Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates being with her family this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, slurping and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises made by other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
