The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her family this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging time as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises coming from other people.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts discovered almost one in five people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy 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, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
