Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these triggers."
The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those coming from other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Cope
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound bothering you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
