Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates seeing her family over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year is a notably tough time as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those coming from those around you.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's noises associated with bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
