The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for being with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by using her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging time as the sounds of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."
She has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, notably sounds coming from other people.
It is prevalent across the population. A study reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises associated with bodily functions that cause distress, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
