Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman hopes for spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays often feels like a particularly difficult season as the noises of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this sensation of instant dread, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers reported almost one in five people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method 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 sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
