The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her family this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year often feels like a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger intense distress.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds made by other people.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Typically it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as things like crunching, 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 daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia 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 desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
