Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for being with her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal.
For her, Christmas can be a particularly difficult period as the sounds of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by individuals.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers found a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Typically it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says currently her plan is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Visualise an Alternative: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
