Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman hopes for seeing her relatives during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult time as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises coming from those around you.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, states her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She says her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Cope
For those affected then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
