Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her family during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by using her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays can be a notably tough period as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
She has experienced misophonia for several years and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those produced by individuals.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers found almost one in five people are affected by it.
Typically it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
