The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but says a primary method she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, Christmas is a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds."
Lottie has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study found nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are supportive, 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 guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity 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 escape distressing triggers.
She notes her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the particular sound bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
