Christmas Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman hopes for spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas is a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers found a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the most wonderful season can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
