Where can I find misophonia treatment in Austin, TX?

Dr. Amitai Abramovitch, Ph.D., provides specialized misophonia assessment and treatment in Austin, Texas. The practice is located at 8700 Menchaca Road, Suite 605, Austin, TX 78748. Dr. Abramovitch contributed foundational neuropsychological research on misophonia and is among a small group of clinicians worldwide who combine active peer-reviewed research in misophonia with specialized clinical experience treating it. Treatment is delivered in person in Austin and via secure telehealth across Texas and Florida.

Do you treat misophonia via telehealth in Texas or Florida?

Yes. Dr. Abramovitch is a Licensed Psychologist in Texas and is licensed to provide telehealth services to patients located in Florida. CBT for misophonia is effective in a telehealth format.

What age groups do you treat for misophonia?

The practice serves adults and older adolescents, age 16 and up.

Misophonia — Assessment & Treatment in Austin, TX

Q: Is misophonia treatable?

Yes. While misophonia can feel relentless and isolating, especially when your triggers come from the people closest to you, it is treatable. With the right evidence-based support, meaningful improvement is achievable, and for some individuals full remission is possible.

Q: Do you accept insurance?

Insurance is not accepted at this time. As an out-of-network provider, a detailed statement can be provided to submit for potential partial or full reimbursement depending on your plan.

Contact Me

Does This Sound Familiar?

A family member chews at dinner, and you feel an overwhelming surge of rage, disgust, or panic. A coworker sniffles repeatedly, and you have to leave the room. You feel guilty about your reactions, but you simply cannot control them.

If this resonates with you, you may be experiencing misophonia. You are not overreacting. You are not alone. And it is treatable.

What Is Misophonia?

Misophonia is a chronic condition in which specific everyday sounds (mostly produced by other people), such as chewing, breathing, or repetitive tapping, trigger a strong, involuntary, aversive response, often anger, anxiety, disgust, and the urge to escape. It is distinct from general noise sensitivity and responds well to structured, evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment. Misophonia, also called Selective Sound Sensitivity Disorder, is not yet formally classified in the DSM-5, but research clearly demonstrates it is a real, valid condition that can significantly disrupt daily functioning, relationships, work, and quality of life. It is frequently misunderstood, dismissed, or misdiagnosed, which means many people with misophonia have spent years being told they are simply "too sensitive."

My Expertise in Misophonia

I am one of the few clinicians in Texas, and among a small group worldwide, who combine active peer-reviewed research in misophonia with specialized clinical experience treating it.

I contributed foundational neuropsychological research on misophonia, including the first comprehensive neuropsychological study examining the cognitive mechanisms associated with this condition. This means I approach misophonia not only as a clinician but as a neuroscientist who understands its underlying mechanisms in depth.

I also have specific expertise in identifying conditions that frequently co-occur with misophonia, including OCD, anxiety disorders, and ADHD — all of which require different treatment approaches and can significantly affect how misophonia presents and how it is best treated.

Assessment

Many individuals with misophonia have been previously dismissed or misdiagnosed. A thorough, accurate assessment is the essential first step toward effective treatment.

My evaluation includes:

A comprehensive clinical interview examining the history, specific triggers, emotional and physical reactions, and the functional impact of misophonia on your daily life and relationships.
Assessment of co-occurring symptoms and conditions, including OCD, anxiety disorders, ADHD, and depression, which frequently co-occur with misophonia and affect the overall clinical picture.
Neuropsychological evaluation, when indicated, to assess cognitive functioning and clarify diagnostic questions.
A clear diagnostic formulation and personalized, evidence-based treatment recommendations.

Treatment

With the right approach, many individuals experience a meaningful and lasting reduction in misophonia symptoms — and for some, full remission is achievable. I use Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) guided by evidence-based interventions. Treatment is collaborative, paced according to your readiness and comfort, and focused on real-world improvement.

Treatment focuses on:

Understanding the mechanisms that maintain and worsen misophonia over time.
Increasing flexibility in how you interpret and respond to triggering sounds.
Identifying and challenging rigid beliefs and other thinking patterns associated with triggers.
Gradually building tolerance to triggers while reducing emotional reactivity.
Reducing avoidance and safety behaviors that maintain distress.
Improving daily functioning and restoring quality in your relationships.

The goal is not to eliminate all emotional response — but to give you back a meaningful sense of control, reduce the intensity of reactions, and allow you to engage fully in your life according to your goals and values.

Who Is This Treatment For?

