Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has experienced this condition for several years and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds made by individuals.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers found nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Cope
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
