The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, Christmas often feels like a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises."
She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts discovered nearly 20% people experience it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, explains currently her plan is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers.
She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Cope
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