This service is appropriate for adults and older teens (16+) who:

Experience strong emotional or physical reactions to specific sounds.
Find that their reactions affect their overall well-being, relationships, work, or daily functioning.
Have previously been dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told: "It's not a real condition."
Want an effective, research-informed, evidence-based treatment approach.

In-Person & Telehealth Services

I offer misophonia assessment and treatment in person in Austin, TX, as well as via secure telehealth throughout Texas and Florida. Research supports the effectiveness of telehealth-delivered CBT, making high-quality, specialized misophonia treatment accessible regardless of your location.

Is this exposure therapy? I heard exposure makes misophonia worse.

This is one of the most common questions I hear, and it deserves a direct answer. Some people with misophonia have tried "exposure therapy" and found that it did nothing, or made their reactions worse. I believe them! Under certain conditions, repeated contact with trigger sounds sensitizes a person rather than helps them.

What matters is not whether you come into contact with triggers, but how. The approach that fails is the classic one borrowed from anxiety treatment: sit with the sound until the distress fades. Misophonia is not an anxiety disorder. The core reactions are anger and disgust rather than fear, and they do not fade by the same mechanism. Being asked to endure a trigger from the top of your list, with no preparation, no say in the pace, and no tools other than gritting your teeth, teaches the brain exactly the wrong lesson: that the sound is a threat.

The therapies that have shown benefit in randomized controlled trials for misophonia all do something different. They involve gradual, deliberate contact with triggers, chosen from the manageable end of a list you build, in contexts that change what the sound means, and while using skills that regulate the reaction rather than suppress it. In practice, that includes pairing a trigger sound with a different, plausible visual source, which measurably reduces how aversive the same sound feels. It includes bringing humor and positive feeling into the room rather than grim endurance. It includes building skills in acceptance, attention control, and physiological calming before and around triggers, not only during them. And it includes cognitive work on the judgments that arrive with a trigger, about the person making the sound and about yourself.

My colleague Dr. Andrew Guzick and I refer to these as Reprocessing Exercises rather than exposures, because the goal is different. The aim is not to outlast the sound but to give it a new meaning. You set the pace, you choose where to start, and nothing begins until the rationale makes sense to you. If a previous experience with exposure went badly, that history is information we use, not something to repeat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is misophonia treatable? Yes. While misophonia can feel relentless and isolating, and you may feel that "it's in my brain, and I can't do anything about it, especially when your triggers come from the people closest to you — it is treatable! With the right evidence-based support, meaningful improvement is achievable.

How is misophonia different from general sound sensitivity? General sound sensitivity (hyperacusis) involves discomfort with loud sounds across the board. Misophonia is specific to pattern-based sounds typically produced by people, and involves intense emotional reactions rather than pain or discomfort from volume alone.

Does misophonia co-occur with OCD or ADHD? Yes. Misophonia frequently co-occurs with OCD, ADHD, clinical perfectionism, and anxiety disorders. I have specific expertise in diagnosing and treating these overlapping conditions, which is essential for developing an accurate and effective treatment plan.

Do you accept insurance? I do not accept insurance at this time. As an out-of-network provider, I can provide a detailed statement you can submit for potential partial or full reimbursement depending on your plan.

Will I be asked to sit through my worst triggers? No. Work begins at the manageable end of a hierarchy you build, using recorded sounds, lower volume, more distance, or imagined triggers before live ones, and you control the pace throughout. Starting near the top of the list is one of the most reliable ways to make misophonia worse, and it is something I specifically avoid.

Should I see an audiologist or a psychologist for misophonia? Many people start with an audiologist, which is understandable since the problem seems to be about sound. An audiological evaluation can be useful to rule out hyperacusis or tinnitus, which are different conditions with different treatments, and I sometimes recommend one for that reason. But misophonia itself is not a hearing problem. Hearing in misophonia is typically normal, and the reaction is tied to the meaning and context of a sound rather than its loudness, which is why the same chewing sound can be unbearable from a family member and unremarkable from a stranger. The international consensus definition treats misophonia as a distinct condition, and the treatments with controlled-trial support are psychological, built on CBT. If hearing problems have been ruled out, or if your reactions are clearly tied to specific people and specific sounds, a psychologist with specific misophonia expertise is the right next step. I provide assessment and treatment in-person in Austin, TX, and via telehealth across Texas and Florida.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you are struggling with misophonia and are looking for specialized, research-informed assessment and treatment in Austin, TX — or via telehealth anywhere in Texas or Florida — I would be glad to hear from you.

Learn about other conditions I treat → Therapy