Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman hopes for seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her earplugs - especially during the main festive feast.
For her, the holidays is a especially challenging season as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."
She has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, notably sounds produced by those around you.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
