Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for being with her relatives over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
In her case, the holidays is a especially challenging season as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."
Lottie has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My relatives are supportive, 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 make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- 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, perhaps they're not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
