Could misophonia and misokinesia be part of a broader emotional misinterpretation of sensory stimuli, rather than just hearing and vision?
From what I've seen, most research on misophonia focuses on auditory triggers, while misokinesia focuses on visual triggers. But I'm wondering whether those might just be the most common expressions of a broader underlying process.
For example, could the same underlying mechanism also apply to:
- Smell (certain odors, I actually experienced this once)
- Touch (specific tactile sensations or vibrations, the physical sensation e.g. a door slamming or stomping)
- Taste (particular textures or flavors)
One reason smell and taste may not be discussed as much could be because they are less intrusive in everyday life compared to hearing and vision. Sounds and visual information are constantly entering our awareness, are difficult to avoid, and often happen around other people, making them more noticeable. Taste may be overlooked because it is usually something we choose to experience, so it's not as intrusive and less likely to create an aversive reaction.
I'm wondering if researchers have explored the possibility that misophonia/misokinesia are not separate issues tied only to specific senses, but rather examples of a broader difference in how the brain assigns emotional meaning, importance, or threat value to sensory information.
Could the underlying phenomenon be a multisensory emotional processing difference, where sound and vision are simply the most studied because they are the most persistent, unavoidable, and socially noticeable senses?