Christmas Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates being with her relatives this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging time as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, particularly those produced by individuals.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. 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 game with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
