The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her relatives this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - notably for the main festive feast.
In her case, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.
"I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by individuals.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Frequently it's noises linked to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Cope
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is key. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
