Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For her, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult time as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds."
The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers found nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
