The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for being with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For her, Christmas can be a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from those around you.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel awkward, 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 dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
