questions administered to them.
• Must agree to follow study clinician advice and seek additional care outside of this clinic if advised (e.g., if advised to seek help from emergency services for a potentially serious adverse reaction).
• English fluency

You may not qualify if:

• Current use of scheduled propranolol for any condition.
• Any of the known contraindications for taking propranolol:
• cardiogenic shock
• sinus bradycardia (\<50 bpm)
• greater than first degree heart block
• BP below 90/60
• asthma / bronchial asthma that requires treatment or medication, and/or has caused clinical concerns within the last 5 years
• Other heart conditions that require ongoing medical treatment
• Participants with any of the following relative contraindications for taking propranolol:
• participants who have active anorexia, purging, or who are underweight (\<18.5 BMI)
• Active drug or alcohol use within the last 48 hours prior to study participation, or active drug withdrawals
• A history of untreated diabetes or other endocrine disorders that could be harmed by exposure to propranolol
• history of cardiovascular disease or stroke, or symptomatic blood disorders such as anemia
• history of any other severe physical or neurological conditions that may affect their ability to participate in the study
• Participants with liver or kidney disease that would be affect or be affected by the study drug

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Bloom Mental Health, LLC: lead

Study Sites (1)

Bloom Mental Health

Littleton, Colorado, 80120, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

misophonia

Interventions

Propranolol

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Phenoxypropanolamines; Propanolamines; Amino Alcohols; Alcohols; Organic Chemicals; Propanols; Amines; Naphthalenes; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; Hydrocarbons, Cyclic; Hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Compounds

Central Study Contacts

Bloom Mental Health Clinic

CONTACT

303-801-1776; office@bloommh.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: early phase 1
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 20, 2025
• First Posted: December 9, 2025
• Study Start: December 19, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 19, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 19, 2026
• Last Updated: December 9, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Locations

US (1)