Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a particularly difficult period as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds made by individuals.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises.
She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
