The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.
For her, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult time as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers found a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Cope
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or are troubled. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
