Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a especially challenging season as the noises of family members munching, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, particularly those coming from individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. A study reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, explains currently her plan is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.
- Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
