The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for being with her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.
In her case, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, slurping and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"I experience this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
The individual has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, particularly those produced by those around you.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study reported nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape distressing triggers.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine an Alternative: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
