The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her family this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast.
In her case, the holidays is a especially challenging season as the noises of people eating, slurping and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
She has experienced this condition for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from individuals.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a source of agony for sufferers.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She notes her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
