Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for seeing her loved ones during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging period as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her intense distress.
"I get this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises produced by individuals.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported a significant portion of people experience it.
Typically it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises.
She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt 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 slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
