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Interview: Dr. Jennifer Jo Brout

Dr. Jennifer Jo Brout is the Director of the Misophonia Research Network. She is a New York State Certified School Psychologist, a Connecticut Professional Licensed Counselor, and holds a Doctorate in School/Clinical-Child Psychology.



Dr. Jennifer Jo Brout


Read and sign up for her Substack newsletter “All About Misophonia” at https://drjenniferjobrout.substack.com/


Learn more about Dr. Brout at https://drjenniferbrout.com/


CARE for Misophonia Day 2024 (April 30, 2024) is the second annual open-access, virtual misophonia research event that is for everyone. Learn more and register at: https://www.soquiet.org/care?gad_source=1


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Q: Dr. Brout, in addition to your impressive list of credentials, you also founded the Sensory Processing and Emotion Regulation Program at Duke University and are Director of the International Misophonia Research Network. Could you give us an overview of how your educational and professional career led you to specialize in Misophonia?


Dr. Brout: My professional work has always been informed by my personal life. I have misophonia and have an adult daughter with misophonia. Prior to the term misophonia (coined in 2001 by Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff) I referred to this disorder as "auditory over-responsivity.' Auditory over-responsivity is a more generalized aversion to sound that often goes along with Sensory Processing Disorder. Once I learned that the specific symptoms I was talking about had a name, I switched my efforts to what we now know is misophonia. It turns out they are two different, but potentially related disorders. By the way, International Misophonia Research Network has moved to SoQuiet and I am so happy to be working with such a wonderful organization.



SoQuiet organization


Q: Your excellent Substack newsletter “All About Misophonia” has some practical advice particularly for parents. Seeing that you are a parent of triplets, is that the impetus for your focus in helping parents?


Dr. Brout: Thank you very much. The reason I focus on parents is that I enjoy working with children and families, and my psychology training is in childhood and neurodevelopmental disorders! I also feel that misophonia is a family problem. In my experience, working with parents along with their children is most helpful. 


Q: Even as far back as 1999 you were already laying the groundwork for better research and treatment of Misophonia. But it seems the public awareness for this disorder is a more recent phenomenon. How have you seen the field evolve over the past 25 years?


Dr. Brout: I think that public awareness of misophonia has increased dramatically over the past decade and I am happy to say that research has also increased significantly. Yet, there is still a long way to go. We still don't have an official diagnostic code for misophonia and this is very important!


Q: Can you please explain how your RRR coping skills program works?


Dr. Brout: RRR is the product of both my personal experience with misophonia as well as my professional knowledge. I developed RRR as a way for parents to help their child cope with misophonia. My approach differs from other protocols because it combines sensory-based strategies that help with self-regulation, along with cognitive work. The sensory strategies are derived from my experience working with occupational therapists, who I feel are the best suited to help children with physiological regulation skills.  I don't believe that there is successful treatment for misophonia yet. Therefore, I refer to RRR as a coping skills approach. 



Regulate Reason Reassure treatment protocol


Q: How do you feel RRR differs from other treatment protocol?


Dr. Brout: RRR integrates theory and intervention from a multidisciplinary perspective. It is also highly individualized. Although I can teach the basics in a class, it is most helpful on an individualized basis. I think in general, we need to move toward more multidisciplinary treatment for misophonia that includes different kinds of clinicians (audiologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and more). RRR does this to a degree, but there is nothing better than interdisciplinary clinicians working together to help children and families. 


Q: Has the prevalence of Misophonia increased lately? Or is it a matter of a label for a condition that was always around?


Dr. Brout: Great question! I think the prevalence is higher but that is just my opinion. Unfortunately, I have no idea as to why. 


Q: What are some specific challenges that teens face with this condition?


Dr. Brout: The teenage years are difficult to begin with. I feel that academic stress has become almost insurmountable for teens now. There simply is not enough time in a day for individuals to complete the school day, do homework, enjoy extra-curricular activities, etc. Already under a great deal of stress, those with misophonia face many additional challenges relating to navigating social and family relationships. Without generalizing, it is important for teens to enjoy their social lives and misophonia can really put a damper on that. Having to worry about sounds and visuals feeling as though they are assaultive can really impair everyday functioning. I also believe that those with misophonia are often tired due to the continual nervous system dysregulation. Research tells us that teens need more sleep to begin with. Yet, most teens I know are only finding 6-7 hours a night to sleep. 


Q: Is there any evidence that teens “grow out” of Misophonia?


Dr. Brout: I don't think research has answered this question yet. 


Q: Being a teenager is hard enough, even more so in a world dominated by social media. What advice would you give to teens with Misophonia, who often experience severe distress in their interpersonal relationships?


Dr. Brout: Yes, I agree! My advice is to seek help. Although it is sometimes difficult to find professionals that understand misophonia, there are also support groups. SoQuiet has wonderful support groups and is an excellent resource. 


Q: It’s interesting that you came out with three books, targeted towards adults, parents and clinicians. Could you tell us why you chose to segment your books?



A Parent's Guide to Misophonia


Dr. Brout: The parenting book is the one that resonates with me the most, as you pointed out. However, I wanted to let adults know that they can use the same or similar strategies to help cope with misophonia. I particularly wanted adults to know that they can use sensory based strategies to help with self-regulation. Unfortunately, most occupational therapists only work with children, which is a shame because adults need this kind of work as well. I use almost all the sensory based strategies that I talk about in my books. In terms of clinicians, I wanted to share my knowledge and my experience and I also hoped that it would help other clinicians think beyond just using CBT. I think CBT alone is not enough  to treat misophonia, and I wanted to get the message out that combining the cognitive and the physiological regulation skills is most helpful. I also wanted to let other clinicians understand what people with misophonia experience in a way I think only a person with misophonia could describe.   


Q: Are you optimistic about the future of treating Misophonia?


Dr. Brout: Absolutely! Research has increased beyond anything I might have imagined in the last 5 years! We also have researchers who have misophonia studying the disorder, which is particularly exciting to me. 


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Find out more about Dr. Jennifer Brout's books at:




Clinician link: https://amzn.to/3NzDTwW

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