The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her family this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress.
"I get this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by other people.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study found almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful 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 constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a source of agony for sufferers.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says her strategy is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to be around family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
